New things

Tuesday December 7th
For the longest while Grayson wouldn't give anyone kisses. Then recently he started giving kisses to himself on his "boo boos". When I told him I had a boo boo he kissed my hand. I asked him if he would kiss my cheek and he did! Since then he will kiss our cheek and boo boos. I love that he's starting to do that without us asking us for a kiss. It makes my day when my boy gives his slobbery kisses.

Thursday December 16th
Jingle Bells came on the radio and Grayson sang along. He said, "Jingle bells, jingle bells..HEY!". He said it plain as day and it was amazing. I can't get over how much he his learning lately.

This is how I roll...

Gary Thanksgiving 11/21

This year Thanksgiving was held at Nathan's parents house. There were 42 people in total. Talk about a CRAZY house. Thankfully the weather was nice and majority of the kids played outside. What a relief! We had a great meal! My favorite was Darlene's dressing. Seriously the best ever! After we all ate, some of us retreated outside to where the kids were. I brought my knitting with me and worked on a little dog for Grayson. Nathan's younger cousin Necole watched as I knitted. She told her Mom that she would like to learn to knit. Her Mom told her she would have to find someone to teach her. I asked her if I brought needles and yarn to the Gary Christmas dinner would she like me to teach her. She was so excited and said yes. That was the highlight of the day. Grayson had a blast playing with the kids. It was funny watching him try to act big like them. My boy is growing up too fast.

Thanksgiving Day

The morning was pretty low key. I was able to enjoy the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade. Usually I'm running around like crazy trying to finish prepping food. The only thing I had to make that morning was macaroni and cheese for Grandma's. I already made Spinach Dip and a Sugar-Free Coconut Creme Pie the night before for Grandma's. I made the Pumpkin Pie's and put together the Green Bean Casserole for Korey's. It felt good already being prepared. Grayson loved watching the parade. This is the first year that he's been interested in it. He got SO excited when he saw the Kermit the frog balloon even though he had no idea who it was. He runs to me and asks, "What's that?" and I told him it was "Kermit". So he stands at the tv saying "Kermit, Kermit." Things went down hill real fast when Kermit went away and some dancers were featured. He pointed at the tv saying, "Where's Kermit?". He had the saddest face (I have pictures). Eventually he started crying tears and all. He was begging for Kermit to come back. I pulled up a youtube video of Kermit and he was over it. Kids are so funny.

We had a great dinner at Grandma's. So much yummy food!!!

Then we headed home to pick up the food for Franklin and Korey's. As soon as we got there I had to hurry and pop the casserole in the oven. When everything was done we dug in. Everything was delicious! We had a great time catching up. Grayson had fun chasing after Lucy(the kitten Korey recently gave away). I was surprised to turn and find Grayson holding Lucy. Thankfully he wasn't holding her by the neck which is what I feared. He did really well. It was hilarious when he said, "Ride". I was like NO!! She moved before he could sit on her. All in all it was a great time spent with family.

Bonfire 11/27

We had our second bonfire. It was so much fun. Much more enjoyable this time since it was so cold. Last time it was surprisingly muggy. We ate too many roasted hot dogs, roasted marshmallows, and smores. I made a pot of coffee and sat out hot chocolate packets for anyone who wanted any. I chose to drink coffee with pumpkin pie spice creamer mmmmm. I was so happy that Franklin and Korey were able to come this time. While they were here I kept wondering if we will get to do something like that again next year. We have no idea where they will be stationed then. Okay moving on. So the bonfire was a big hit. I wish my parents were interested in coming but its not there thing. Oh well...we had fun and plan on a lot more bonfires in the future.

December 1st-3rd

Grayson and I went to NC to Melody and her family. Originally we were going to go the weekend so Nathan would be with us but I had other plans for Saturday. The first was the only other time I could go. That was the farthest I've ever driven by myself with Grayson. It was also our first trip without Nathan. Over all it wasn't a bad drive. The route I took takes me through Hiawassee, Georgia. Its so pretty through there.

We made it to NC right before 10am. We did great. It was great seeing Melody. We went and had breakfast at Waffle House. Then we stopped by a kids second hand shop and the yarn shop. Melody surprised me with my Christmas present there. My gift was to pick out myself some wool roving or whatever I wanted. I love their wool roving more than the yarn there. I went to town picking all kinds of colors. I still need to take pictures of all I got. Grayson thought he was in heaven with all the "balls" of roving. I plan to make a felted pumpkin with some of the stuff I got. I also plan on copying a felted wall hanging/placemat they had there. It was a tree with fall colored leaves and a bird in the tree with a cream background. I plan to do it but in a much smaller scale. I may do an owl instead of a little bird. I want to make one to put in a shadow box. We'll when that happens.

That evening we went to visit our Mamaw. It was great seeing her. I haven't seen her since she's been diagnosed with breast cancer. Its still hard to believe she has it. I haven't mentioned it here because I guess I'm still in shock that she has it. She's already started radiation. I forget how many weeks she has to take it and then she has to start a chemo pill after that. I feel like I've been processing the whole breast cancer news. I haven't ever mentioned that my other Mawmaw has it too but she's on the chemo pill now and is doing well as far as I know. So now I have breast cancer on both sides. That scares me. I try not too worry but I also think about how my Mom has a chance of having it too. Every so often I bring it up to make sure she's doing her regular checks. Okay enough about the cancer talk. I was glad I got to see my Mamaw.

It seemed like the rest of the trip flew. Late at night RL got to listen to me and Melody go on about knitting. Doesn't feel like we had enough time to knit together but we squeezed in a few hours.

Friday evening we said our goodbyes. Of course that's never easy. If everything works out we should be seeing them in February.

December 4th

Me, Breanne, Korey, and Kelly went to a Women's Self-Defense class. It was so much fun, very informative, and we learned how to kick butt! In all honesty if you have never taken a self defense class I highly suggest you should. Its very empowering and gives you the skills to protect yourself in a bad situation. I plan to go back sometime next year for a refresher(its free). I'm working on getting my mom and MIL to go with me. So far its not an easy task but I plan to get them there someway some how. We took a group photo before leaving.


Best group photo ever. haha It was fun punching the crap out of the head (forgot his name, Carl?)

Afterwards the four of us went out to lunch to Applebee's. Had a wonderful time with the girls.

December 6th

My mil Darlene turned the big 5-0. She was not thrilled at all. The plan was to wait and celebrate on Wednesday when Breanne came home. I couldn't imagine not celebrating her birthday at all. So I made spaghetti and took it to her house. We had a salad with it. I helped Grayson write out a birthday message to his Nana. His message made her night. We had a great time.

December 8th

We went out to eat for Darlene's birthday to Red Bowl Asian Bistro. Its SO good. I ordered the Spicy Thai Mango Chicken with brown rice and requested they not make it spicy. haha After we ate we went back to my in-laws house. Grandma brought over the cake that I dropped off at her house earlier. Darlene was so surprised. I made a German Chocolate pound cake from scratch. Talk about an AMAZING cake. She was thrilled. I seriously need to make another one. For her birthday we got her Ansel Adams book that has 400 of his photos. He was an amazing photographer. He's Darlene's favorite photographer of all time's. She pretty much flipped when she got it. Her 50th birthday was a success. Best mother-in-law ever!

The 6th was also the 7th Anniversary of Nathan coming to visit me for the first time(at that point we hadn't seen each other since highschool). Then as you all know the 7th is the anniversary of when we first started dating.

This Saturday Korey and I are going to the library to knit. I love when its knitting time at the library. I seriously look forward to every month. Not to sound pitiful Korey, but I'm going to miss you not being there next month and so forth. Okay moving on. Afterwards we have plans to get lunch and then to check out Natural Baby in Greenville. They are having Cloth Diapering 101. Should be fun. I can't wait to check out the place. I just found out about it recently. I plan to check out the cloth diapers they sell there and the detergent for them. It will be great having the option of buying in person or buying online. Should be fun!

Then Sunday we're going to Ally's 4th birthday party. I'm trying to hurry and finish knitting Ally's doll. That will be what I work on at the library. I also have to sew her a dress because I couldn't find a knit pattern for it in time. I pray it looks good!

If you read all of this you deserve a cookie. Now go into your pantry to see if you can find one.

12 Days of Clothmas Giveaway

Go check out the awesome giveaway's over at Cloth Diaper Addiction!

Seven Years

Seven years ago Nathan and I started dating. Look how far we have come.

Five Question Friday

1. What is your favorite part of a Thanksgiving meal? Dressing & Pumpkin. Two of my favorite things. :)

2. Are you a host or a guest for Thanksgiving this year? This year I was a guest. I'll probably host next year. Usually me & my SIL alternate holidays.

3. When you think of one Thanksgiving tradition, what comes to mind? Watching Macy's Thanksgiving Parade. Grayson loved it this year. :)

4. You have two pieces of pie in front of you and you HAVE to eat one...do you choose pumpkin or pecan? I'd choose pumpkin pie first, but I'd still get a piece of pecan pie. I love my MIL's and Grandma's. So good!!

5. Are you a Black Friday Shopper? Not not at all. I don't care to risk my safety nor sanity. I'll stick to the Black Friday online deals. That's my kind of shopping.

Grayson Turns 2!

My little boy turned two November 6th. So hard to believe he's already two.

More pictures to come.

Wordless Wednesday

My Photo Edit On Pioneer Woman!

Pioneer Woman: Tim Edits
Mine is 16 down.

Original

My edited version. Its pretty simple compared to a lot of other people's edits. Either way I made it on her blog and that's something to be excited about!!

Wordless Wednesday

Boxes....

are AMAZING!!! They are inexpensive and so much fun to reuse. I made Grayson a little tunnel out of two random boxes in my house. Its not the best construction but it makes my boy happy.

Look at what I got in the mail.

My fine construction being tested out.

It passes the test!

"Hi"

Cutest behind I ever did see.

"Mommy sleeping." His exact words.



Shut the door!

Love That Shot!

Love Your Shot! is having a contest and it ends tonight. I'm entering in the nick of time.

This has to be one of my favorite pictures of Grayson. I love to watch him play. He gets so serious. This picture was taken in September while on vacation to Edisto Island, SC. I used a Florabella Luxe Action but can't remember the specific one.

Grayson's First Haircut

I finally took the plunge & had Grayson's hair cut. I've been putting it off for months because it was so hard to say bye to his baby locks. The longer his hair got the more food he got stuck in it. It was time. We took to Jelly Beans. Since it was his first haircut it only cost a penny.

I was nervous how he would react to getting his haircut. He did AWESOME!! He played while she cut away. He looks like a big boy now instead of a baby. Very bittersweet. We were given a certificate for his first haircut & they put a lock of his hair on there. She put the rest of his hair in a little bag so that I can give it to the grandmothers. It was a great experience.

"Are they ready yet?"

Party in the back.



I love my little guy & those big brown eyes.

He sees his Daddy.

"I know she isn't coming at me with those scissors."



I love how happy he looks. :)

















His reward for being such a good boy. He loves balloons. Even more so since it was yellow.

Five Question Friday

1. What were your school colors?
Blue & White

2. What's the best compliment you ever received?
The best compliment is about my son. Its usually about his wonderful personality or good behavior. :)

3. Do you buy cheap or expensive toilet paper?
I'd say average. I buy Angel Soft.

4. Have you ever had a surprise party thrown for you? Or have you had one for someone else? I've never had one or thrown one. Maybe some day. ;)

5. What is one material possession that you "can't live without"?
That would have to be my camera. :)

Biscuit: blog-a-palooza Giveaway

Head on over there & check out all the amazing prizes. I especially love the green travel bag.

Bean Bags

Last week I had some time alone to sew. I hadn't sewn since sometime last year. Not sure if I ever blogged about it but I made curtains my living room. Of course I had a LOT of help from my MIL and Grandma. They did majority of the cutting while I did most of the sewing. That was my first real project.

Nathan bought me a Singer 247 from an auction last Christmas. Its so nice. He had gotten it serviced. It is also attached to a sewing table. It took me a short time to put the bobbin in and get the main thread threaded. I had a hard time getting the needle to pick up the thread from the bobbin. After about 5-10 minutes it was ready to be used. Then I had to decide what to make. I found the leftover strip of fabric from the bottom of my nursing cover. The strip was two different fabric's sewed on the bottom. I decided they would make the perfect bean bags.

The finished product. I placed the pieces of fabric wrong side out and began sewing up all the sides except one. I turned it right side out then filled it with rice since that's what I had on hand. Then I rolled the rough edges inside and sewed it up. I know there's probably a better method but it was my first time doing that.

Grayson loves them! One of the best things I could have ever made him. It didn't cost anything since I had everything on hand.

The opposite side.

I'm still working on sewing straight lines.

I plan on making some more soon but this time I plan on measuring. I'd like to make them for my friends son Rylie. His birthday is next month and I know he'd enjoy them. I need to look in my fabric stash to see what I have. Although it will give me an excuse to go buy more fabric. ;)

Father's Day

We had a busy weekend of celebrating. My in-laws came over Saturday for dinner and my parents, brother, and sil came over Sunday for dinner also. It was a lovely time. I especially enjoy getting to celebrate Nathan as a Daddy. He's such a wonderful Daddy to Grayson.

I adore this picture of them.

Time to myself

My MIL is watching Grayson for me today. :) That means I plan to go take a nap. Life is good.

I hope to do this whenever I wake up.
Actually I should say try. I've had my vintage Singer since Christmas & have yet to try it out. I'm still learning so this should be fun. I want to make something out of the miscellaneous fabric I have. We'll see what happens.

I really should clean today but I think it can wait for something more creative.

Lesson 1: Aperture

I had fun playing around with the aperture & getting the background blurred. I plan to play around using my zoom lens next time to see the difference. These pictures were taken outside in the natural light. These are the pictures I posted for my homework assignments.

The bunny who usually hangs out in my yard.

The lovely yarn I'm currently knitting with & a pair of my favorite needles.

I've never been good at taking pictures indoors with no flash. After reading in my manual & reading the info for this lesson I can now take some pretty decent pictures with no flash. I still have a long ways to go though.

Had some fun taking random pictures. :)
Not the greatest pic of me but I loved how the color turned out. My freckles actually look like freckles & not zits. haha

I adore this picture of my sweet boy loving on me. Can't get much better than that.

*dreamy sighs*

Sunday I decided to take pictures at my back door to see how the lighting made a difference. As you can tell I had too much fun.






Lesson 2 is about Shutter Speed & Lesson 3 is about Lighting. My next assignment is to experiment with lighting. Should be fun!