Valentines Swap!

If you read my blog, you know I participate in a blog swap for holidays. Well, we couldn't leave V-day out! I've been waiting by my door all week and it finally came today! And just so you know, it wasn't late, I was just super anxious. I found the package in my mail box this afternoon and had to restrain myself from opening it until tonight at church so my friend Mandy could take pics of me opening it. That might sound really weird to some of you, but everyone involved in the swap knows what I'm talkin about. It has to be well documented. So, without further a due....
WOW! I love it! The apron is totally me! And I just commented on someone else's blog that I need some of those spatulas and low and behold, look what I got! And that big one, well can you believe how awesome that is. It will double nicely as Mr. DoRight. Watch out my sweet little angels, mama's got a new spanking device! No, I'm just kidding, my children are PERFECT! They will LOVE the heart shaped pancakes I'm going to whip up on V-day in my new apron. Thank you sooooo much Glenda! I absolutely loved it all!
And for all of you asking, Are those guitars on her shirt? And is there a red stripe in her hair? Yes, both are correct. We got RockBand 2 for Christmas and I am now a Rock Star. So if I don't answer the phone when you call, you might think I'm changing a dirty diaper, doing educational crafts with my children, reading them books or feeding them, but really I'm on tour in my living room rockin out. Don't judge me until you've played!
I have added a poll to the right. Please vote on what color I should have done with my hair on Friday. I love having something different done with it!

Dogs and Turtles, Oh My!

Ok, so I'm skipping ahead to now, but I will back track this week. We still have Tyler's bday, Christmas, New Years, and more to do. But I wanted to keep you afresh with now too. So, yesterday we went to the library and read to the dogs. It was so cool! There were 2 dogs there, Cramer and Miracle. They are specialy trained to go into nursing homes, hospitals, libraries, and for physical therapy. The kids got to read to them if they wanted to and just pet them if they can't read. It was pretty neat!

Last week, we saw our turtle again. We know it's ours because I spray painted his butt silver. Don't worry all you animal lovers, I didn't harm him. Just a little paint on his shell. It's what my dad always did growing up. Our turtle had yellow paint on him. So I'm carrying on the tradition. Here's some pics with our turtle. We need a turtley name. Any suggestions?

And here's some random pics of the boys from last week. I caught Tyson in mid air playing soccer. And yes, those are water shoes he's wearing. Hey, he wanted to wear them and we were just in our backyard. Don't judge! Nana sent a box in the mail. The 2 backpacks are from the box. They are so cute! And then we have some brotherly love! They are so sweet when they're not being rotten!

Thankful!

I know it's a little late, but I just can't skip over anything! So here's Thanksgiving. We had a great one! We went to Derek's grandparents house on Thursday and celebrated with my family on Saturday. For Derek's, I made a custard pie for the first time! It's an old family recipe. And it's a secret, so don't ask for it! My dad is very protective of it. Anyway, it turned out great! Probably because Tyson helped me make the crust. And the weather that day was beautiful! We were outside the whole time. Here are some pics.




For my families celebration, I made home made apple dumplings. This was also something that my dad always made growing up. I have made them before, so it wasn't my first time. They came out great. I also made the table center pieces. I traced the boys hands and feet and made turkeys. They were so cute, but very time consuming! The day was fun filled! I made home made caramel sauce and had my grandparents play WII bowling to see who got to take it home. My great aunt Katherine won, but everyone did well! Then we got the parents to play Mario Cart on WII. That was a blast! Poor aunt Beth could not get the hang of it, but she sure tried hard! Here are some pics.

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Disney...Finally!

Here are the pics from our wonderful Disney trip last month. We had a lot of fun and would love to go back in Feb. for Derek's and mom's birthdays. Don't forget that Disney is letting you in FREE this year for your birthday! Tyler got his 1st haircut while we were there. It went so smoothly! And he looked so much like a little boy afterward instead of a baby! He was so cute! Tyson's favorite thing at Disney was the Pooh Bear ride. Abby loved the rollercoasters, the Tea Cups, and race cars. She's a thrill seaker! Tyson gave them all a try, but it didn't go well! He's a little timid! Tyler was just happy that his Aunt Kristyn was willing to hold him the whole time.



I have sooo much catching up to do on the blog! But I'm going in order. And thank you to those of you who have kept on me to update! You know who you are, you pushy broads!

More Swap Fun!!!

So, us bloggers did another swap. This one for winter. We didn't have to spell out winter, we just had to give wintery gifts! And boy did I get some good ones! I'm thrilled with ALL the gifts that were so graciously given to me! I do not know my giver, Windsor, but she did a great job! Here's a look at what I recieved.

She decided to spell out winter!

W - warmth of a candle - 2 really cute little votive holders with snowflakes cut out of them and 2 great smelling votives!

I - interesting reading - 2 magazines I will LOVE to look through!

N - nice warm socks - a pair of pink (my favorite color) striped, soft, sock slippers! Wonderful!!!

T - tea to soothe the soul - some yummy tea to sip on a cold day!

E - evening bubble bath to calm the day's worries - some great smelling bubble bath that I can't wait to use!

R - relaxing CD to listen to - Josh Groban's Noel, It came at the perfect time and we listened to it while we decorated the tree! I have already listened to this several times! Awesome!
Thank you so much Windsor! You were very thoughtful! I'm not sure you stuck to the budget though! I'm a lucky girl!!! And thank you Denise and Donna (and Caroline) for organizing the swap! Another great one!

3's About Me!

My sister sent me this email and I thought I would post my answers. There's some cute pics of the boys at the end!

Three jobs I have had in my life:
1. Sales person at Express, Limited, & Ann Taylor
2. Personal Trainer
3. Assistant @ South Biscayne Church before Derek & I started dating (We worked together!)

Three people who e-mail me regularly:
1. Mom
2. Kristyn
3. Summer

My favorite foods:
1. Custard pie (My dad's secret recipe)
2. The spinach, strawberry, kiwi, maccadamia nut salad my sister makes me for my birthday
3. Roast baked in the oven with carrots and potatoes (my mom makes this for me a lot)

Three places I've lived (since high school):
1. Lynchburg, VA
2. Raleigh, NC
3. Venice, FL

Three shows that I watch:
1. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
2. Dora
3. Diego
My list used to read:
1. House
2. CSI
3. Reba

Three places I'd rather be right now:
1. Anyplace with Derek and Without my kids for a few days!
2. Is "sane" a place?
3. Shopping with my mom and sister With a whole bunch of money!

Things I am looking forward to this year:
1. Tyler being a more content baby
2. My anti-stress medication kicking in that I started last week
3. Christmas

Three things I dread having to do:
1. Cleaning the kitchen every day (my next house is going to be built without one)
2. Watch my Tyson grow up so fast
3. Digging something disgusting out of Tyler's mouth for the hundreth time

Three things I love to do:

1. Take beautiful pics of my kids

2. Make crafty things

3. Shop

Digging for Gold!

***Caution...This post is not for the faint of heart or for those of you who get grossed out easily or even not so easily! Please do not look further if you don't want to be disturbed. If you are going to look, please keep this bible verse in mind. Judge not, lest yea be judged. Matt. 7:1***

Have you ever been to one of those places where you dig around in the sand looking for fossils or something?










































Yes, this is how I found Tyler this afternoon. I always knew it would happen one day. I can't shut the laundry room door because then Hannah Lyn, my cat, won't be able to get in to use the litter box. I really do watch Tyler. I have tried to teach him not to go in there, but he is VERY hard-headed! God tricked us by giving us our submissive Tyson first. Then He threw us this little curve ball! I wouldn't trade him, but I would send him to daycare!

There are a few good things about this picture.
1. I just scooped the box last night and added clean litter.
2. There wasn't any poop in the box yet.
3. I don't think he ate much of it.
4. And last but definitely not least, My new anti-stress medicine works! Thank goodness it didn't happen last week before I started the medicine because it would have sent me over the edge for sure!