The Jones Family

I LOVE Spring!

2010-04-01T07:20:00.000-07:00

Ahhhh I love the gorgeous Spring weather...77 yesterday and it is supposed to be 81 today! Wow!!

I let the girls play outside yesterday evening and we did a little impromptu photo shoot. Grace is such a natural little model and Maya can be when she wants to lol. That child is always so busy. I think the pics turned out so good and I plan on getting some of them printed to replace some older ones I have on the wall.

Chicken Enchilada Pizza

2010-03-29T10:09:00.000-07:00

Today I tried out a delicious recipe that I found recently. I made chicken enchilada pizza and it was so yummy and also just so simple to make which is right up my alley. Miss Maya even ate 2 pieces of it!

I Pillsbury thin crust pizza crust
Old El Paso Mild Chicken Enchilada Sauce ( I didn't even use all of one small can.)
Cooked chopped chicken ( I used the small bag of Tyson chicken strips.)
Shredded Cheese

I pre-baked the crust on 400 degrees for about 5 minutes. I then spread the enchilada sauce over the pizza crust and covered with the chicken and shredded cheese. I stuck the pizza back in the oven and cooked for about another 17-20 minutes.

First Easter Egg Hunt March 27, 2010

2010-03-29T09:58:00.000-07:00

The City of Villa Rica had the annual Easter Egg Hunt this past Saturday. This is the first time we have gone to the Easter event although we have been to several other activities that the city has put on such as the Candy Cane hunt around Christmas time. Of course back in December the number of people that turned out for the candy cane event was so minimal compared to the turnout on Saturday probably due to the weather. When we walked up I was blown away by the amount of people already lined up around the egg covered football field. Gracie and Maya were in separate areas so my parents took Grace to her age group and my brother, sister-in-law and I helped Maya. Once they could finally start collecting eggs it was pure chaos. There were so many people that little ones like Miss Maya didn't even have time to bend over and pick up the eggs. This is when the protective Mama starts grabbing them for her and so did her big, strong Uncle! Parents were literally knocking other people's kids over. I swear the whole thing was over in less than 5 minutes. Thanks to her Mama.... Maya got a prize egg and ended up with a yummy chocolate bunny that she shared with her big sister. They did have some other fun activities that the kids enjoyed such as jump/slide things and a cute train. Luckily our neighborhood is doing an egg hunt this upcoming Friday and we plan on doing our own in our yard on Easter so hopefully those will be much calmer and the girls will get plenty of candy!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-03-27T06:26:00.000-07:00

I will be the first to admit that I am so not a cook! I have an uber picky husband and older daughter and so really who would I be cooking for except myself and Maya. But....after reading several of my friend's cooking blogs I have been getting an itch to try new stuff. I started off simple with these delicious peanut butter chocolate chip cookies that I found on my friend Laura's blog! I plan on taking them to a family cookout at my parent's house tomorrow.

Recipe:
1 cup creamy peanut butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup chocolate chips

Mix all ingredients together and dump by spoonful onto cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes and then let cool and firm up after removing from oven.

Yummy!!

Losing Weight and Feeling Better!

2010-03-26T18:19:00.000-07:00

I have been on a journey since about Nov. of last year to get myself feeling and looking better. I got in a rut after having the girls and just let my weight get out of control. Now 20 pounds lighter and lots of inches lost and I feel so good! I have been limiting what I eat at night so that I don't have a big meal before bed and drinking lots and lots of water. I have also been exercising like crazy. I first started in Feb. by doing Jillian Michael's 30 day shred and wow that is crazy! I am now on level 3 and can notice such a difference in my stamina as well as my body. I have just recently added in walking everyday and that feels amazing. I have started walking with my Dad in the mornings after I drop Gracie off at school and then sometimes even walking again with the girls when the weather is nice. I have stopped worrying about the scale as I got frustrated with plateaus and now I just worry about feeling good and knowing that I am in the process of creating a healthier me!

Been really slacking......

2010-03-26T18:06:00.000-07:00

Ok so I got into blogging and then I got out of blogging and so now I am jumping back in. ;) I plan on talking about my beautiful family, exercise and my diving into the world of cooking. A broad arena of topics but it should make for some interesting reading.

First off....updated pics of my wonderful family!

The pics are Matt and I and then my pretty girls!

Crazy Busy!

2009-01-23T20:36:00.000-08:00

I have been crazy busy and have just totally slacked on updating. For the past week I have had both girls sick. Gracie was first and had a nasty upper-respiratory infection and then poor Maya has been just terribly sick with the Flu! I, on the other hand, am seriously lacking in the sleep department. I go to bed way to late, wake-up multiple times and then get up pretty decent with the girls. I am hoping for a good night's sleep tonight and a nap tomorrow! :)Anyway enjoy some new pics!

Our 2008 Family Christmas Photo

2008-12-17T18:39:00.001-08:00

I am just in love with our family photo this year! The girls did pretty well and cooperated to the extent that a 2 and 3 year old normally do. We went to Target Portrait Studios and I honestly just think that they are my favorite place to go. This was our third visit and they are just always so consistent at trying to get the girls to smile and they always just put in an extra effort! Matt and I have discussed adding to our family next year....possibly stating to try in late Fall/early Winter so that by the times the baby arrives Gracie will be starting Kindergarten and Maya will be around 4 so the Christmas card may have another little Jones in it in the next couple of years....our last of course! ;) Enjoy!

Ready for Santa!

2008-12-17T18:35:00.000-08:00

The girls are anxiously awaiting Santa's visit and the Holiday wear is in full force! I am a nut for buying Holiday clothing and of course the girls have to have the bows that match. I am also now a sucker for these adorable crochet hats that I can attach bows to and luckily enough Maya is really into wearing hats right now. Here are a couple of shots of my cuties!

Getting Ready for Christmas....

2008-12-11T19:37:00.000-08:00

I know I know I know..... I have been so terrible about updating lately especially with the quickly approaching holidays! I am so excited this year because I think the girls are at the perfect age to enjoy Christmas this year! They have really enjoyed decorating and helping me wrap gifts. Santa was not a hit though! Neither of the girls wanted anything to do with the Jolly Old Man so no cute picture this year!

My New Hair

2008-12-02T17:01:00.000-08:00

I did it! I got 14 inches chopped off and I have to say that I love it. It is so nice having a style. I also got some nice blonde and red highlights. I feel like a new woman and with this along with my diet and exercise I just feel all around refreshed!

Fabulous FALL

2008-11-10T20:17:00.000-08:00

Ohhhhh how I love the Fall weather! The girls have really enjoyed watching the trees change and playing in the leaves. The weather varies here but today was a nice evening in the 60's and so I let the girls go outside and play. Gracie calls the trees with no leaves "naked trees!" Ha Ha!

Holy Mole...y........

2008-11-10T20:05:00.000-08:00

Ha! The title cracks me up....;)

Just a little post to encourage everyone to get your moles checked! I am a very "moley" person and I had two that were bothering me so I decided to get them removed. My dermotologist checked my moles and found one that he didn't like so he removed it. The biopsies came back today and the two I wanted removed were fine and the one he wanted to remove is called a something..something displaysia. Basically it is an atypical mole but not a cancer. I suppose it has the potential to turn into a cancer. I have the mildest form of it so basically I just go back Wed. and the doctor will remove some more of the surrounding skin to make sure all of the atypical cells are gone. As someone who has had both grandmothers have skin cancer I feel relieved to have got my moles checked and the bad one removed early! This is something many people don't think about but it is surely important and I plan on continuing to have mine checked yearly. Now I think I have had enough biopsies this year! Hopefully next year will be biopsy free! ;)

Happy Halloween

2008-11-02T16:30:00.000-08:00

Halloween was so fun this year! Both of the girls actually understood the concept and had a great time with all of the activities! On Friday morning the girls had their Fall Festival at school and that was so fun! My Dad and Matt's mom were able to come to the party and the girls were thrilled about that. They got to eat yummy snacks and make crafts as well as jump in an inflatable thing! Early Friday evening we took the girls to Trunk-Or-Treat at our church because my Dad was participating and we wanted to check it out. Finally we got to come home and go trick-or-treating around our neighborhood. It was really fun for the girls. Matt and his Dad stayed home to hand out candy so that left the girls and I as well as my mother-in-law and mom to go out and get some candy! The girls really racked up and since Mommy is on a diet then Daddy was excited about all of the chocolate that he would get to munch on!

More Sadness........

2008-11-02T16:20:00.000-08:00

Well after the bad news of Tina's murder there came more bad news on Friday when my Mother-In-Law's good friend and neighbor Jackie had to be rushed to the hospital. They thought she had a heart attack and when the ambulance arrived at her house she was unconcious and not breathing. My mother-in-law rushed over in her pajamas at 6 in the morning once she realized the ambulance was at Jackie's house. She saw them doing CPR and told us that it took them what seemed like a long time to get her to start breathing again. They found out that it wasn't a heart attack but possibly a clot in her lung. At this point 7 out of 8 doctors are saying she is brain dead. One doctor is still giving the family a little hope and is going to try lowering her body temperature over a number of days and then bringing it back up to "jolt" her brain into functioning again. It is a long shot but God does do miracles! Jackie's husband Dale is gone a lot on business and was actually in Jacksonville that day so of course when my father-in-law called him he rushed back here and he is just completely crushed. They have been married 26 years and Jackie is only in her 50's. Say a little prayer.....

Sadness.....

2008-10-28T20:13:00.000-07:00

I know myself well enough to know when I am starting to get depressed or down in the dumps. It has just been stuff piling up and then yesterday finally something devestating happened that just made the barrier break. Lets start off with the little things....a big move into a new house for which I am extremely thankful for but it is still a very stressful thing. Next would be having two stubborn toddlers running wild and choosing not to listen plus Maya has been waking multiple times during the night for some unknown reason and so I haven't had a good night's sleep in awhile. I love my girls more than anything in the world but sometimes I just let it all overwhelm me. I am trying to just take a breath and let the small things go but that is easier said than done. So I guess that brings me to yesterday when my Dad was over helping us move some stuff. I was out front getting stuff out of the car and he peeked his head out the door and told me that my mom had just called and she had found out that one of their old friends, Tina Caronna, had been missing since Sat. WHAT?!?! I couldn't believe it. Supposedly Tina had gone to Costco to get some stuff for a Halloween party that Sat. night and never came home. No one heard anything else from her. Since we don't live in Memphis anymore I kept following the news stations there online. Shortly after we found out she was missing I read that they had found her car abandoned on a dead end street with a dead female inside. My heart sank as the cruel reality set in. The police wouldn't confirm whether or not the body was Tina but my mom called Tina's mom and unfortunately got the confirmation we knew inside but wanted to hope wasn't true. Today the Bartlett police finally released the fact that it was her body and they are investigating it as a homicide. Simply tragic..... I personally haven't seen Tina in over 2 years but I remember being around her quite a bit growing up because she was good friends with my mom and my brother and her son were also good friends. It just really hits home when you see someone you know on the news and they have been murdered....why, how, by who....tohse are the answers that you want. Tina's dad just passed away last year suddenly in his sleep and so now I just have an overwhelming sadness for her Mother She is a strong woman but now she has had to bury not only her husband but her daughter in less than a years time. They are supposed to possibly release cause of death tomorrow. I just hope that whoever murdered this sweet and loving mother is caught and pays for the truly wonderful life that they took. Was it random....or was it someone she knew? I have my theories but truly only time will tell. Tina came into my life for only a short amount of time in the big picture but I can say looking back that she made an impact on my life that I didn't quite realize until now. She was always smiling...always happy...a truly genuine person with a zest for life.

As I process all of the things in my life right now I try to just BREATHE and take it all in stride. I am blessed and I know that I can handle all of the trivial things in life when I think about what Tina's family must be going through.

Rest in Peace Tina.......

http://www.myfoxmemphis.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=7729544&version=8&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1

Brrrrrr....It is cold outside!

2008-10-28T11:15:00.000-07:00

Fall is here and I love it! The highs have been in the 50's so I have been able to dress the girls in their adorable Fall/Winter wardrobes. Miss Maya is still able to wear her clothes from last year...tiny thing! Gracie can for the most part wear a lot of her clothes from last year as well but she has got so tall some of her pants are to short.

I did have to go out and buy Maya that adorable polka dot sweater dress from Gymboree. Oh my gosh it is just too cute! I also went to Old Navy and bought her the sweetest pink fur boots to wear with it. She loves them!

Please forgive me!

2008-10-22T16:41:00.000-07:00

It has been so long since I have been able to sit down and blog! There has been so much going on lately. We moved into an awesome new house and then took a short trip to Memphis. We ended up going to Memphis a little earlier then expected because my brother was put into the hospital due to the fact that they discovered he has diabetes. He had to be in the hospital for 3 days so that they could monitor him and get him on meds to control his blood sugar. He has been doing really well controlling his diet and his blood sugar is much better thankfully. Lately we have just continued to move things into the new house and prepare for Halloween! I am so excited about this year because I know both of the girls will for sure enjoy going around and getting candy. Matt and I took them to a small little pumpkin patch today and they had a blast! Maya LOVES pumpkins!! They have their Fall Festival at school next Friday and I know they are going to really enjoy that. I am including a few pics from Memphis and the Pumpkin Patch. Enjoy!

Welcome Fall!

2008-10-02T21:04:00.000-07:00

We got a nice taste of Fall here in Georgia this past week and the girls were thrilled to be able to play outside in the evenings. Gracie has done so well with riding her "big girl" princess bike and Maya has enjoyed playing with the trike and cozy coupe. I can't wait until the weather constantly stays nice and cool like this.

Pretty in Pink

2008-09-21T20:15:00.000-07:00

This morning both of the girls were dressed in pink and they got so many compliments at church. They both looked super adorable! I took a couple of pics when we got home and Maya was less than thrilled and refused to show me her "cheese face!"

Midway Fan Day

2008-09-14T18:40:00.000-07:00

Today our church had "Fan Day." Everyone wore there favorite team's shirts/jerseys to church and then all of the different Sunday School classes (Life Groups) cooked out after church. It was a lot of fun and the food was great. It was a great outreach ministry and there were tons of people there both members and visitors. The girls really enjoyed it.

Zebras and Ladybugs Oh My!

2008-09-12T11:45:00.000-07:00

I have been working hard on making some neat homemade things for the girls rooms at the new house. We are doing Maya's room in a ladybug theme and Gracie's room in a zebra/pink theme. I still need to do some touch-ups and then add little smiles to the ladybug wall hooks.

Maya Claire turns the big TWO!

2008-09-09T20:27:00.000-07:00

Miss Maya turned 2 on Sunday and we had a great time at her party! She had several of her friends over and they enjoyed playing in her playhouse and eating cake and ice cream. Mommy was VERY exhausted at the end of the day but it was well worth it.

Villa Rica Gold Rush Festival

2008-09-06T10:17:00.000-07:00

Today is our towns Gold Rush Festival! My parents and I took the girls this morning to watch the parade, eat yummy food and look at crafts. Tonight we are going back to listen to our local bands. It was a really fun time and one of the perks of living in a small town. Enjoy the pics!

Chuck-E-Cheese

2008-09-05T16:52:00.000-07:00

Today we took the girls to Chuck-E-Cheese in honor of Maya's 2nd birthday which is Sunday. We took Gracie for her 2nd and 3rd birthday and plan on making it a birthday tradition for both of the girls. The girls had a blast! Maya thoroughly enjoyed riding the little Clifford ride. She probably rode that thing about 5 or 6 times. As soon as we left Gracie was asking when we can go again! Ha! :)

Spooky Spider Halloween Korker Bow

2008-09-03T08:05:00.000-07:00

I just LOVE how these adorable spiders came out! They are sure to get lots of compliments. They can be worn to a Halloween party or for pictures! I made the spiders out of black korker ribbon and embellished them with "googly" eyes and a sweet orange bow! I can't wait until the girls can wear them. I showed Gracie this morning and she was so excited about it! I have them for sale through the store but if you read this blog use the code SPOOKY in the payment section for 10% off the purchase of the Spooky Spider bow!

Sentimental.....

2008-08-30T07:42:00.000-07:00

Miss Maya Claire turns TWO next Sunday and I am already getting sentimental about it! Where did the past two years go? She is looking like such a big girl now.....So in honor of her approaching 2nd birthday I thought I would share her birth story!

We found out we were pregnant with Maya the day after Gracie turned one! It was a surprise and I was totally scared out of my mind. How was I ever going to mange two kids so close together in age??? The pregnancy wasn't near as eventful as my pregnancy with Gracie...thank goodness. I did have some random bouts of nausea and fatigue and unfortunately I did suffer some spotting like I did when I was pregnant with Gracie. Luckily my mom worked for my OB doctor and I was able to get ultrasounds to check on her. It ended up being placenta previa that eventually corrected itself. Matt was moving to Atlanta at the beginning of April and Gracie and I were staying in Memphis so that I could see my regular doctor since I loved him. So at my 15 week appt. we were able to find out the gender since we begged the doctor for an ultrasound since it would be the last appt. Matt would be able to go to with me. I wasn't surprised at all when they told me they were pretty sure it was a girl! I was excited! From then on the rest of the pregnancy was pretty much just exhausting! I had terrible pains and I felt huge. We decided to have a repeat c-section and scheduled it for Sept. 7th 2006 since Gracie's birthday is on 1/7 and Matt's birthday is on 11/7. Seven seems to be a good number in this family. I remember that we had to be at the hospital at 10am that morning. When I had Gracie it was an emergency c-section and I had already been in the hospital for almost 48 hours so I looked a mess. This time I showered and put on some make-up....I wanted to look good for surgery this time! ;) The c-section was extremely painful this go around. Maya was turned sideways and was up high so the nurse was practically jumping on my belly...and yes I could feel that part! I was crying because it hurt so darn bad. In the end of course it was worth it. Miss Maya came into the world screaming at 12:30pm! She was gorgeous and had a head full of dark black hair. You would never know that now! She weighed 7lb 5oz and was 20" long. She was a whole pound bigger and inch longer than her sister had been. She was PERFECT! Maya was such an easy baby which I was very thankful for since Gracie had been a very challenging baby. Maya still has a very laid back personality although she is very much the dare devil and I do see stitches or broken bones of some sort in our future! Our life is much richer with Maya in it and I am very blessed to be the mother of such beautiful little girls.

TODDLER.......Enough Said!

2008-08-28T19:23:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness....how can this child look so sweet and act so naughty??? Gracie is probably the whiniest child that I have ever met! I love that little girl to death but my goodness she tests my patience all day every day. She has always been my high maintenance, more demanding child and that doesn't seem to be changing. If you tell her NO to anything she practically has a major meltdown! AHHHHHHHHHHHH If anyone has any suggestions or words or wisdom then I am totally open to them before I yank all of my hair out! Tonight I had to take away her nighttime before bed movie because she threw a big fit when I asked her to clean her playroom. She proceeded to scream and cry during bath time and while I was putting them to bed. To make matters all that much harder she kept screaming..."I love you Mommy" in hopes that I would relent and put in her movie. I did hold my ground and the girls finally drifted off to sleep. Fingers crossed that tomorrow will be a better day for all of us!

Pre-School Orientation

2008-08-26T16:58:00.000-07:00

Tonight I took the girls to their Pre-School orientation. Gracie went to Prince of Peace last year and we were so pleased with the amazing Christian environment. She learned so much and began talking up a storm (at least to us!) She is still super shy but that is just her personality. Maya was able to go with Gracie to the little summer camp that they had for 2 weeks at the beginning of the summer and she really enjoyed it as well. Since we decided to take Maya out of tumbling my parents were gracious enough to help us pay to send Maya to pre-school as well. We had fun at first getting to see their classrooms etc. but before the actual parent orientation part began Gracie started telling me she wasn't feeling good and that she was going to throw up. So...after several trips to the bathroom I just decided it would be best to come home before she really did start throwing up. I packed them up in the car and headed home and just after we made the turn onto the main street Gracie started throwing up! Yuck! Anyway we are old pre-school pros from last year so we didn't really miss out on anything and now Gracie is resting comfortably on the couch.

Pretty Little Princesses

2008-08-25T10:12:00.000-07:00

I just love having two girls! I am all about dressing them up and doing their hair! Gracie asks me every morning to put a bow in her hair and she just has to have shoes that match her outfit! ;) Here are a few recent pics of my cuties!

Crafty People

2008-08-24T20:31:00.000-07:00

I have a wonderful and talented friend that I met through Etsy that has been so wonderful about creating custom polymer clay beads for me to use as bow centers. She is AWESOME with detail and I always get exactly what I had pictured. It amazes me how talented people are with specific crafts. I received a custom order from a woman the other day and she wrote a little note telling me how talented I was with making bows. I was for sure thankful for her comment. It made me feel good considering I know that I have come a long way from last July when I first started selling on Etsy. I have several other friends that I have met on Etsy that have been so awesome about making custom clothes for the girls and purses for me. Etsy is such a wonderful place to support those people that make handmade items. I totally enjoy sitting down and being creative with making bows and it makes me feel so great when people buy the bows and enjoy them.

For lots of amazing items check out my friends!
www.amalh.etsy.com
www.mommydawleys.etsy.com
www.babykaysboutique.etsy.com

Dora Pillowcase Top by MommyDawleys.etsy.com
Polymer Clay Beads by amalh.etsy.com

The Newest Member of our Family

2008-08-22T13:39:00.001-07:00

Meet Tigger! She is a 3.5 yr. old standard chihuahua. She weighs about 6 pounds and is soooooo sweet! We had to give our puppy Lola to my parents because she was to big and to rambunctious for the kids. She would nip at them and knock them down and they hated it. My wonderful dad bought Tigger for the girls so that they would have a dog to love on and play with that wouldn't knock them down!

French Vanilla Coffee

2008-08-20T08:30:00.001-07:00

I have been such a Starbucks Grande Java Chip fanatic....until my mom led me onto Quick Trip's French Vanilla Coffee! Oh my goodness it is so good and so much cheaper than Starbucks. I now have a new addiction! Luckily there is a Quick Trip only a few miles from my house.

This morning I made a trip to the post office to mail out some bow orders and then went to get a nice 24oz cup of French Vanilla Coffee! This is the life! ;)

The TODDLER Attitude

2008-08-19T21:17:00.000-07:00

So as a mom of two toddlers I have seen my fair share of A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E! Miss Gracie is my reserved whiny child that likes to throw tantrums when it comes to just about anything especially when she does not get her way. Miss Maya is my dare devil and very expressive child. She rarely throws a tantrum but she has some very funny expressions and actions. Tonight we were on our way to her last tumble class (see entry below) and I was taking pictures because that is what I do! Apparently Miss Maya had enough of my paparazzi ways and she crossed her arms and hung her head and said "No Mommy!" I just thought the pictures were a perfect representation of her "Toddler Attitude" and they are just too cute!

Ta-Ta Tumble

2008-08-19T18:30:00.000-07:00

Well....tumbling is officially out! I withdrew Maya from her class today. It was such a disappointment and let-down and honestly I am relieved to be done with it although she only went twice. I went in with every intention of dropping Maya off and leaving her today. As soon as we walked in she grabbed hold of me and wouldn't let go. She started screaming if I tried to put her down and neither of the teachers would come to try and get her interested in something else. The class is only 30 minutes and there were at least 8 two or three yr old girls in the class. So.....by the time Maya got up to the mat for her turn it was already almost 5:45 and the class ends at 6. RIDICULOUS! Maya would have only been able to go to the mat twice in the whole class. While waiting on her turn it was apparently my responsibility to keep her in her seat and not running around. Ya....anyone who has a two year old knows that is just not reasonable. I grabbed the girls and left early to go fill out the withdrawl slip and said bye to that place! The girls had a blast at their own private lesson with Mommy!! :)

Six Flags, Early Birthday Celebrations and Family Fun

2008-08-17T20:11:00.000-07:00

Wow.....what a busy weekend we have had! Today was another long day but it was a ton of fun! We started the day by dropping the girls off with Nana and Mimi and then Dad, my brother James, Matthew and I went to Six Flags! It was a really nice day today. The weather wasn't too hot and the park wasn't crowded at all. Our first ride was the newest coaster Goliath and we were in the very front of the ride! It was FANTASTIC.....my favorite ride of the day with the Thunder River coming in second. We got to enjoy the typical theme park food.....nachos, ice cream, funnel cakes and fudge! Matthew and I bought the girls cute little stuffed Tweety Birds as souvenirs. After we were all tired out we headed home to get ready for an early birthday cookout. Since my brother can't be here for Maya's birthday in a few weeks and we won't see him on his 21st birthday at the end of Sept. we celebrated both birthdays early! My brother cooked some yummy steaks and burgers on the grill and my dad make some delicious homemade vanilla ice cream. After dinner we played some Rock Band on the Wii and then called it a night!!

Super Snap Clippies

2008-08-17T20:07:00.000-07:00

Oh my gosh how I LOVE these new snap clips that I have added to my store!! They are so fantastic for holding back the girls bangs and they stay in so well. I can cover them with ribbon to match any color or theme. Halloween is right around the corner....I am about to order another set of clips so that I can make more for the girls. I do have some currently listed at my store so check them out!

www.mamasgirlsbows.etsy.com

Family

2008-08-16T19:26:00.001-07:00

My Mimi came down to visit with my brother this weekend and I am so glad that I have been able to spend time with both of them. I just really love these pics from tonight!

Take Me Out To The Ballgame

2008-08-16T19:18:00.000-07:00

Last night my brother, Dad, Gracie, Matthew and I went to eat at The Varsity and see a Braves game at Turner Field. It has been awhile since I have gone to a Braves game but once we arrived that familiar rush of excitement hit me and of course the yummy smells of all the stadium food were fantastic. Gracie had a blast! She mostly enjoyed all of the little activities that they did and she loved doing the famous tomahawk chop. Between Matthew, Gracie and I we ended up getting a blue sno-cone, nachos, hot dog, coke and some yummy dippin dots!

Tumble!

2008-08-12T16:41:00.000-07:00

Maya had her first tumbling class tonight and I was soooooo excited about it....until we got there. I have to say I am sort of let down and I am not sure right now if we are going to keep her in it. The teacher is in her 3rd trimester and has one helper. There are about 6 other little kids in the class with her and there was just NO structure at all. About 10 minutes into the class some of the kids started opening the door to the waiting area and Maya thought they were leaving so she started crying for me and the little class helper brought her to me!!! She didn't even try to get her interested in something else. So then I went out into the room with her and basically it was me trying to keep her on her "number" to wait her turn. It was just chaos. I am hoping it is just because it was the first class but I don't know I just have a pit of regret in my stomach about the situation. I am not sure she is going to get the "one on one" time and experience that I was hoping for.

Picture People Pics

2008-08-12T07:20:00.000-07:00

Well last night my mom and I took the girls to Picture People to get Maya's 2yr. B-Day pics made and then some new ones of the girls together. Needless to say it was a good photo shoot but a terrible customer service night! We had a 6:30 appt. and didn't even get back to the room until after 7. Then we waited until 9:15 to even see our pics!!!! Thats right we were told to come back in 30 minutes after we finished shooting and it took an extra 1.5 hours! Then....we sat around for another 45 minutes trying to get the actual prints. We didn't end up leaving the mall until 10 last night....the mall itself closed at 9! Oh and get this there were 2 other families still there looking at the pictures after we left. I will NEVER go back there again. It is Target Studios for us from no on.

The pics did turn out cute though! Miss Maya is quite the ham and once we got Miss Shy Gracie out there she did well too!

Pics courtesy of Picture People Studios

Water Bugs!

2008-08-09T06:12:00.000-07:00

These two little girls love the water! We didn't get a chance to go swimming with Grandad yesterday so Matt and I let the girls play with the water hose! They thought that was the best thing ever!! They were having a blast until Matt noticed how many darn mosquitos were out. He was getting bit like crazy and I then I saw all of the red whelps on Gracie. She is highly allergic....in fact both girls are! I think Gracie got bit about 15 times in the span of about 10 minutes. Maya only got bit twice on her forehead. So unfortunately the water fun didn't last long and we brought the girls inside for baths. I dosed Gracie up with some benedryl and then put some medicine on the bites and she was good to go!

Pudding!

2008-08-07T16:25:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness...who knew pudding could be so yummy yet so messy! Just ask any mother of toddlers and I am sure they will know what I am talking about! The girls enjoyed some pudding for dessert tonight and probably ended up wearing most of it.

The Calm before the Storm...

2008-08-07T11:51:00.001-07:00

The girls enjoyed a little early afternoon time outside today since it has cooled down just a little due to the big storm we are supposed to get this afternoon! They love to run around and play and they were so cute together! I was drenched in sweat within about 10 minutes but of course they were still running all over the place.

Bow Models

2008-08-06T11:33:00.000-07:00

I am so thankful to have great friends with daughters that buy bows from me! They have supported me since the beginning of opening my shop and they still support me. It is amazing to see how much I have grown as far as making bows. I look at some of the first ones that I made and I think...oh my goodness did I really think that was cute....ha ha! I so enjoy being creative and trying new things. Here are some of the little models in their Mama's Girls Bows creations!

Thanks to Emily, Cheri, Michelle and Julie for the pics!

Slowly Re-Stocking Store

2008-08-05T13:08:00.000-07:00

As the holiday season quickly approaches and summer fades away...I am trying to re-stock the store. I took a much needed break during the summer to spend time with the girls and to deal with my surgery. So please check out all of the new bows and expect more to be added soon!

www.mamasgirlbows.etsy.com

Lump is BENIGN!

2008-08-05T13:06:00.000-07:00

GOD is GOOD! My lump came back benign! It ended up being a complex fibroadnoma! A fibroadnoma is a small rubbery lump common in young women. Mine ended up being complex because it also had a cyst in it. Luckily the pathologist found no malignant cells and no pre-cancerous cells. Now I can finally move on and not worry about that darn lump!!

Thanks for all of the prayers!

Waiting on Pathology....

2008-08-03T13:55:00.000-07:00

Waiting is something that I am not very good at. I am a worrier by nature and I like to have answers. My doctor put a rush on pathology and we should hopefully finally have the results of that as early as tomorrow afternoon. He called me today to check on me and I asked him if he thought it looked ok. He said that he and the pathologist cut it open together and that he could see the "blue head" of the cyst...hence it being a blue top cyst...but there was also a firmer area to it. He said statistically speaking because of my age and the way it looked that it should be ok but that we would just have to wait and see what the microscope says. I know that the Lord is watching over me and that it is in his hands but I am just so ready to move on from this. It has been so much a part of my life for almost a year and a half now. So please continue to pray for me over the next couple of days.

Town Festival

2008-08-02T19:02:00.000-07:00

Tonight we decided to take the girls to the little Town Festival/Movie in the Park event. We planned just to go the festival part and not the movie because I knew the girls would get eaten up by mosquitos! Luckily we were able to enjoy a few things before it started pouring down rain. The girls were able to look at the police cars, construction vehicles and fire truck. Maya got her hair done all funky and she also did spin art. The girls also got to ride in a cute little truck.

Surgery is Over!

2008-08-01T16:48:00.001-07:00

Yay....finally the end is here! Today was surgery day. It has been 6 weeks since they initially found the lump. I was a little nervous this morning but really felt at peace with the situation. I had done a lot of praying and I had a lot of friends and family praying for me as well. Once I got to the hospital it took them 3 times to try and get the IV in! I have terrible small veins. The vein in my wrist blew as soon as they got it in and man that is painful and now I have a nice puffy bruise to show for it. They took me back to surgery about an hour and a half after I first checked in. I heard them say that the IV wasn't in a good vein so once they put me to sleep they moved it again...this time to my hand. So if you are keeping count I had four different sticks for the IV. I was out within 5 minutes of going to the operating room and I don't remember a thing except for waking up in recovery and my doctor coming over to check on me. My wonderful doctor went and talked to my parents after the surgery was over. He said that he didn't find anything suspicious. In fact the lump wasn't as deep as he initially thought and it had shrunk some since my last ultrasound. He told my parents he thinks it is something called a blue top cyst. It was perfectly round and fluid filled.

Dr. Z numbed the area for a few hours so after I got home my husband had ordered pizza so I chowed down because I was starving since I couldn't eat or drink after midnight last night. I took my pain meds and now I am resting comfortably on the couch listening to my children cause chaos!

Did I mention that I had to have a tube down my throat? OUCH! I have been having a little bit of reflux lately so they thought it would be on the safe side to put a tube in. The first thing I said when I woke up is that I had a sore throat. Nothing a yummy frosty couldn't help fix.

The power of prayer is amazing and I am so blessed that I have a wonderful heavenly father that watches over me.

The picture is of my new bandaging! I feel like I had a boob job! ha ha

Surgery Tomorrow

2008-07-31T12:09:00.000-07:00

My surgery is tomorrow (Friday) at around 12:30 Atlanta time. Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers. I am looking forward to getting this thing out of my body!!

I Surrender All

2008-07-29T18:42:00.001-07:00

As Friday(the day of my surgery) quickly approaches I have been quite peaceful about the situation. I have already laid it all into the hands of my loving God as I know that he will watch over me. Yet as I learned some heartbreaking news this evening the fear and nervousness begin to creep back in. A friend on my mommy board that I have been on for over 3 years was diagnosed with breast cancer. She has two small boys around the girls age and it honestly just makes me sick. She is a fighter so I know that she will beat this but I am sad beyond words that she has to fight this battle. You know....CANCER SUCKS! She is so young and should be having the time of her life instead of fighting for it. When the doctors found my lump almost 6 weeks ago I literally freaked out. I thought back over the past few years at all of the stupid things I have been upset or worried about. I would get frustrated because Gracie didn't nap or because Matt and I had an argument. It put everything into perspective for me. There was no point in getting upset about those minor blips in life. I want to be around to watch my children grow up just like any other mother and I learned that I need to be thankful for every day that I have with them. No one is guarenteed tomorrow. My main point in this blog is to encourage young women to be aware of your body....do your self-breast exams! Don't think just because you are young that you won't get a lump of you won't get breast cancer. It does happen. The majority of lumps are benign but you must get it checked.

Please pray for me that my lump is benign and also pray for my friend and all the other women that battle this disease while trying to live their life.

My God is an AWESOME God!

Swimming with Grandad!

2008-07-29T10:30:00.000-07:00

The girls just love to go swimming with Grandad! Gracie asks me almost everyday if we can go swimming. Both of the girls love the water and are most certainly little fish. Today Gracie was practicing swimming without her floaties on and she did such a great job. She is getting very brave and will hopefully be quick to learn how to swim. Maya enjoyed checking out all of the other kids that were at the pool. She is so friendly and always has to be in the center of whatever is going on.

Creative Juices are Flowing!

2008-07-28T12:09:00.000-07:00

I went from having no desire to do bows or any crafts to having my creative juices flowing like crazy. Today I wanted to paint a skirt for Halloween to list in my store. Luckily it turned out so cute and if it doesn't sell then Maya can wear it! I also made a matching hair bow. Last year I painted Maya some jeans and so many people said how adorable they were!

Outdoor FUN!

2008-07-27T15:17:00.000-07:00

Today in this scorching 90 degree Georgia weather we decided to let the girls go outside and paint with their new paintbrush pens that we bought them. Gracie LOVES to paint! She is so creative! Within 5 minutes I was drenched in sweat because crazy me was outside in jeans. The girls on the other hand rarely seem to notice how darn hot it is outside and once they get started on something they usually don't willingly want to come inside.

Toddler Earrings!

2008-07-26T09:11:00.001-07:00

I have a new addiction.....toddler earrings! I have had such a blast over the last two days making these cute earrings and they look adorable on Gracie. A lot of the ones I am making are made out of custom made polymer clay beads so they are unique and be made to match pretty much anything you can think of! I have a few pair listed in my store and will be adding some new ones soon.

Five Years...

2008-07-26T09:00:00.000-07:00

Today is my 5 year wedding anniversary with Matt. He has to work all day so we celebrated yesterday by going to eat at Chili's ALONE! He also took me to Micheals to look for new ribbon and to Super Target! Whoo hoo!

It is hard to believe that it has already been 5 years! They have been some of the best and yet some of the hardest years but heck no one ever said marriage was easy now did they?