Who Needs Toys R Us ?

Potty Training Day 1.

My goal this summer is to potty train Maggie.  She has been waking up with dry diapers,she can sign potty and understands that is where you go.  She's been casually sitting on the potty every night before bath to get used to it.  How hard can this be ? Apparently,  this may be difficult because Maggie prefers to do the Chinese squat when she goes to the bathroom. Insert picture of Chinese bathroom below.  This is how it is done in China.  I took this picture at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing.

So far Maggie is floor trained ! She goes right when I take her off the potty all over the floor.  Ugh !!!

Favorites Friday.

I enjoy reading about other peoples favorites, so I thought I would start a Friday Favorites Post. Today's Favorites have nothing to do with children, toys, sewing or school.  They are things that help you look your best. I am not only a mother to three wonderful children, but I am a wife too and I think it is important to put a little effort in my skin and what I wear.  Not in a vain, think about it all the time way.  But, in a way that honors your husband. You know, like making a statement that says " I've not given up on myself". 
 Got me ?

 So, here it goes:

1.Olay Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream

I am much, much closer to being forty than thirty and my face was really starting to show it. I did a lot of research on the Olay Regenerist products and just dove in and tried them. 

Without sounding like a commercial - They are wonderful and I saw results in a day.  Even my hubby asked if I had done something different to my skin. While they are pricey, they are very worth it and my cream has lasted a long time. You don't need much and I just use this cream at night. 

2.Olay Regenerist Microdermabrasion and Peel

I love, love this kit ! It really smooths my skin out and helps with all that terrible sun damage I have.

Microdermabrasion, you are my BFF. LYLAS.

( In case you did not grow up in the eighties - that's Best Friend Forever, Love you like a sister)

3.Ulta - Pink-A BOO Nail Polish

I could not find a picture for this one, but trust me it is the perfect natural shade. Very flattering.  It's not very pink at all, but very natural without being white.  I don't know how to describe it, but it is very flattering. 

Love it !

4.Toms Kenya Stripe Wedges

These are the most comfortable shoes and so cute ! I got them for Mother's Day. I love Toms One for One program.  For every Toms you purchase they give a new pair of shoes to a child in need.  Plus, wedges really make your legs look good, don't they ?

Lived In Chic.

Last year, our family was invited over to eat dinner with a family that we adore and look up to.  They are a wonderful Christian family that has home schooled and is rearing five beautiful and Godly children.  They are an amazing family ! Their house is also beautiful and I couldn't wait to see what it looked like inside.  The dinner was perfect - fresh vegetables from their garden and a fresh peach cobbler with ice cream. It just doesn't get any better.  They asked if we wanted to tour the house and of course I said yes ! They had done many renovations on it and I loved how it was decorated.  But, the thing I loved more than anything was that there was laundry piled on the guest bed, the kids beds upstairs were still unmade, the master bath had towels hanging everywhere.  It was therapeutic to know that this family was a real, messy, family.  Their house was not dirty ( that's different), but it was beautifully lived in. And the best thing was that they never said " excuse the mess".  I loved that ! They were confident in the fact that they have kids and this is what it looks like most of the time. They were real.

Recently, The Nester posted about Lived In Chic and it was brilliant and wonderful.  Take a peek at the photos and watch the video at the end.  You'll love it. They are a reminder to me to stop worrying about everything not being in it's place, container, shelf or drawer and to enjoy the moments I have with my children regardless of the mess.  These are special times and one day the kids will be grown and gone and my house will be perfectly clean and quiet.  Then I'll be wishing there were Legos and jewelry all over the floor, dirty hand prints on the wall and sticky pop sickle wrappers on the kitchen table.   Oh the beauty that can be seen in the mess.

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Back Seat Fun.

Long car trips with a two year old does not always equal to fun.

Except when you have two amazing brothers !

They love Maggie so much !!

Ella Knot Pattern Review.

This is the Ella Knot Pattern by Carrie at Sew Happy and I am so happy that I found her blog and Etsy shop.  This knot pattern is very popular right now and you can find many different versions of this pattern ( I have three).  But, I have to say that I love Carrie's pattern the best.  It is a PDF downloadable pattern that is very easy and straight forward.  I made the top while Maggie napped one afternoon.  The shorts/capri pattern is from youcanmakethis.com and it is the easy fit pants pattern that I just shortened.

The Ella Knot pattern can be lengthened to make a dress or you can just leave it a lone as a shirt.  Also, if you go to Carrie's blog you can see all the beautiful outfits she has made.  I love to look at what fabric/color combinations she is using.  It is very inspiring and makes me want to sew all day.

Happy Sewing !

Back to Grayton Beach.

We went camping again at Grayton Beach.  

The weather turned out to be really good with no rain.

To me a perfect trip has biking and the beach.  

And that's just what we did every day.

That's not a pool, that's the Gulf of Mexico.  Isn't it beautiful ? I don't think I have seen it that clear in a long time. 

 No sign of oil either.

This was Maggie's third time to go the beach, but her first time to go in warm weather.  She did not like to walk in the sand, but she loved to play in it.  She also loved to be in the water all day !!

I bought these cleap, pink flip-flops at Target before we left and Maggie LOVED them !

We biked to Watercolor, SeaSide and Grayton beach. 

 It must be noted here that Walker and Will have new bikes because their old bikes fell off the camper bike rack in Elba, Alabama.  Rest in peace old bikes, we will miss you.

We spent several days hanging out in Sea Side at the ArtsQuest Art Festival.  Really cool art and bands !!

I made Maggie's outfit ( seersucker) and will be doing some sewing posts soon to review patterns like this one that I love.

Chuck's dad was one of the artists at ArtsQuest this week. 

 He does beautiful wood turning and has won many awards for his work.

Maggie's naps were always on the go poor thing. 

Short post today. Maggie is starting to really pitch some good fits and we have had to start dealing with them. Not fun.  At All.

Dancing.

You have turned my wailing into dancing:

You removed my sackcloth,

And clothed me with JOY.

Psalm 30:11

Royal Wedding Fashion review by Maggie.

Maggie was inspired by some interesting hat choices from the Royal Wedding.  Hats are so fun aren't they ?

 I've never seen such creative and fun hats in all my life.

Here is her rendition of the blue hat worn by...well, I have no idea who this lady is. 

While I think blue is a beautiful color, I think this hat lacks a certain feminineness, don't you think ?

Oh! Much better. 

A wide brimmed hat is so beautiful and regal.

  Understated and simple.

I think Maggie agrees.  

You can't go wrong with a simple, wide hat 

( and four random necklaces). 

Thankfully, it's ok for a two year old to over accessorize !.

Tornado Update...

Alabama death toll now at 250... please pray for all the families.

The Alabama Tornadoes.

April 27th, 2011 was a day we will all remember.  Not because we want to.  There are 162 deaths confirmed in the state of Alabama and officials think the number will be rising.  There are still search and rescue operations going on.

Yesterday, I watched as a huge tornado went right  through Tuscaloosa and barely missed Chuck's parents house and his brother's house.  All we could do was watch in horror and pray.  Then, we watched as the same tornado went through Birmingham and the surrounding suburbs again very close to where my parents and my brother's live.  We watched and prayed and I was a basket of nerves.

That night the storms reached our area, but thankfully went just to the north of us and we were spared.  We did use our "safe room" two times when we went under a tornado warning.  I was so proud of the boys as they knew exactly what to do and Maggie thought it was "fun" to wear her pink bike helmet.

Join us in prayer for all those affected by the tornadoes yesterday in what is being called one of the deadliest natural disasters in US history.

Do you have a tornado plan ?

There is a high risk for a significant outbreak of Tornadoes in our area today.  It is a very ominous threat and the weather forecasters are calling it a "major tornado outbreak" and other words like "a well organized system" and "a great threat" and " a high confidence in the forecast".  In other words, be prepared to go to a safe place when you hear your NOAA WEATHER RADIO go off.

We have gone over our family tornado plan with our children, checked to make sure we have batteries in our radios, flashlights are near, cell phones charged and helmets available.  We take this threat very seriously.

We have personally seen what damage tornadoes can do and know that having a plan is wise.

This is our safe room.  It is on the lowest level and in the center of our house.  It also has no windows which makes it even safer.   We have lined the helmets up in case we have to seek shelter and the boys each have a job in case we have to put our plan in action.  Hopefully, we won't have any bad weather here.  But, just in case, we are ready.  Are you ?

Maggie and the basket.

Easter Weekend.

Happy Easter ! We have had The Best Easter weekend so far.  The weather has been wonderful and Chuck's parents spent the weekend with us.  We celebrated Good Friday at our church Friday night with a beautiful service.  The boys sang with the Chapel choir and our adult choir sang too.  It was a very moving reminder of why we celebrate Easter - Christ's crucification and resurrection. 

 Hallelujah !

 We spent Friday afternoon outside playing.

Chuck and his dad worked all weekend on our square foot garden.  They put in a drip irrigation system that is amazing.  Both of them are brilliant, and it was so fun to watch them put their heads together on this project. 

 Hopefully, we'll have some big, juicy tomatoes soon !

Saturday afternoon, we got ready to go to our church's Easter egg hunt.

Maggie really loved hunting for the eggs and she LOVED her Easter basket.

She couldn't wait to pour all her eggs out of her basket and see what was in each one.

Sunday, we went to church.  

The boys sang during the morning service and again blessed us so much.

Chuck's mom cooked a big Easter southern lunch that was divine !  We had ham, collards, green beans, macaroni and cheese, sweet potatoes, cornbread and coconut cake.  Yum !

After lunch, Maggie did a little light reading.

  Oh how she loves a good book !

Side Walk Chalk Fun.

  There's been a big box of chalk sitting in our garage for years, just waiting for a little girl. 

 And she loved it !

And while she played and scribbled, I threw in some pre-school letter learning. 

( Thanks to Barney videos, Maggie knows most of her letters)

 I drew shapes in different colored chalk,

 And we reviewed shapes and colors.  

Maggie also made it into some sort of obstacle course, running and crawling through the shapes.

Then, we she got bored with that, she started lining them all up very carefully.

Of course, we had a lot of help from the world's best dog - Charlie !  Thanks for guarding the wagon and scooter Charlie. 

 You're the best !!!