Oldies, but goodies!

Brett had recently scanned some old family pictures and as I was going through them I can across these that I thought were too cute!

Pretty sure we must have been watching TV. I can still remember sitting in this exact spot watching Fraggle Rock on the rather large wood TV console.

I think this was my Aunt Janice's wedding.

I remember this dress well. I loved it!

Ha! Doesnt every kid love playing in the clothes basket!

Aww yes...the "big wheel"!

Boy, was I a scary witch. Pretty sure I won the Halloween costume contest at school that year!

Soon we will be hearing wedding bells!

These pictures are not in good order. The only thing I can figure out is that I downloaded the new version of Internet Explorer today and now I cant move things around in blogger. What a pain! Sorry, but I will try to explain what each of these are from.
On Saturday we celebrated the upcoming marriage of Amanda and Pete with a family shower at Grannie and Pops house. It was supposed to be a washout of a day, but ended up being pretty pleasant outside. We had planned to have a cookout and changed our plans because it was supposed to be stormy to soups/chili. It was great to get to see everyone, however there were many that were not able to be there and you were surely missed! It was also great to meet Pete's mom and dad who drove in from PA to come! Amanda and Pete got so many great things and as a result Grannie and I are hoping to get some great things too! LOL (a little inside joke) Ok I will explain...Amanda was telling me that she registered for new pots and pans because she simply didnt like the ones she had, so I told her that I wanted her old ones. SO, guess what we bought her? Her complete set of pots and pans! Also, Doris told her not to get rid of any of her colanders, etc..that she could really use them. Well, you guessed it. Doris got her new collapsible colander from B,B & B. We couldnt stop laughing! I thought it was actually pretty clever myself.

It was so great to get to see all of the kids together and a new addition- Miss Jacalyn Thompson! This is Kaitlyn's sister and yet another girl cousin for Mr. Connor. I tell you what, he is in trouble! The only boy so far, and it sounds like the pressure is on for me or An Am to give the Thompson family another boy. I sure hope so for his sake. LOL

Connor and Kaitlyn played so well that day. It was so sweet to see them having so much fun with each other! Funny story...I was giving C his bath that night and Kaitlyn really wanted to take one with him SO I gave them both a bath together. Sorry, I chose not to include these pics because well you know, but it was pretty cute! I also had my first experience giving 2 toddlers a bath. Whew!

The happy couple...Future Mr. and Mrs. Reckard!

Aww...how sweet!

Benita tying on Amanda's apron that we stuffed full of utensils for the game. Everyone had 15 seconds to see what she had in her apron and then had to list all of them.

All of the Thompson kiddos...minus the extra cute one (first one on the left). All girls and the one boy..poor Connor. He was so mad at Paisley (last one on right) for grabbing his arms. He kept pushing her off. It was hilarious!

Pete was very excited about his new tools!

Alicia and Miss Paisley

Brad was very eager to hold Miss Jacalyn. I think he really wants a new baby...Ha!

Ok, the day started off with Connor being totally obsessed with Pete's tractor that is being kept at Pops house right now. He loved riding around on it and wanted to go out and sit on it ALL DAY!

I love this picture with the beautiful cherry tree! My two farm boys!

A visit with Gigi and G Grandma

Sorry... these pictures are also out of order. If anyone has any tips, PLEASE let me know!

Connor trying to imitate Nonna who is making a face at him so he will give us a smile for the camera!

Great Grandma (Neal), Gigi (Hill) and Connor Nonna, Gigi, Me, and Connor

Now there's a CHEESE!

On our way home on Sunday from Rockwood we stopped by Nonna's house to see Gigi (who is visiting from NY for the next two weeks). We got to see her last week, but are trying to get in all of the time we can since she is only here for a short time and it will be a while until we see her again. It was also a bonus since Grandma was there as well. We had a good Sunday afternoon eating chili and enjoying each others company. The weather was pretty crummy so we needless to say we stayed inside. I dont know if I ever mentioned that my parents keep "everything"! I am not joking about this. Dad asked me to come up to the attic when I got there and we would dig out my old tricycle, Brett's tractor, and three wheeler. SO when you see the three wheeler Power Wheel from 1980, you will understand why! It is still in good condition and Dad plans on getting a new battery for it so Connor can really ride it. My tricycle was in pretty good shape as well, just a little squeaky. We brought it home and Connor is loving it! His legs are still a little too short but it wont be long until he is a pro. After showing him a few times I think he understands the concept of peddling so now we just need him to get a little taller!

Check this out!

I would like to invite all of you to visit this new blog for the English Garden Tea Room. As many of you know this is the tea room that my mom owns along with my aunt. Instead of keeping up a website, they decided to create this blog for their customers. If you are ever in the Gallatin area, you should visit! The food is great, however I know I am biased since it is my Mom who heads up the kitchen. They also have a gift shop with unique items for everyone's taste. You should check it out!

A night out with the souled out sistas!

Every third Thursday the girls from my class at church get together and have a time of fellowship. This was only my second time joining them, I missed last month. Usually they get together at one of the girls houses but this time Rebecca was in charge! She is the one in the picture with the burgundy sweater on AND she is also the one in my running group who made us wear that ridiculous Valentines Day garb a last month. She never ceases to amaze me with her creativity! She decided that we needed to have a scavenger hunt at all of the local businesses in Spring Hill. We met at Target and split into three groups and got our instructions. We got a list of hints for our locations and then we had corresponding index cards that gave us our mission while we were there.

1. Location: For our first adventure, go to "Marabeth's Hot Spot" where all your stresses will be rubbed away and you can get a new look. hint hint Natural Oasis

TASK: One girl volunteers to get pampered. Snap a picture. What this really meant was that one girl got (half) of her face made over with drawn on cat brows, tons of blush, and lots of lipstick (which was me) and the other girls got mustaches drawn on their faces. Obviously the staff was in on it. As soon as we ran in they were ready to work!

2. Location: There's one on every corner and you'll pay way too much for a "Cafe Con Leche". hint hint Starbucks

TASK: In a thick Southern accent, ask the coffee man, "Whats in a Mocha Frappachino?" Bring back one coffee bean. We had a little set back here because the guy behind the counter said the last group paid him $20 not to tell us. We were like please we dont have time for this.. just give us the info so we can go!

3. Location: Any local Petrol Station. hint hint gas station of choice TASK: Help a poor soul pump their fuel, wash their windows, and scrape the gunk off their car. Get a picture. This guy was so hilarious and we are thinking that he was on the FBI most wanted list because he insisted that we NOT get his picture. His wife sat in the car and just laughed as we washed her windows.

4. Location: Where the sweet lady sings " I smell something good!" hint hint Publix TASK: Assist a grocery shopper with all the items on their food list. Bring back list if possible. Snap another picture. The shopper we found could hardly speak english, but was such a trooper!

5. Location: Relive your younger years and have fun monkeying around. hint hint City park TASK: Play a game of hopscotch and outline each others bodies with chalk. Take pictures.

6. Location: Ronald's Playhouse hint hint McDonalds TASK: Jump in the ball pit and someone to take your picture.

7. Location: Where you can pick up Kibble-N-Bits hint hint any local grocery store Task: Open Envelope. Hand cashier picture (picture of 1/2 tiger 1/2 lion) Ask if they have any LIGER food. Snap a picture.

8. Location: Close but no cigar, shoot for the bull's eye. hint hint Target TASK: Go to guest services. Tell them you lost your sister in the laxative aisle. Have her paged: Sussanah Jean Laurie Mabel Bodufess Jr. We were also supposed to find a celebrity look a like around town but forgot until we were almost done. So I looked behind the counter and pointed, "Look its Cuba Gooding Jr." And he did actually look like him too. I think I totally made his day. We had to get his autograph and take another picture. So funny!

9. Location: Hope you've enjoyed "My fun"!! Last stop, head to where the fried green maters are always on the menu! (I used to work there.) hint hint Jeffreys Grille This is where our journey ended. Unfortunately we finished last. Blah! I dont like to lose. However, we took our missions very seriously and I have suspicions that a few select others cheated! Ha!

This was honestly a lot more fun than I thought it would be. To see peoples reactions to our faces, our questions, and tasks was so hilarious! One particular moment while we were in the McDonalds play area was the best. We all climbed into the slide and a lady walked up and said, "Son, Mommy needs you to get down RIGHT NOW!" It was so hilarious! I guess she thought we were a bunch of lunatics that escaped out of the nut house!

We were missing at least 1/4 of our girls but it was still a blast. Notice all of the mustaches!

This was one of the only pictures that I took. One of the other girls in my group took all of the rest and I wish I had them because I was the one in most of them. I am sure they were a hoot. It looks like Ashley is dead, but we had just finished drawing her body with the chalk!

What has been taking most of my time...

I told you there was a reason why I hadnt been blogging much lately and here are the pictures to prove it. First I started working on some more window mistreatment's for my kitchen doors with the help and inspiration from Nester. I wanted something to warm up the kitchen, but much more than that needed something to shield the sun in the mornings. It can be quite blinding and hot in the summer time. I was lucky enough to find the same fabric that I used on the kitchen chairs at Joann's and it was 40% off! I wanted to do some sort of roman shade look but wanted something to add a little more fun, so I dug through my closets and found these panels that were left behind when we moved in. It just so happened to match perfectly and it was FREE! I took my 50% coupon and purchased some trim for it, glued it on and presto! I bought some blackout liner to line the shades and unfortunately had to sew the hems by hand for the shades because the glue was bleeding through. I must learn how to use a machine...argh! Once I did that though I was able to glue the liner onto folds of the hems. This way no bleeding and it saved me so much time. I used my trusty safety pins again to get the folds for the roman shades and hung them with upholstery tacks. I got some metal rings and hung those with tacks as well since the left side of the door doesn't operate and we wont be moving these panels back and forth. It gives me the look I want without the cost of a rod, etc. Here is what I ended up with.

I also made this for above my sink. I had a linen store bought valance up there from Target and it had faded to almost white from the hot sun pouring through the windows. I should have known better...word to the wise...dont use cotton, linen or any other natural material where you have lots of sun coming in. It WILL fade your fabric very fast. Instead use a synthetic...polyester, nylon, viscose, etc. I need to add some trim to add some more flair, but havent gotten around to it yet. My glue will assist me with this yet again!

My dining room was next. Mom ordered some panels and tassels for me from Saro Trading Company. I just love their stuff, it is so affordable and they have some really fun stuff. I used to order from them when I worked at the store and now Mom carries it in her shop too. I was a little nervous picking things out from a picture since I couldnt match it exactly but it ended up working out great. I think this was just what I needed to add a little to the valances that Mom had made me.

On the weekend that Connor came down with the flu, my husband who is always ready for the next project said "Well, what home improvement project do you want to get into since we are stuck inside all weekend?" We decided to start on Connors big boy room instead of paying someone to paint it like originally planned. I wasnt sure what I really wanted to do before I started other than use blue and brown since it matches the bedding that we bought. I

have looked everywhere for a plaid bedding that would go with a golf theme bedroom that I liked and had come up with nothing. On a trip to the mall a couple of weeks ago, I decided to go into JCPenney's and look since I hadnt looked there yet and found a twin bed set on clearance for $50! I based the paint colors off of that and then came up with the golf ball design myself. I wanted it to be random and wasnt sure exactly how it would come out even though I had the look in my head. When I told Brad about it, he was really unsure but I decided to go for it anyway. I used the circle templates that I had used for Connors nursery for the golf balls and then painted on the shadows free hand. It was a bit time consuming but not as much as you would think. I would say the balls, grass, etc only took me about 3 hours total. Brad did the rolling and I did the trim work on the walls so we knocked it out pretty quick too. I made the valance on the window and attached it with my tacks and then used some old panels that we had in our bonus room at the old house and glued brown pom-pom fringe on the sides. The only thing I dont like is that the panels dont go to the floor but it doesnt bother me that bad so I am just going to live with it. I think it turned out pretty cute and boyish. I will take some final pictures when I get everything else in there (furniture, bedding, decor).

We also decided that it was time for a change in our bedroom. I can honestly say that I am pretty happy with every other room but have never loved my own room. We had a pretty good set up at the other house but when we moved here it just seemed thrown together. I was tired of the red so we began casually looking for deals at the department stores for some nice, high quality bedding. We fell in love with the Hotel Collection at Macy's but the price tag wasnt so nice! Brad came home and immediately went to Ebay and we found this set that wasnt at the store currently because it was a closeout. We again took a leap of faith and ordered the coverlet from the picture online and since it was only $30 we thought if we didnt like it we could either resale it or use it for something. We liked it pretty well and decided to order the other pieces. We have only been able to get one euro pillow sham so far. I am hoping for another, however if we dont get it then I will just use it as is now and fill in with some smaller pillows around it. We decided to go with white sheets, but here is where YOU come in... I need some help deciding what to put on my wall over the bed. Our large picture no longer worked so it came down and now I want something totally different. I dont want "wall art". I am thinking of maybe a collage of clean white plates, platters, etc., OR sconces with greenery, OR old white ceiling tiles. Do any of you have ideas? If so feel free to comment and give me some inspiration. I am also debating on painting the walls. I dont like the builder beige but I am not sure what other color I would use besides white. I am not sure I would like that either. Again, any ideas- please feel free!

Yes, those red curtains are coming down. I am thinking of doing some white faux silk panels with a (you guessed it) window mistreatment tacked on the wall behind them.

My little man

Our little man isnt so little anymore! He is growing and changing so much every day. Not a whole lot of major changes lately, just saying more, doing more and a little more attitude each day! Ha! He is really very laid back and I know I have so much to be thankful for, for this. He is such a sweetheart and I am so glad that we started teaching him manners early because that has really paid off and now he says, "thank you", "excuse me", "your welcome", and "I'm sorry" and "I love you" without prompting! If there is something that impresses me about some children it is definitely good manners so this has been a matter of importance to me. I want him to show respect to everyone he comes in contact with and this is one way to show it. If he is walking through the room and Cooper is lying in his way, he will say "Oh excuse me Cooper" and walk around him. It is so cute! He will come up to me out of the blue and crawl into my lap, give me a kiss and say "Oh I love you Mommy" or "I love you so much". It just melts my heart. I am sure that it is probably because I tell him I love him about 10 times a day at least. If there is one thing he will never forget, it is how much he is loved! Brad is very good about this also, and I am so thankful for that.

We are so excited to finally get to spend more time outdoors now that it is getting warmer. This is where Connor really comes alive! I suppose it is the same for every child but you just cant get him inside when it is time to come in.

I dont know if I have blogged about it yet, but Connor is now drinking MILK! No more milk and dairy allergies! We are so relieved and I cant tell you how awesome it is not to have to buy that expensive Soy anymore! Now I still trying to get a good idea of how much milk we go through in a week. Just cant seem to get it right. I am one that likes to go to the grocery once every two weeks, but lately that just hasnt been possible. He can now eat the squeezable yogurts and he loves them! I have to cut him off some days because he would keep eating them. His eating habits haven't gotten much better. Still struggling in that department.

He will say some of the funniest things sometimes. One specific thing doesn't come to mind except for this that happened about a month ago. We had a first! Connor did a #2 in the tub. I was putting away towels in the closet just outside the bathroom and I heard him say, "I want it out, Mommy. I want it out!" He was playing with his bath toys so I figured that was what he was talking about and finished what I was doing, turned around, looked and saw! It was kind of under him, so I picked him up and it must have grazed his foot and he FREAKED! Screaming and clinching to me, he was completely scared to death. When I got him out of the tub he looked in and said, "Look Mommy, its a stick. Look Mommy, its Coopers bone!" I about died. I almost dropped him I was laughing so hard. Unfortunately this was the week Brad was traveling so it was just me to share in the humor and fun of cleaning it up.

Connor can now count to 14 and knows all of his shapes, most colors and is starting to remember key words in his books. I will be reading and before I can get out the words he is already saying it from memory. I just wish my memory was half as good as his. He never forgets a thing! They are much smarter than I give them credit for sometimes. Connor continues to bring so much joy to our lives! We cant imagine it without our little Connor man.

Giving Mommy's bunny a kiss!

Cooper, where are you?




This is a little video of Connor from Tuesday night. He was singing along with Jewel who was singing on of my favorites (Somewhere over the rainbow) on Dancing with the Stars. He apparently thought she needed to "bang the drums". Listen... Brad told him that he didnt get his Mama's singing voice. Ha!

A great weekend with family!

We had got a visit from the whole Thompson family this weekend...An Am and Pete came in on Friday night and Grannie and Pops got here on Saturday morning. After I got home and showered from my run, we decided to take Connor to Chuck E Cheese for lunch since it was raining and there wasnt much else to do. Apparently everyone else in town also thought it was a good idea too because it was a zoo in there! I guess I didnt even think about the fact that it was a Saturday and it was raining to boot! The worst part was that Connor was so overwhelmed with the crowd of people that he didnt want to ride any rides or do anything really. He just kind of walked around looking lost. He did have a good time counting his "coins" though. You know the ones they give you in the cup to play the games with..so funny. Maybe next time we just need to go in and get some coins and leave! When we got home Connor entertained the men while the ladies got to work on Amanda's flower arrangements for her wedding reception. We got several finished and they are going to be beautiful! That night we took An Am and Pete to Loveless Cafe (Grannie and Pops had already left to go home) to eat some comfort food since all we had that day was overpriced pizza from Chuck E's. We got to take the scenic "Natchez Trace" route although it was quite rainy and foggy. I think it made An Am and Pete kind of sick in the back of the van with all of the back roads...Luckily they recovered quickly to eat some of the finest southern food known in Nashville! It is one of those places that Nashville is known for and I totally recommend it if you are ever in the area. We had a great time and I could just kick myself for not taking my camera. Sorry...no pictures. Everyone left on Sunday :( We had a great time seeing everyone. It has been too long since we were all together. Thanks for coming up our way, especially in such crummy weather!

Sorry no pics of Pops...he was missing in action probably trying to escape ALL of the people!

While we were eating, Daddy was busy being the other "little boy" in the family and playing games! This is how he found us.

Shootin' some hoops!For some reason this was the only game Connor wanted to play. The good thing was that you didnt even have to put any money in!