Mirror re-do

So my hubby went on his annual bike week trip to Daytona a few weeks ago. Graciously my mom agreed to stay with me Wednesday thru Sunday. I'm a scared chic who doesn't like to stay by herself. And Tanner enjoyed seeing someone else besides me every day. While he was away, I decided to surprise him with a little crafty project. Well, actually my amazing stepdad did all of the work. I didn't do much of anything, except grout and clean :) 

I saw this cute project on Pinterest {gosh, I know. I've got to chill with this site}. Since we moved in our new home, it's all builder grade stuff. The basic mirrors that are blah. So I told Mike {that amazing stepdad of mine} that I wanted to frame them. He went to Lowe's a few times and brought me samples of trim until my picky self chose one that I loved. He cut all of the trim down for me and into the 45 degree angels that it requires. We used glue to adhere them to the mirrors and then caulked around the insides. I originally wanted them white (Mike painted them for me too!), but now that they're up I think I'll go back and put some antiquey (I'm aware that's not a word) stain stuff on them to brighten them up and make them pop more. I'm in LOVE with these new frames! It makes our bathrooms feel brighter and didn't cost but around $60 for all materials and paint. That's a steal if you ask me...you just have to put in a little work {or have a family member self willingly do it for you}. 

Mikey doing what he does best :)

Poppi let Tanner help!

Before of our half bath. Sorry I'm not so hot at taking pics.

After of our half bath. I love it!

Totally forgot to get a before of our bath and excuse the hot mess and no hand towels hanging. I was trying to rush before my hubby got home =) But this is after in our bath!

I have many more projects in my head that Mike will hopefully agree to help me on :) A big project that we're gonna tackle is building me a farmhouse table for my dining room! Ahhh I can't wait! 

One last thing. Let me just tell you how much I'm in love with country music. Yep. You read that right. I'm from the south and I love country music. I bought tickets to see George Strait late last year for one of Trevor's 30th birthday gifts. The concert was this past Friday and it was nothing short of amazing. We had the best time and Mr. Strait was just perfect! 

My bffeih at dinner before the concert. We have went to soooo many concerts together. I was super glad to add this one to the books :)

The cutest lil couple I know!

My precious hubby...just love him to pieces!

This man can sing.

Our sweet friends...sooo fun!

Ahhhmazing! Such a cute cowboy!

Hope ya'll had a great weekend! I'm really looking forward to spending time with my family this coming weekend for Easter and then on Monday my sweet lil monkey will turn the big 2! OMG makes me sad! Anywho...I've been saving up some yummy recipes to share. Well, I thought they were good at least. Maybe not the rest of my household :) Until next time...

Magan

Comparing...mom post #01

So this is totally a mom post. Maybe someone can relate, who knows?! So here we go...

As a mom, do you ever find yourself comparing your child to other children their age? This has happened to me since Tanner was born. He has two cousins; one that is a month older and one that is a month younger. It’s inevitable, I think. Every milestone, whether it was when he first rolled over or took his first steps, was compared to his cousins. {Not by their moms, but by me} I think that my child is perfect in every way. What mom doesn’t? I find myself comparing a lot less these days, but when he’s around his cousin(s) I do. His girl cousin is a month older and she is smart as a whip. She talks plain and can sing songs and do many other things. I’m sooo very proud of her! BUT, I realize that Tanner isn’t doing all of the same things. And vice versa.

I’ve heard many times that boys and girls communicate and share different forms of dialogue. It was more evident than ever while I was in GA with my niece. Girls play different and talk different. It seems that girls tell more of a story and boys are more on the lines of grunting or yelling. Girls like to play with their toys gently, boys like to wrestle and roll every where. Meaning, they’re totally different and at times, incomparable.

This takes me to my next point. Just because I can embroider, does that mean that I’m smarter or craftier than someone else? Does it mean that I’m more advanced than someone who can’t embroider? Heck no! It just means that it’s a skill that I’ve acquired by practice. Did I teach myself overnight? Again, heck no! It took me a few years to master the techniques. Therefore, as much as I repeat “thank you” and “please” to Tanner he may not pick it up in 2 days or 2 weeks. He’s hard headed and head strong, meaning he may not say it till he wants to. {And that’s exactly how he rolls…on his terms, not mine}

It makes me wonder am I doing everything I should as his mom. Am I teaching and playing with him enough? Should I send him to school more than one day a week so he can be around other children more? My answer to this one is definitely no! I love my time with him and his grandparents love the time they spend with him. I feel very, very beyond blessed to spend as much time with him as I do. Should I clear out a room and have no toys or TV and put a school desk in there for us to learn for an hour a day? My answer to that is no. He is a toddler, not even two years old yet. I want him to explore and learn through playing and watching his mom and dad and other children. He will be in school for the next 14 years of his life. I want him to enjoy his toddler years having FUN!

Therefore, I vow to myself as a mom to not compare him to others. God chose me to be his mom for a reason. He trusted me enough to put His child in my hands to love and teach while here on earth. I am beyond proud of him. He can name almost every farm animal, he can say please when he wants to, he can tell you yes or no when he wants something {or doesn’t want something}, he can count (kind of lol), he can say I love you, he can tell you many things about a choo choo, and the list could go on and on.

So Tanner, when you read this one day I want you to know that your momma is so very proud of you and I think you’re a genius! You do things that amaze me every day. You’re full of energy and you love to have fun. You love to tell stories and be theatrical while doing so. You love to be outside and run free. You love to learn new things and say new words. And you also love to jabber in a foreign language. And I love every bit of you.

I’m human, as like all moms are. If you have ever felt like this before, know that you’re not alone. My best friend always tells me that Tanner is so smart and yes, we compare our kids {to each other only} because we think they are just amazing little people. So if you ever feel like you’re not teaching them enough because they can’t sing the abc song by the time they’re two, realize that it’s okay. They’ll get there. Maybe not today or a month from now…we all work at our own pace, that includes our little ones.

Such a big boy at the park. I love that little smile :)

**I wrote this post almost 2 weeks ago. As I reflect on it today, I’m in awe of my son. In just two shorts weeks he has morphed into a different child. I’m not saying he’s turned into an angel…go in the other direction. Lol, totally kidding. He is starting to show us and tell us what he wants {and I mean EXACTLY what he wants} and speaks in some sentences now. Just yesterday at the park he said "Daddy go climb". His dad was climbing on the monkey bars.What?! How did he know that?! It’s crazy. It’s so crazy, that I’m over the moon excited about all that he’s doing and the little boy he’s turning out to be. I’m so in love with this child sometimes I think my heart could bust. And then sometimes, like yesterday, I get so frustrated and mad at him that I think he just needs to spend most of his day in time out for his crazy behavior. Oh the joys of parenthood. No matter how he acts, I love that boy so stinkin much and I love being his momma. 

Happy boy ~ loves being outside!

Hope everyone has a great Wednesday! My husband informed me last night that I haven't blogged in a week. He actually reads these...that makes me happy :) I have been dealing with a teething baby who last molars just don't wanna come through. And I've had lots of embroidery orders...which makes me uber happy, by the way! Needless to say, I've been crazzzyyyyy busy. Just the way I like it =) So until next time {whenever that me be lol}....

Magan

Cousin love...

Helloooo and happy Wednesday! I have been totally missing here lately. But for good reasons, I might add. Guess who visited us this weekend?! That wonderful, nasty little virus! Yep, it hit me and Tanner. Lucky dad never gets it....thank goodness. It was only 24 hours this time, but Tanner is also trying to cut his last molars and that's causing the yuckyness to stick around for him if ya know what I mean. Needless to say, I'm over this junk and ready for my happy, healthy baby to return.

We visited my nieces in Georgia last week and had such a fun time! The littlest itty bitty turned two and we got to celebrate with her on her actual birthday. Tanner had a blast and discovered he loves drums and their play kitchen. Not sure where I'd put either in our already toy overflowing house, but I'm sure I could find room for one...the kitchen. The drums, well those would have to stay at one of the grandparents houses =) I'm so glad we could visit for a few days. Cousin love is the absolute best. I know for a fact because I have some pretty amazing ones!

Bed time milk and snack with his cousins!

Noisy house right at this moment. We have itty bitty on the drums and T man on the keyboard :)

Tea time...love their little imaginations!

Pure sweetness...telling him bye. Wish we just lived a little closer.

We woke up Wednesday morning to SnOw! Tanner has never seen snow, so I was super excited {and a little sad since his dad wasn't there to see him in it}. It snowed for a few hours, but by the time we got the kiddos dressed and ready to go outside it was already starting to melt. Oh well, Tanner got to see it, taste it, touch it, etc. so it was well worth it. 

Figuring it out...

Playing :)

First snow for Tanner...yayyyy! 

Other than that little virus attacking our house again, we had a good weekend. We took Tanner to the park Sunday afternoon...the weather was beautiful here and he had tons of fun. We decided to go eat at Wild Wings after. Why did we do that?! Not only was he tired from playing, but he also doesn't like to sit still. We managed to eat and leave, so we did pretty good =)

Such sweetness right here.

Fun times with this wild man!

He actually sat still for a second :)

Daddy and his lil mini me. 

So I found this brilliant little idea on Pinterest, I know surprise surprise. I thought I'd share just because it has saved me some cleaning time and it makes the inside of my fridge prettier. Seriously, it does.

I bought these 15x15 vinyl placemats at Fred's for $2.50 each. All you have to do it take them out and clean them. No more taking those shelves out and scrubbing them forever.

Whoever thought of this, thank you. You have saved me some much needed cleaning time.

It's a busy, busy month in our household. We have the big 2 year old birthday coming up, so that means party planning for momma. My fave!!! I've also been busy embroidering away. Thank goodness because it fills up so much of my time...time that otherwise would be spent catching up on DVR {reality tv} and eating Girl Scout cookies. So thank you to all of my wonderful customers for keeping me preoccupied doing something productive :) I hope ya'll have a great hump day. Almost the weekend! Until next time...

Magan

Pay it forward...

Happy Monday! I can't believe the weekend flew by so quickly and I can't believe March is already here! We had a low key weekend with lots of family time...which is always nice! We had our normal Sunday family day. Tanner wasn't so excited about leaving the house for church. Maybe because that crazy boy was up at 6:30 throwing Mr. Bear out of his crib and cried till I went and got him. But we still went  and I'm thankful. Sunday night Trevor's parents came by and Tanner answered the door and let them in. Gosh, when did he get so big?! He always has a blast with his Pop and Cha Cha! And I'm pretty sure he wears them slap out with the loads of energy that he has.

My two loves!

Cranky, tired boy. But he had fun at church, like always.  Momma knows best :)

Sunday night sporting Pop's hat and eating snacks.

No caption needed =)

He didn't want to give that hat back and he didn't want them to leave either!

I wanted to give ya'll a follow up on my random act of kindness in honor of Coach Snipes from Friday's post. The lady that God put on my heart lives in my hometown and visits the store that I work at a few times a week. She has a sweet spirit about her, though she may not have much. I went and bought her groceries and a gift card to Hamrick's (a store I know she likes) before I went into work Saturday morning. I went by her house but she wasn't there and I left a note telling her to drop by the store when she could. She stopped by shortly thereafter. I told her about Coach Snipes and the FB page that had been created in his honor. I went on to tell her that God had put her on my heart and that I bought her groceries and a gift card so that she could buy herself an Easter dress to wear to church. Through her tear filled eyes she told me that I was an angel. She said she asked God to help her get out of bed today, but had no idea He would send this for her. She just couldn't get over the fact that someone else took time to think about her and provide stuff that she really needed. She was so very excited, which made my heart fill so full. She wanted to know who to send a thank you note to, but instead I told her to pay it forward...which she said she was surely going to do. 

It takes just a moment to brighten someone else's day. It doesn't have to be with material goods, but even with just a note, a sweet word or a helping hand. I will strive to be more kind and helpful to others. I'm proud to be from an amazing small town and have went to a high school where one teacher made such an impact on our community. I'm so very proud. And I'm honored to have known this incredible man and teacher. I hope that we can all pay it forward and share our kindness with those who need it the most, just like Coach Snipes always did.

Tanner and I are off to Georgia tomorrow to celebrate my nieces second birthday with her! I'm so super excited to see my family and my old friends. And eat some amazing bbq from the Pink Pig. It's the best eva! Hope ya'll enjoy your week! Until next time...

Magan

Foodie Friday

It's Friday...yayyy!!! I'm not sure why I'm so excited, I don't have anything super exciting planned for the weekend. Actually I do. I'll be spending it with the two loves of my life ~ Trevor and Tanner. Hope ya'll have some fun stuff planned! 

I tried out two different Pinterest recipes this week. I was on a roll. Until last night and then it was freezer food out of a box. Thursday's always get me. I tried making these melt in your mouth pork chops on Tuesday {found here}. I tried is the key word. I'm not sure what I did wrong, but they were so stinkin dry. Oh and the juice slipped out of my tinfoil and left a hot mess in my stove. Now I have to figure out how to get it clean. BUT they were really tasty. Maybe I left them in the oven too long while the rest of my food was finishing up. I will attempt them again because it was a different twist to normal pork chops that I season and cook on top of the stove. If you try them and they're not dry, puhlease tell me what you did =)

Just a few ingredients needed. 

Sprinkle with lemon pepper seasoning, brush on some olive oil, drop butter and worstchire sauce on it...

Cover tightly in foil. Note to self: cover a lot tighter the next time or put on a cookie sheet.

The finished product!

I was so busy Wednesday night trying to get supper ready that the only pic I snagged was of the final product. This crispy cheddar chicken was ahhhhmazing!! You can find the simple recipe here. I didn't make the sauce to go on top, I just made the chicken and it was delish. I always buy boneless chicken tenders. I do that for a few reasons...you can get them in large packs, I split them up into 7 pieces {how many we eat each time} and freeze them, they thaw out quick and it doesn't take as long to cook them. Please try this. You won't be disappointed. Me and the hubs loved it. 

Makes me hungry just looking at it.

And on another note, a dear special teacher that taught at my high school passed away this week. Coach Snipes was such a Godly man who was always so encouraging to others. He would always have a smile on his face when you saw him and was always in the best of moods. He was a ray of sunshine around our high school and one teacher that I will never forget. In honor of him, a few of his previous students started a FB page encouraging others to show random acts of kindness. Simply because he was a man who was always kind no matter who you were or what your situation was. I have had his family on my mind all week and have prayed about what God would want me to do in order to show my random act of kindness. This is something I want to strive to do every day in his honor, but God also placed a very special lady on my heart. I plan to do something for her and will update ya'll next week. If you get a chance, would you perform a random act of kindness in honor of this amazing man? Even if you didn't know him, I sure bet someone would be appreciative of your kind gesture. If we all did this, maybe the world would be a little brighter and a little bit happier. Prayers for the Snipes family today and the days to come!

I hope ya'll have a great weekend! I'll leave you with this precious picture I snapped last night without him knowing. My sweet Tanner will be 2 years old a month from today. Oh my where has the time gone?! He is such an amazing little boy who has stole my heart! His little features are something I want to treasure forever...I'm in love with his lil button nose, blonde curly hair, long eyelashes and just his cute face in general. =) I'm not biased at all, huh?! Nahhh just in love. Until next time...

Magan

Family time...

It's Tuesday, already?! This week is flying by for me. I hope ya'll had a great weekend! Ours was full of lots of family time. Oh how I adore and love being with my family! Trevor and I had a nice little date night on Friday and we slept till 9:00 on Saturday. Can I get a woop woop for this mom!? That was soooo needed! Best.sleep.ever. And I really needed it because the rest of our weekend was jam packed.

We threw my sweet Mama a surprise 80th birthday party. Well, we tried to throw her one. She really surprised us instead. Her and my great aunt Mary had a little miscommunication...Mary was going to pick up Mama at 4:30 for a "family reunion" but Mama thought she had to be at the church at 4:30. We were getting the food out on the table and I turned around and there Mama stood with a cake she had baked in her hand. Bahaha...it was not funny at the time, but it really is now. That is so her...can't get anything past that nosy woman! So we said surprise and then grilled her as the why she was there. Nonetheless, she was surprised and had an amazing time. We were so thankful for everyone that came. I know it made her feel so loved and appreciated. I know I sure appreciate her...she's amazing!

Mama's beautiful lil cake :)

With her two granddaughters...Liz is the adopted one =)

Wild, running lil monkeys!

The kiddos...nothing better than watching them have so much fun together!

My brothers...I'm a blessed girl to have two amazing siblings!

Our family! 

Mama with her daughters & granddaughters!

Curly goes no where without his choo choo these days!

Looking at her picture board...many sweet memories!

My two nieces live in Georgia and they were home for the weekend. The oldest is almost 5 and the youngest will be 2 next month. They are hilarious and Tanner loves them so very much {and Trevor and I do too}. Tanner got to play with them Saturday night at the party and then they stopped by Sunday before heading home. He learned how to share {kinda} and take turns...thanks to the oldest one for teaching him that. They put on a dance show for me on their stage outside. It was perfect. Hilarious to say the least. My heart was overflowing with love being around those precious kiddos.

Ready for church! We were ready to go after missing the last few Sunday's due to that awful stomach bug!

My sweet big girl!

Love her :)

Tanner getting a ride from his cousin!

Dance party in action...Love!

In other news, well there's not really any. I was so stinkin lazy yesterday. I'm not even lying. I didn't do a thing except eat and lay around. I probably gained 5 pounds. So sad. Oh I did go to Target, which I've missed so very much since we've moved and it's no longer 10 minutes down the road. But seriously, I do have some yummy looking recipes I'm going to try this week. I'll share if they turn out good. And if they're nasty, well you'll never know about it.

I'm off to try and gain some motivation to do something productive on this nasty, rainy day. Hope ya'll have a great rest of your day! Until next time...

Magan

Gettin' it together!

Hey all! So my friends think I'm a little crazy with my organization problem and how peculiar I am about my routines. I've been a routine kinda person for a longggggg time and it got even worse once Tanner came along. BUT it makes me happy and each day starts out better when you have it together. So, I thought I'd pass along a few of my crazy organization/routine obsessions. If it helps me, it may help one of ya'll! Enjoy and don't judge lol.

1.  Lay things out the night before. I'm not a morning person so this is a must. I pack Tanner's diaper bag, have his water ready in the fridge and lay his clothes and diaper/wipes out. If he has school the next day, I lay everything out that I need to pack for his lunch. 

May be a little crazy, but it helps. Everything I need is there, so in the morning it's a breeze to pack his lunch and we make it to school on time. Hoorah!

2.  Make up your bed before it's time to go to sleep. This drives Trevor crazy and he thinks it's pointless. Me...well, I love it! I may do it first thing or if I don't have time then I do it when I get home. Try it. It'll make you feel a little more put together. 

3.  Pick a day to do your child(rens) grooming =) I cut Tanner's nails every Wednesday and make sure his ears are nice and clean that day too {I do it other days, but that's the day that we really focus on it}. It gives me a set day so I don't forget and he doesn't go to school the next day scratching kiddos. 

4.  Decide what's for breakfast the night before. This doesn't really apply to me because I eat the same thing almost every day, but when I lay down at night that's one of the things I think about for Tanner. That way when I get up in the morning I'm not scrambling around the kitchen. I know exactly what he's having and it's ready in 5 minutes or so.

5.  Straighten up every night. Our living room is mainly our playroom. We don't go upstairs that often and the majority of Tanner's toys are downstairs. Therefore, our living and bedroom looks like a tornado every night. Tanner helps most nights and then I finish it up with the big toys. This makes watching TV after he goes to bed much more relaxing. I don't have to stare at stuff all on the floor. And it's clean in the morning too...even better!

6.  Get the dishes out of the sink before you go to bed. Since I've gotten married, I've always loved this one. Trevor hates it so he deliberately leaves his cups in the sink before he goes to bed. Lazy man...all he has to do is put it in the dishwasher. Get it together hunny =) This helps keep the dishes from piling up, especially after breakfast each morning. 

7.  Get yourself prepared for the next day. When I used to work every day I would lay my makeup out on the counter, lay my outfit out for the next day (go ahead and iron it the night before too), put my cup by my purse and stick my cereal bar in my purse. Sounds like a lot of work and kinda crazy huh?! It takes all of 5-10 minutes and wayyyyy less work the next morning. I still do this if I know I have to get ready the next day. 

8. Have a routine for your child(ren). We do the same thing every night with Tanner. Eat dinner, play, bath time, drink milk/have a snack, wind down and watch cartoons or play, brush our teeth, change diaper, clean up and head to bed. This helps us so much. Tanner always knows what comes next and bed time is never an issue. Knock on wood. =)

9.  Make out your grocery list and pick a day to go. My day to go to the grocery store is Sunday's while Tanner naps after church. It works well for us and I like sticking to this routine. I plan out my meals for the week and know exactly what I need. That way I'm not running to the store a million times during the week. It also helps us save money because if I go to the store during the week, I not only buy what I need but I also gander and buy useless stuff. Yes, I'm a woman and sometimes I just want to spend money on nonsense. 

10.  Be prepared for your upcoming week. Keep an agenda or use the calendar in your phone (that's what I do) or make a little dry erase board for your kitchen. Whatever works for you. Just write it down and keep up with it. It helps to know everything you have going on for the week, that way you can be prepared for meals, etc. 

I made this dry erase board for my bff to hang in her kitchen. I gave her the gift of organization for Christmas lol! She said she loves it and it really helps keep her on track and motivated for the week!

Short and sweet, but these things really help me out a lot. Some sound crazy and over the top, but try it!! You may find one that works and helps you out. Being organized and having a routine really do make a world of difference and make for a happy home. 

Hope ya'll have a great Friday and an even better weekend! We have a busy, but fun weekend ahead. I'm looking forward to spending some time with my sweet nieces who will be in town this weekend! But for now, I'm off to organize. Ha totally kidding. I'm going to do absolutely nothing while my sweet boy is asleep. Until next time...

Sleepy head! Love this sweet face!

Magan