Thursday, September 8, 2011

in a nut shell (literally and figuratively)

OK, so yes... I realize I promised another post soon... but ya know, I try to make it happen, and then it just doesn't... SO SORRY! I've completely accepted that I've lost the only few readers I had! But, for the one Sugar and Spice die harder out there hanging on to dear life having faith in me and my blogging, there is good news!! Unlike all my other 'catch-up posts' this one will be short and sweet... NOTHING like my others! I need to get my feet wet again and get in the hang of this again!
I can't even begin to explain all the ins and outs of what's been happening since my last post- it definitely would not be the "short and sweet" post mentioned above!
Needless to say, the 'cliff's notes version' of the last 2 months are as follows:
~we have been doing some things to the house
~the girls have started back at school
~they are both in ballet...




~I have started back at school too, in Grad school at that...ugh!

Oh and not to mention, for the past two months while we were having work done to the house, we have been living with... drum roll please... do I dare to even say it... yes, we have been living with this...


(I think the quality of the picture adds more dramatic affect so I'm rollin with it!)

...OUR IN-LAWS!!!

So basically, need I say any more!?

Thursday, June 16, 2011

LIFE...

...if only it were just as easy as swapping cards and placing blue and/or pink pegs in a car... or as easy as a picture on the beach makes it seem...

Christmas, New Years and Easter for that matter have all come and gone since my last post on {Christmas Eve, Eve}, but now I am back on to blogging... well, hopefully for now at least!
I would love to say this would be a short little 'catch up session, but you and I know better... but I will try and be as short and sweet as possible so I do not jump in head first and knock myself out, ruining all chances of me not coming back and blogging for a while... again... and more importantly run off those few that have actually stuck around having faith in me returning! THANK YOU TO THOSE WONDERFUL BELIEVERS!!
So, here goes a snapshot of what we have had going on...
(listed only in the order I pull them out from the deep, dark, dusty, corners of my mind)
*Chayse has several food "sensitivities" which is causing her terribly itchy eczema (this in an of itself is an entire post- for possibly another day...)

                 ~ she reacts more so from eggs and milk, and especially from peanuts
                 ~ she is also pretty allergic to gary... the diabetic cat that won't seem to parish anytime soon


*I want to just kick him to the curb, but to appeal my husband, and the girls seem to obsess over him too- i'll just settle for keeping the cat and replacing all the carpet with hard wood floors and having a maid come and clean frequently to remove all cat hair and dander...
this is what he leaves behind during the months he is shedding badly...

UGH!! it haunts me...
I can graciously and willingly bring him by someone's house if anyone needs any motivation to clean their home!!
Basically... one day, when I stop stressing about her allergies, I will thank Chaysie for her eczema in helping persuade Ryan to get a housekeeper, and getting rid of our awful carpet! although... this has been since February, and nothing has been done yet, so... basically... we shall see if we get rid of anything other than disgusting floating cat hair I guess...?
Moving right along-
* Ryan has started working for a Utility company- a random change from banking, I know!
* He also managed to hold the fort down while I enjoyed a wonderful -and well needed- gals trip with crazy cath (my mom) and babugs (the sis)




* Maybe Ryan handled my absence so well knowing we were headed to the beach once I got back home...


-on a side note... I'm obsessed with this photo! I love it! oh, and the one with me in the middle of them (shown at top of post)

*And I have to mention Easter since it too has already come and gone...


aren't their Easter outfits beautiful!?
And no, your eyes are not playing tricks on you, the things you think are sticking out of Chayse's Easter basket, are actually things she is wearing... yes, those are balls sticking out of her head, wings on her back, pajamas (inside out) and minnie mouse high heals...
But I will say, she pulls it off very well!

*And Sloan is quite the negotiator- she seems to get her way more frequently than not- so when it comes to the outfits she picks out... I just let her do her thing.  She has gotten so big and I feel she has grown so much in the past couple months... and I could not possibly do her justice in a couple sentences, or even a blog post, but I will definitely try in a post dedicated to her soon...
Most recently she had her end of the school program...


and has since confirmed she is obsessed with singing, dancing, and doing whatever it takes to try and entertain anyone who will listen, watch or give her any sort of attention... (which she is sooo deprived of!!)
 ~please note the sarcastic tone~


*Chayse has become such a big girl now, and is sleeping in her "big girl bed"...


or at least, she starts off there- and ends up somewhere else at times...


although, for the past 2 nights, she has decided to forgo the idea altogether and sleep with Sloanie... which I can not get enough of... they are soo adorable!


~Sorry for the quality of some of these- they have come from my phone~

Nonetheless, Chayse too, will have to have her own post as well, as I have so much to say about both of those precious little things!

*And as for me...
I have...
~ been accepted into graduate school (WHAT AM I THINKING!?)
~ dug up 1/4 of our yard to plant a ridiculously large garden... again, (WHAT AM I THINKING?!)


(please take note... Crazy Cath actually has a roto-tiller and was super excited about hauling it over to prepare my new over-sized garden!)


(I promise it's starting to look much better now that everything is sprouting)

Anyway... back to the basics:
I'm also...
~ driving myself crazy with chayse's allergies (not her fault that I am completely obsessing with them!) Can you tell, since I have already mentioned them.
~ landscaping for our mountainous yard to{FINALLY}become FLAT in just a couple weeks!!! (there will hopefully be a post on this entire process...and the before's and after's...)
~ trying to figure out a way to get our house to miraculously become clean and organized
~ daydreaming of the time I will find time to ever blog again (I don't know yet if this post is just my wishful thinking... or if I will hopefully get some pictures loaded on here, and be able to post it!) hopefully the latter of the two will happen, and you will be reading this thinking, "she takes after her mom, and her name should be crazy cam" But that's OK... I get that A LOT!
~ going crazy and obsessive about pinning on Pinterest (this one is actually the time killer and could actually become very DAN-GER-OUS!) It's a must for everyone and anyone who frequently looks for ideas on the internet...
~ and, as if my mind is not overwhelmed enough just from these few things I've listed... we have a huge event within just days that I feel as if I am definitely going to be letting down one pumped up little girl....
SLOANIE'S 4TH BIRTHDAY IS EXACTLY ONE WEEK FROM TODAY!!!??? AND I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING PLANNED!!! (it would probably not be a very big deal if I had just told her we were going to just do something small... but no... of course I told her we would have a party, and she keeps reminding me of this every day!!) - stay tuned for how that pans out!

As for the rest of the crew... everything is pretty much the same ole same... except of course, I could not have an update without...




wait for it....





here's a hint....

you guessed it!

...I could not have an update without Jim being involved in the post!


Besides being the number one fan of CBA Pharma, Jim has also lost 40 pounds!

He had some messed up leg issue {I'll spare you the details...}and was hospitalized to also find out his diabetes was out of control, and pinched a nerve somewhere during all the chaos.
Well, after being in pain and scared that he would never see the day CBT-1 hit big, he decided to finally eat healthy...
Here's Jim before his weight loss...



And here's Jim after realizing he needs to stay alive to see his CBT-1 shares split...(or maybe not wanting to give himself insulin shots... I think it's a combo of both!)

*OK- so... I need to add a footnote-  well, maybe three...

~Number 1- Jim originally lost 40 pounds, and has since told me he has gained 3 pounds back... which in Jimmy-bo terms means about 10+/- pounds...

~Number 2- Clearly... I don't have a current picture of him with his actual weight loss

~And Number 3- I think I would have saved a lot of time had I run over to his house, made him cover up over his tightie whities, get him out of his recliner, listen to him clear his throat a few times, suck in for dramatic effect and pose for a picture instead of try and make a fake ocean under his arms and neck and create a pole behind his back!

...well, on second thought- yes I would have saved time, but... I think figuring out how to make him look thinner was much easier than accomplishing all of the above with Jim!!

Since this was suppose to be short and sweet we will end the post here...Jim's a great topic to end on!

check back soon... I will definitely be back this time!!

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Merry Christmas Eve, Eve, Morning!!


I can not believe it is already time for Christmas! It has completely snuck up on me this year!

I'm finished with my shopping, but still have several things to do, and tons of wrapping to finish before all of the Christmas AND FAMILY CHAOS begins!!

Today is officially the last day for me to finish all my odds and ends, relax, and most importantly... prepare for being in a Christmas Celebration bubble for the next three days! My dad's Christmas is tomorrow morning, Ryan's immediate family is tomorrow night, our family is Christmas morning (the folks always come over to see the girls excitement- and eat breakfast!) And then we have Christmas again with Ryan's extended family that night, and then we will finish Christmas off with a bang, driving down to good ole' London, KY for Christmas down there with my family and our mom.  Whew! I'm worn out just thinking about it! 
Please tell me we are not the only ones running around like mad on and around like Christmas! What do you do for your family gatherings? Although, we always have a wonderful time and love having a reason to spend time with all of our families!  It's one of the most special times during the year! 

This year has been exciting for me already, becuase the girls came home with some Christmas ornaments! I love when the girls come home with things they have made at school, especially things I can't wait to get out year after year!  We will have to turn this into a tradition now... since we really don't have any yet! What traditions do you have? Please tell me, and hopefully we can steal some of them for our own!
These are Sloanie's...
 And this is Chaysie's... It took some major finagling to get her to stop wearing it as a bracelet!

I also love all the Christmas cards during this time! We have received some beautiful ones!
And then, there's ours....

Take a good look! This is the only one you will see! I always plan on a Christmas card... but never execute it! Which is exactly why no one received one this year! And I just couldn't decide which one to use, out of all the great pictures we took!!



See what I mean!? My children cooperate so well! Not to mention the combination of snot and vaseline under Sloan's chin!

It started off so well with them posing, (only individually of course)! I was so excited thinking they actually wanted to take some pictures... But, like always... I don't know how hugging always ends up chocking each other!! 
And of course... Sloan only wanted to be beside the flower ornaments...


And then of course, Chayse had to do the same!

As for Sloan's big singing debut...
It was originally cancelled due to all the snow and ice- but that didn't stop Sloanie... she was bound and determined to get out there and sing! It's all she's talked about for the past month! Luckily, they changed the date and Sloan's heart was healed when she found out she could sing in her program! How adoreable!
She was soo excited to see all of her family that came out to see and support her!







And of course, she was the best one! So, I gave her flowers to make her feel like the star of the show! (which she was of course!) aren't your own kids always the best one!!!
And then there's Chayse... who's always the star of wearing out Trey and Brady!
I think she succeeded with Trey... check out his face!
and not to mention... check out her socks she fought me over wearing! Obviously she won!
She was on a mission to completely wear them out, and would not settle for anything less... especially if she succeeded in getting her lipstick on Brady!

 She's chasing him down!
Persistence!


OK... so now that we have gone over that... lets get down to business!
If you are in need of some last minute gift ideas... I have one for you!
Simple, easy, super cute, cozy and affordable (around 20 bucks- if you buy on sale like I did!)

We love these blankets!

Our cousins, Alle and Amy made one for Sloan for her 1st Birthday and we have loved them ever since! And since the girls fight over the only one we have... I have made them each one for Christmas!
It was easier than I expected!
step 1- get two pieces of anti-peel fabric in the size you want (make sure they are the same size)... I used around 2 yards.
step 2- lay both pieces of fabric together (the way you want the blanket to look) - so the right sides of the fabric should be showing, the wrong sides of the fabric should be touching on the inside of the blanket. (and the edges should be lined up... not like below)

step 3- cut strips into the sides - however wide you want, and long you want (mine were about the length of my hand and about 2 inches wide)
step 4 - cut out the corners, where the strips meet and having the same length of the strips


step 5- tie the two strips (the top and bottom) together into knots

step 6 - finish tying all the strips into knots... and viola! You have a blanket!
I would cut a few at a time, then tie... cut some more, tie... that way you can fold it up and come back to it...
(Tinkerbell and Rosetta are displayed for portion size of blanket)... although we did finish our little tea party, just three of us, after I finished the pictures...

Once folded... you have the perfect blanket!
All business in the front...


and party in the back!

A true mullet blanket!

And last but not least... the hot chocolate recipe as promised!


Ingredients:
2 pounds Chocolate Nestle Quick
1 Box Carnation Instant Dry Milk
1 8 ounce Jar Cremora (Coffee Creamer)
1 pound Powder Sugar
and a wonderful helper to mix... or two!

Directions:
Combine all ingredients together in a large pot/bowl...





 Hopefully, everyone who received one of these from us... puts really hot water in the mix... to kill the germs! (Fortunately, we washed our hands well before we started this project!)


pour into individual containers to pass out as cute, fun, thoughtful little gifts... or pour into a large container for safe keeping for yourself! Or, better yet... do both! (but make sure to double the batch!!)


Also, don't forget to include the directions on making the perfect cup for drinking!
1/3 cup mix per 1 cup water.
Mix and enjoy!!


OK, so I'm going to leave you with this photo displaying the weather around here lately, and of course showing two perfectly content and odd little characters! 
Chaysei - for some reason... loves, loves, loves.... Jim! We are all a little confused by it actually! But, have concluded it's because they both love food and everything having to do with it!
And Jim... well, he's just a character all together!
Snow, ice, "bermuda's" (Jimmy's shorts), and a florida hat...? The sad part is... this is not an unusual sight for jim! He's always in his bermuda's! Hot, freezing, rain, snow, and yes, even ice! The bad news for me is... my husband is very similar to him! And the even worse news for me is... my girls have some of his genes!!! Maybe I'm the strange one... I married into the family, and I'm even stranger because I love Jimmy-bo just about as much as Chaysie does! Strange I know! 

 But then again, how could you not love this CBA-Pharma investor!

I hope everyone has a WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS!!!
FYI... I hear its suppose to be a white Christmas too!!! I LOVE IT WHEN IT SNOWS!!! Especially... ON CHRISTMAS!!!

Merry Christmas to everyone!! And Happy Birthday to Jesus!!


Wishing you a Merry Christmas, Peace, Love and Happiness!!!