Blogs I'm following...

So you may have noticed I have added some "buttons" along the right side of my blog. These are links to a few new blogs I recently discovered. NWA Motherlode is a blog I have been a big fan of for a long time now. These moms have great articles and information on things going on in Northwest Arkansas--plus tips from area doctors, beauty experts, and fellow moms. They also have the BEST giveaways! I won dinner at Bordinos and tickets to the Robert Cray Band at the WAC a couple years ago!
A few others, "After the Bubbly", "Buried with Children" and "Let's Have a Cocktail" are other blogs written by moms with a fun sense of humor. I have literally laughed out loud reading some of their posts. :) And last but not least, is "Kelly's Korner" a blog by a mom in Bentonville who struggled with infertility, became pregnant, then had an extensive stay at Arkansas Children's Hospital with her baby girl, Harper, but who is now a healthy almost 1 year old! She shares fun home decor ideas, lots of places to get cute and fun things for your baby and is just a cute "Southern" mommy!
If you get a moment, check out these blogs and I am sure you will want to become a "follower" as well!

Spring Break part 2....

Well, Christian's Spring Break is about to come to a close, but we had a really fun week!

Wednesday, I taught Christian to play baseball while Andrew napped. He's actually pretty good. We signed him up for t-ball this spring and practices should start soon! Thursday is was cold and rainy all day so we had a pajama day, just watching movies and playing together. Thursday night, I got a MNO (Moms night out) with a few of my gal pals and had dinner at Theo's.
Friday was his last day of spring break, so I told him he could choose anything to do that day (within reason, haha). But if he had said "let's go to the beach", Jim may have returned home from work yesterday to find a post it note on the door saying..."went to Florida, be back soon!" You think I am kidding? haha. Instead, Christian requested the following, "I would like to have breakfast and watch cartoons and go out to eat for lunch at my favorite place...MiMi's!" Not too bad, I thought to myself. I can handle that! :)
Friday was a BEAUTIFUL day and the sun was shining so we headed to MiMis for lunch and spent the whole afternoon walking around the promenade and playing! The Promenade Express Train was open for business too!

Christian LOVES trains!

Christian played on the outdoor playground and also pushed his toy trains around the fountain. Andrew even took a nap in his stroller so I sat in the sun people watching!
We spent most of the day at the promenade and only spent $3 for a train ride. Sweet!
Hope everyone had a wonderful Spring Break!

Andrew's first haircut!

This week I gave Andrew his first haircut. His hair was getting long over his ears and the back of his neck so he just needed a bit of a trim which I could do at home. So I put his portable highchair in the bathroom and we got ready to play "barber shop"! ;)

Also, since I was busy cutting Andrew's hair, Christian took all of these pictures for me!

Andrew was quite surprised...thinking "am I eating dinner in the bathroom tonight??!!"

Andrew was nicely distracted by one of Christian's toy trains as I trimmed away!

Getting a haircut is no problem, right?!

Only right at the end did he start to fuss! Good job Andrew!

Spring Break...so far...

This is Christian's first "official" Spring Break! We don't have any big plans like going out of town (but who knows, the week is still young, haha) but just looking forward to having fun together! After a weekend of 7 inches of snow (yes, spring break snow), it has melted away and the sun is coming out. Now, that's spring break weather. I won't bore you with anymore snow pictures as you have seen PLENTY over this winter....just scroll back to some older posts to see our Bella Vista snow. ;)

Yesterday, we spent a lot of time playing outside while Christian rode his bike and played on our swing set. Andrew just loves to watch and play with his big brother. It's actually EASIER having Christian home with me this week to help entertain him!

Today, we went to Jump Zone and met up with Dawn and her son Presley along with Drew and his wife Jennifer with their girls and friends. I missed Dawn's baby shower this weekend because of the weather so I was so glad to be able to give her Kinley's gift today!

Lots of fun baby girl toys and a cute bib that says "Pretty Like Mommy"

me and Dawn

I did not get any pictures of Christian or Presley since they were busy running around and jumping in the bounce houses. :)

But I did snap one of Andrew...

He was having fun watching all the kiddos running around!

Won't be long before my Andrew is running around too so I snuggle on him all I can!

Cooper Spring Carnival

I just came across the pictures I took at Christian's spring carnival at school a couple weeks ago and forgot to add them to the blog, so here you go....ENJOY!

Christian wearing his Cooper Broncos shirt to the spring carnival!
The school had hot dogs and chips with a silent auction of goody baskets to bid on. Each class put together a basket with a theme. Christian's class did a kitchen/cooking basket full of cooking utensils, spices, cookbooks, etc.

Christian climbing into the bounce house they had in the school gym.

They also had lots of fun games to play...

like this big nerf gun that shot at a spinning bullseye....

ring toss...

bean bag toss...

fishing...

and Plinko!

The Kiwanis Club was there offering packets for children that included finger printing and a DNA kit.

One of my old co-workers Edwin, was there doing the finger prints. Christian thought it was cool. ;)

Many of the people working the games were volunteers from the Bella Vista POA, firemen, and various town offices. I thought that was nice and it gave the teachers a break from running the games like they do in the fall festival. The teachers actually got to walk around a enjoy the carnival too!

Christian had a great time and came home with some fun prizes and candy!

Savor surprise...

Friday night, I meet up with a few of my girlfriends for dinner. Kimberly was in town from Texas for some school work in Little Rock and Dawn's shower on Saturday in Van Buren.
Susan and Mischelyn joined us too. Susan recommended trying Savor and ANYTHING Susan recommends should be fabulous since she is an amazing chef. It was such a fun and relaxing dinner! We were there for more than 3 hours just talking and eating.

Kimberly also made an announcement....SHE IS EXPECTING! Yep, I am going to be an AUNT!
Is that not the coolest?! She told us family back in December but had been waiting to make the big announcement until recently. Many of our friends had been asking me and it has been very hard to keep it quiet. But she also made the announcement at Dawn's shower Saturday so since EVERYONE in Van Buren now knows, I think it is safe to put the news on my blog. ;)

She should know what they are having sometime in April. She is due at the first of September. Personally, I am hoping for a girl since I have two boys and it would be fun to buy some pink stuff for a change. ;)

Congratulations Kimberly and Wrenn!

St. Patty's...

Have I mentioned that I LOVE St. Patrick's Day?! Not that I am Irish (Italian, actually) but I love the festivities and what a fun-loving holiday it is! And who doesn't like green?!

Christian was excited that I got him a special St. Patrick's Day shirt. ;) At school, they made leprechaun catchers and wrote their own stories about leprechauns for homework!

While Andrew wasn't sure if he should applaud the fact I put a silly headband on him...

But he got into it a little later...

And began to look like a jabberin' Irishman...

And I swear his nose only looks orange in pictures. ;)

Today was my MDO (Mother's Day Out). Jim and I decided a few weeks ago to have a lunch date for St. Patrick's Day. What a celebration today turned out to be since it was the first day I was able to eat after experiencing the wrath of the stomach bug. I had not eaten anything but dry toast and a popsicle since Sunday night. Luckily, I was feeling MUCH better and was happy to be heading out for a special lunch to fill my empty tummy! At least I lost 5 pounds?!

So Jim and I headed to the only Irish restaurant in our area...


This picture reminds me of "the girl in the green scarf", ya know from the movie Confessions of a Shopaholic?! LOVE that movie and all the books too! Except I did not pay more than $200 bucks for my scarf (just $14.99 at Ann Taylor Loft a couple seasons ago).

So I can't end my post without sharing some of my St. Patrick's Day decor around our home...

I made this wreath for our front door...just a sign from Hobby Lobby stuck in the middle of a plain greenery wreath and flowers for a bit of "flair".

And stuck some glittery Shamrocks in my flower bed for fun!

I always put out my Irish Blessing plaque in our dining room.

So here is an Irish Blessing for you...

May your days be many and your troubles be few.

May all God's blessings descend upon you.

May peace be within you. May your heart be strong.

May you find what you're seeking wherever you roam.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Tile Project!

This past week, Christian and I did a fun project that benefits the homeless in our area. Christian loves art projects too!

The Tile Project is a fundraising event for Seven Hills Homeless Center. Individuals can paint tiles that will be part of a mural built in the food courts at the Pinnacle Hills Promenade. Tile kits can be purchased for $25 and include a 6x6 inch tile, 8 paint colors, brushes and instructions. Once the mural is completed a directory will be made to identify each artist.


Christian traced his hand and painted it green, his favorite color.

We even did a tile for Andrew. We traced his little hand and Christian painted it blue.

Here are our finished tiles!
How fun to be able to go to the tile wall years from now and see the little hands of my boys. :)
I am not sure when the deadline is for the tile project but you can check at your local NWA Arvest Bank for more information!

11 Months Old!

Andrew is 11 months old today!

He is now using his walker to walk around the house and he LOVES it!
He has started eating more regular food and less baby food.
He really likes yogurt and macaroni and cheese. ;)
And to top it all off, yesterday he said "mama" for the first time and has been saying non-stop!
Then this afternoon, he took his first step! Just one unassisted step but it was his first step!
Exciting!

I can't believe my baby will be one next month!

Hairspray!

This past Wednesday night, I spent the evening in Fayetteville with a few of my friends from Mom's Ministry. I had a wonderful dinner at Bordinos and went to see Hairspray at the Walton Arts Center! I remember watching the movie A LOT (with Ricki Lake) when I was growing up. It was a fun show! Thanks Andrea, Natalie and Kari for a fun girls night out!

VB family weekend

This past weekend we headed to Van Buren to celebrate some family birthdays (John, Wrenn and Uncle Rob). The weather was BEAUTIFUL! Christian was so excited to have nice weather that he spent the whole weekend riding his bike! We even put together his "Big Wheels" he got from Pops for Christmas. Well, Uncle Will helped put it together. ;)

It was the first warm weather since the holidays.

Andrew enjoyed watching them too!

While Christian rode his bike, Andrew enjoyed being pushed around in the stroller with Pops!

Kimberly, Grandmother and I enjoyed the sunshine too!

Later that evening, we sang happy birthday to Uncle Rob...

Wrenn...

and John!
Notice Christian "conducting" as we sing Happy Birthday in each picture. ;)

John, Jim and Will

My boys!

Thanks Pops and GoGo for the food and fun this weekend!

I'm busy...Read my blog!

OK, I know I have not done a new post in over a week (and for me that's a long time). But I have been busy! One day when I was out shopping, I saw this shirt--for $1.97 and had to get it. Perfect, huh?! I have lots of pics and new posts I am working on, so I will update the blog soon!