I ♥ Thursdays!

I look forward to Thursday every week. I am thinking throughout the week about what I am going to ♥ on Thursday. I love that it keeps me constantly looking for the positive! That is a great way to focus all week long! So go on over to You and Me Plus Three and check out Crystal's and other I ♥'s for this week!


Without further mumbo jumbo...here are mine!
i ~♥~ shopping for a bday party with a special little princess! We had lots of fun Saturday!
i ~♥~ that we have daycare kiddos giving an RSVP to attend the party! (At 3 I guess you never know who to expect to make it)
i ~♥~ that we have friends that are planning to come to the party...I can't wait!
i ~♥~ giving my Princess her playhouse for her bday. She LOVED it!
i ~♥~ the way my brother is with my girls. He loves them and they love him! Enjoyed seeing them interact last night when he stopped by. One day he will be SUCH a good dad!
i ~♥~ dancing in the mornings with the Boo to her favorite cartoon theme songs!
i ~♥~ figuring out what setting I had set up for manual focus on the camera. That should make taking shots of moving kiddos so much easier for me!
i ~♥~ my hubby. I picked so much better this go round!
i ~♥~ that our taxes are done for another year!
So what are some of the things that made your week special?

The Georgia Aquarium

A little over a week back the hubby sprung the idea of an impromptu trip to the Georgia Aquarium. I am SUCH a planner but I was ecstatic because I love aquariums! I have been wanting to go to the Georgia Aquarium since it opened but something always comes up. My room mate from college lives nearby so I sent her an email seeing if she and her family could meet us there. They were so gracious they asked us to stay with them on our trip. Tim and I both enjoyed the visit. Tim and her hubby stayed up FOREVER playing video games, so it was like heaven for Tim on this trip. LOL! And I of course just enjoyed visiting with a great friend.

We left after work on Friday. By the time we got there it was midnight so we decided to wait until after the Boo's morning nap to actually go in hopes that the day would run more smoothly. She was a little fussy at first and then....

The Princess and this sweetie pie are fairly close in age. They haven't hung out since they were 1, but they were fast friends...they didn't miss a beat! Check out this fun pic I got!

The Princess is still enjoying having her daddy back from Iraq and ofcourse he is loving being able to spend time with his girls. It is evident daily in the smallest of gestures like this one...

Ofcourse the Boo did wake up eventually to enjoy the last half of the aquarium.

I got a few shots that I really thought turned out well. I am still learning alot about 'photography' so when I get something like these I get excited:



At the end of the day there were two little girls still full of energy. Oh and I think this was more fun for them than inside! LOL!

So my friend also has a nikon camera. I mentioned not being able to get a good shot of the girls because they were moving before I could get focused. She said hers would autofocus. Got me thinking, maybe I should read my manual when I got home. Tonight I found the setting that I had set up for MANUAL focus! LOL! So here's to no more blurry pics of kiddos! =) Wish me luck, I have a birthday party this weekend that will test me on that promise!

Hope you all have a blessed night,

Happy Birthday Princess!

So the Princess turns 3 today! This is such a wonderful time! I have SO much fun with this little girl. She ALWAYS smiles. She is my sunshine and lights my world. She is an answer to many prayers. She was worth the wait. She is such a drama queen and the description PRINCESS is so fitting. I wouldn't have it any other way! I love my little girl...Happy Birthday to you baby!
Here is a look of some of my favorites over the past year.

My life is greater because she is in it!

Let's go Bananas!

So I was grocery shopping this week and came across frozen chocolate covered bananas. I am not a big fan of bananas but the girls and hubster love them. I figured I would let them give it a go.

I anticipated the Princess would like them better than the Boo but it was just the opposite. I think the Princess only ate a couple of bites. The Boo was a different story. Check it out below:

I am not sure if it was teething or if she just really liked it! But she worked on that thing forever! Kept her occupied and Happy which mommy loved!

And one more set in a collage because I can never decide which pics I like the best! Ha,ha...and just think, I DO narrow them down!

I ♥ Thursdays!

It's time for I♥ Thursday's again!


It's a GREAT way to say what we are thankful for during the current week. So this week I am again going to participate in I "heart"... at You and Me Plus Three. Go there now to add yours and read others!!

i ~♥~ planning my 3 yr olds bday party =)
i ~♥~ that I finally have the invitations ready to print
i ~♥~ getting the perfect place for the party....finally
i ~♥~ the trip to Ga to the aquarium and getting to see my college roomie and her fam! SO much fun!
i ~♥~ the play house we got for my Princess for her bday next week (can't wait to give it to her!)
i ~♥~ the time me and the hubs spent with just the little boo while the princess was at Gigi's, she is such a sweetie!
i ~♥~ the way my princess sings on her little $2 microphone toy from target I hope she loves it as much as I do!
i ~♥~ that the Boo got moved up to the next classroom. She LOVES the toys in there!
i ~♥~ the hubby!
i ~♥~ that the princess wants her party to be perfect...sounds just like me

Birthday Invitations

I've been trying to nail down the party "place" for The Princesses third birthday for about two weeks now. We really wanted to be able to have a gymnastics party. The local gymnastics joint tried really hard to work with me on two dates but they just could not get the workers needed to be available on either of the weekends we had in mind. So, yesterday I had a friend call and try to find out if we could reserve the 'gym' area at her church. She and I are going tomorrow to put down the payment for the date and time. The time is still iffy but I am so proud that I FINALLY have the invitations ready to print! I will share them on here. I still have to add directions and add the time of the party. Then when they are printed I will be punching double holes in the top and tying a ribbon in for a little extra decoration. The princess demanded asked for a Dora party. After already making gymnastics dora invitations I was sad to have to come up with a new theme. Especially since a gym has endless possibilities. But, here it is.....Dora Princess and Pirates! What do you think??



A friend of mine helped me with the idea of "gift not necessary". I was trying to find a polite way to say, the economy is rough right now, so the MAIN thing we want is for you to come have fun! I liked it. I hope it was a good way to say it. I will be posting a birthday blog for the Princess soon. Get ready for mega pics of my sweet baby girl! Ofcourse she made me a mommy, which was one of the things I wanted most out of life. And I have to say, when God gave her to me, He blessed me beyond measure!

Sacrifices for our Country

I found out today that two pilots from my husbands unit in Iraq were killed in a helicopter hard landing. I was overwhelmed with sorrow for them and for their families.

I began to reflect on just what the military sacrifices during a deployment. I began to look back through some of my pictures at my hero and our family. Every second being thankful we still have the husband and daddy we love so much. I had just gotten photoshop and stayed up late one night and worked on the creations below. I cried and cried. I listened to music that reminded me of what I was feeling, what my daughter was feeling, what my baby was missing and what my husband was feeling.


When my husband left our daughters were 2 years and 4 months old. Can you imagine all the changes they went through while he was gone? It is amazing when you think of it. Here they are at the send off and about half way through the deployment:

They LOVE their daddy so much. They missed him. My 2 year old prayed every night for her daddy's safe return. My baby's legs kicked with joy when she would see her daddy on skype or hear his voice on the phone.

Other families and soldiers made sacrifices too. Some men could barely dust the sand off their boots before their spouses said they wanted a divorce. Some soldiers are still there. Some had babies born during this deployment. Some of them had girlfriends who left them mid deployment. And the ultimate sacrifice was made by two soldiers and their families. They were brave. Their families made the ultimate sacrifice. Please say a special prayer for them tonight. I know that I will.

My husband is home and safe. I am thanking God for our families miracle. I heard a positive preacher by the name of Joel Osteen teach of faith that is not shaken by circumstances. Faith that thanks God for the future whether it seems like it can happen or not. I chose to have that faith. I woke up daily and thanked God for keeping my husband safe and for bringing him home to us early. God delivered our miracle and my husband was released a few months early. Tonight I am again thanking God for that miracle of a safe return. Thanking God that I am not worrying if that was my husband injured or killed in another country. Thanking God that my girls have a daddy safe and sound. Thanking God for my hero being returned safely.

Please pray for the families who lost loved ones. And please pray for the soldiers who are still there or on other foreign soil taking care of business so we can all sleep in a warm bed tonight.

i ♥ Thursdays!

Last week I participated in I "heart Thursdays. It's a GREAT way to say what we are thankful for during the current week. So this week I am again going to participate in I "heart"... at You and Me Plus Three. Go there now to add yours and read others!!

i ~♥~ snow days that are not that snowy... and fun with my girls!
i ~♥~ my little stuffed devil that sings "Hot Blooded" and watching the girls dance to it!
i ~♥~ how girlie my little princess is!
i ~♥~ making plans to go to the aquarium for a quick trip away from home and getting to see my college roomie and her fam soon!
i ~♥~ getting to spend some time on Valentine's day with my best friend!
i ~♥~ the new shoes I found at Target this week!!!!!
i ~♥~ the clothes I got the girls this week! I am READY for spring! (Hmmm...idea for another post...all the girls clothes I've gotten recently)
i ~♥~ starting to plan my little girls bday party!!!!
i ~♥~ seeing the Boo grow and understand so much each day!

~I hope you dance~

Today's title was a take on the following picture of my little missy princess:

So I should start with the story from the day before Valentine's. We ended up at the ER with the princess. She fell of the bed and hit her cheek on the wooden rail. OUCH is an understatement! She did not fracture her face but here is fair warning...the pictures are tough! The doctor warned us the blood would travel from the cheek to the eye and it would be about 2 weeks before we stop getting glared at in the grocery store. Here is a little preview of the changes from day 2 to day 4:

She cried and I cried. I could not believe my baby had gotten hurt so bad! Her daddy had just been in to check on her. Thank goodness she is not in alot of pain! Just a little warning that the princess is looking like rocky in all the pics in this post....
So we got a little snow on Monday, President's day and the hubby stayed home with the girls. Tuesday the county schools still did not go back (why is beyond me). So I stayed home with the girls. We had a BLAST! The princess was really into changing clothes and getting into twirly skirts! Here is a pic of her in the new outfit her Gigi got her:

The boo ALWAYS loves to dance. We had so much fun with this little devil that daddy got me with my roses for vday! His pitch fork spins while he sings "hot blooded" LOL!

Both girls LOVE to dance to this little guy! Bella just loves to dance period! And Caydence is enjoying it more now than ever. Bella is also enjoying loving on her bitty baby that Mimi got her for Christmas!

Here is a shot of what they enjoyed througout the day. While the Boo napped the Princess enjoyed some tv with all her friends, when they were both up they enjoyed some coloring with those awesome markers that only mark on the coloring book (thank you Gina for the introduction to these babies!), and once Bella awoke from her nap she enjoyed her 'laptop'.

Next is a major grid of pics...First we took pics of the princesses toes. She got "flip flop fresh" (borrowed from a friend of mine's little guy...Love it!) The Boo read to her babies, the Princess played with her snowglobe Daddy got her from Germany, enjoyed a sucker that looks like lips on the outside, and read to Puff and baby Belle. Boo enjoyed reading to her babies, watching some tv, climbing on and off that chair, reading to herself, hugging her stuffed animals and ofcourse following her sister around! And yes, all these pics were taken in one day...so it is true the Princess changed clothes alot...just because! And I LOVED it! =)

So that's about it for our "snow day" Have a blessed week!

*Beauty Regimen*

I am linking up today with Beth at the stories of A 2 Z for Beauty Regimen, get your face on party. Check out her blog to read other's posts on this!


I will not, I repeat, not be posting a before and after picture. You just don't want to see that people! ;-) But I will post what I am loving these days beauty wise. Since the hubby was deployed for quite some time I let myself go. I didn't have the time to focus on me...between work, that long drive, two babies, laundry, house chores... I was just glad to get over 2 hrs sleep a night and get up brush my hair and teeth and muddle to the next day! I know, Wah, wah, wah! BUT now that he's back I have been very into my beauty regimen. (next I tackle the weight game, but for now, just the face and hair). Okay, so hair first. I am loving my new brush (purchased at ULTA) to use when I dry out my hair...

You pull out the little silver pin out at the end and turn it around and put it back in and wha-la...you have something to EASILY part/section your hair. =) LOVE IT!
Also I have rather OILY hair. I HAVE to wash every day or else! But, I found this stuff...

So what's great about it??? I save time every other day! I just use the salon grafix dry shampoo...and it's made based on YOUR hair color! Genious! Where has this been all my life?!!!
A few months back my mom bought me an instyler. I am loving it because my hair has just enough natural curl to be a mess. I mean, it has to be straightened or else it frizzes, but it isn't enough natural curl to wear it curly. Know what I mean?! Plus it holds NO curl so hot rollers just won't do.



My next product I use holds double purpose. A. It helps detangle that natural curl that is a super pain to brush when it's wet. B. It helps protect from use of the hot instyler. It's Chi Keratin Mist. Obviously I use this when my hair is still wet, so before the styling and only if it's just been washed.

Okay, so make up. I am big on eyes and mainly use lip gloss. I am not big on foundation. I have tried bare minerals, which I definately like better than any drug store mineral foundation that I found. But at the same time it didn't WOW me like the info-mercial said it would. I have to prime my eye lids before applying foundation or the eye makeup will NOT stay on. They are OILY! Weird, right?! Anyway, I prefer using beauty control shadow control cream. But if I'm out I will just use some concealer and it works ok.

I am really liking the maybeline line stylist eyeliner I recently bought. You can draw a thin or thick line with it depending on the look you are going for!

And for the mascara, you will not find one better than maybeline's define a lash lengthening:

For shadow I use lots of different kinds. I like browns and shimmery pinks OR greys and blacks depending on my shirt. Loreal is probably the brand I use most. My cheeks are naturally pink so next I slap on powder and lipgloss and I'm out the door! =) Geesh...what us girls do for beauty!