Friday Snap Shot

life has been a whirl wind around here! thought i'd post some pics to show what we have been up to :) tim was in the hospital with a kidney stone & complications from last tuesday- home for less that 24 hours on friday- then back in the hospital till this past monday evening. he's home and doing so much better now! so here's what we were doing before:

trav on the jet ski after troy & lindsey bailed. he's perfectly safe- they key is no where near him, lol.

we have had a couple fun cook outs at the lake! i'll post my new go-to chicken/veggie kabob recipe next week. it was soooo good!

adam finished up his summer classes yesterday! what a big boy getting on the bus! i'm so proud of him. although he has a long way to go with catching up speech wise- he is improving and i'm so happy with our school district's special service dept.

time to start thinking about back to school again- aug 24th!

cayley is coming home on sunday! she's had a 3 week vacation with my parents, but she sounds ready to be back home. i miss her too, but know she's having a ton of fun.

and....the never ending project of decluttering and organizing our home has begun again. the goal this time is to maximize using the space we have- starting with our bathroom & master closet. they are so big and could be used more wisely.

i finished "julie/julia" while at the hospital with tim last week, and my new book should arrive wednesday next week!!!!

so happy friday- enjoy your weekend! i'm headed back to the tasks at hand :)

nice catching up with you

Summer Movie Season

is anyone else super excited about the latest harry potter movie coming out this week??? well, we sure are! i read the last 3 books in the series of 7 during the hurricane last fall and loved them! she writes so vivdly! all five us of love the movies and the great music just draws you in. looking forward to a fun little movie escape this weekend. for my bday, tim bought me the first 5 movies in a collector set edition! needless to say we haven't been able to get enough of HP around here- especially with watching them on the "wall" with the projector!

this summer movie season has been awesome!

transformers- super cool

the new terminator-good

my sister's keeper-very touching, sad, different from the book

now, hp this week! oh, i'm reading "julie/julia" and it's so good! the movie with amy adams & meryl streep opens aug 7th :) and "the time traveler's wife" is next on my summer reading/movie list! the preview alone made me cry!

A July Weekend

so, my sister and her sweet baby girl came up to visit this weekend and i had to take advantage of this gorgeous (but warm) weather. look a ther eyes and how the colors of her dress just bring them out even more! what a sweetie- and so good to smile for her auntie.


does it get any sweeter than a new mommy and her baby girl???



here's my trav! all smiles as he indulges me for a minute :)



then off to feed (chase) the ducks- cayley was so good to remember the bread- as i forgot!

my sweet baby faced adam- well, he wouldn't be still, lol, but if he did- it wouldn't be adam.







and last night was cayley's last night of golf and we all went to see her last class.
here's my sweet hubby- i'm so proud of him! he's lost 3 pant sizes in 1 month and is so working on getting healthy :)


this is the definition of focus.
she does get it from her daddy!

i had to set the timer and try and get one shot with everyone :)

Slow it Down Thursdays

just a happy little summer tune :)

if you are a fan of christian music-you'll recognize jimmy needhams' voice...

he sings "forgiven & loved" awesome song too!

happy thursday & enjoy!

Spotlight Wednesdays

today is all about cayley! i'm telling you-she's growing up too fast, even with her parents keeping a very watchful eye on her every move. yesterday was another lost tooth day and another late night tooth fairy visit ;) just wondering if she'll stop being my baby before she runs out of baby teeth. yesterday, she just began sweeping the kitchen for me! just up and did it without me asking-what a sweetheart. just now, she came in saying that she made her own chocolate milk- yes, i hover.

this weekend she is leaving for her vacation in SA & LV. 3 weeks is an awfully long time in the life of a mom missing her child...but i know it will go by so quickly for her- filled with doing her favorite things.

she's going into 3rd grade this august. it's so odd, because i remember 3rd grade so well. so, here's me- bracing for change and enjoying the snuggle time.

Happy Homemaker Monday

thanks sandra at diary of a stay at home mom for hosting :)

The weather in my neck of the woods: humidity has taken over!

One of my simple pleasures: waking up to a clean kitchen :)

On my bedside table: well, i finished reading "my sister's keeper" yesterday so i am free to see the movie this week with some friends! yay! now, back to "the host"

On my TV: rented "bride wars" it was ok. cayley really wanted to see "princess protection program". watched that w/ her and probably liked that more then "bride wars" lol

On the menu for tonight: slow cooker special! green beans & red potatoes w/ sausage. yummy!

On my To Do List:unpack trav, start on dinner early, hang w/ the kids at home.

New Recipe I tried last week: i made mini cheesecakes for 4th of july!!! they were so perfect & super easy!

12 NILLA Wafers

2 pkg. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
blueberry pie filling, whipped cream, sliced strawberries

PREHEAT oven to 325°F. Place 1 wafer in each of 12 paper-lined medium muffin cups. Beat cream cheese, vanilla and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating on low speed after each addition just until blended. Spoon evenly into prepared muffin cups 3/4 full.

BAKE 20 to 25 min. or until centers are almost set. Cool. Refrigerate 4 hours then top with fruit and cream before serving - get it: red, white & blue!
this was awesome for portion control too.

In the craft basket: nada

Looking forward to: winning the lottery- well, i'd have to play first, lol. so besides that, looking forward to a movie night this week.

Homemaking Tip for this week: more like a money saver tip: ck out what your local library has on dvd for the kids. they picked out 4 last week and have loved it. and free! watched anne of green gables -and are on the list for the other 2 movies in the series- because of winn dixie, meet the robinsons-if you & your kids haven't seen this by disney, you should really find it! it is so good and adam loves it! and it's waaaay too hot to be playing outside.

Favorite Blog Post of the week (mine or other): jill savage's "yes mom challenge" . i'm really trying to just make it happen a little everyday.

Favorite photo from last week:

cayley & adam enjoying some bouncing on my bed while i was in between changing linens.

Lesson learned the past few days: being a "yes" mom takes a real effort on my part, but well worth it. my little guy had some harmless fun!

On my Prayer List: my little family- i'm keeping our finances in prayer and trying to find a way to bring in a little extra income...summers are expensive.