Finally Friday, 11 weeks!

Good Morning!

Today marks 11 weeks in the growth of our little gummy bear!

(or fish, according to Griffin)

This week has been much the same as the last 6 or so.

No apetite. Well, I guess I could eat...if anything sounded like it was edible.

So far, ChikFilA has been my saving grace.

I am still losing weight...although I am obviously growing around the midsection. 

I have not craved anything except Taco Casa, which is only found in Tuscaloosa.

We happen to be going down this week so I plan to bring some burritos home to freeze!

I must be sleeping pretty well, because I wake up about 15 minutes before my alarm every morning feeling rested and refreshed! I hope that sticks around for a while.

Our next doctor appt is the week of Thanksgiving!

Exciting News!

Chicken Teriyaki

Sorry for the absence but things have been busy in the Taylor household.

I just had to post this "recipe" that I whipped up last night.

It had been a while since I had cooked and the hubby had noticed!

I was tired of the same ole same ole so I decided on Chicken Teriyaki and

BOTH of my kids gobbled it up.

Fast and Easy Chicken Teriyaki

One deli roasted chicken from the grocery store

(HEY! I said it was quick and easy right?!)

3 bell peppers, I like color so I used green, yellow, and red

A few handfuls of sliced mushrooms

1 chopped onion

about 1 cup of terkiyaki sauce

1, 8oz can of pineapple chunks WITH juice

a few shakes of garlic powder

about 1/4 cup of flour

I sauteed all of the raw veggies in a little oil until slightly tender then added the teriyaki sauce and pineapple chunks with juice. I may even use a larger can of pineapple next time because we really liked the pineapple. Then chop up some of that chicken and throw it in. Sprinkle the garlic powder over and stir. You could also add some red pepper flakes here if you like spice. Add a little but of flour to thicken the sauce and after it thickens, serve over rice. (I used boil in bag brown rice).

Yum-O!

Have you thought about Christmas Cards yet?

Goodness GRACIOUS!

It cannot already be time to worry about Christmas Cards....can it?!?!

No worries!

Go check out Belle Announcements and see all of the cute cards they have for 2012!

Also, if you check out her blog...

**she is giving away 25 photo Christmas Cards for one lucky reader**

Happy 6th Birthday Sweet Aubree!

Six years ago we welcomed this sweet girl into the world.

She has always been a bit of a ham

and definitely a daddy's girl

a little bit of a tomboy

and a lot princess

recently, she has become a little athlete

she is beautiful, and steals the spotlight :)

a little bit diva

and always, my sweet girl....

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUBREE!

LOVE YOU!!

it was beautiful

my sissy {in law} is married!

(i put the "in law" in parentheses b/c it confuses people if i say my "sister" because i do have a sister her age but i just assume call her my sister and my MIL and FIL my "mom and dad" because they are just like 2nd parents)

anywhoo....

how about less words and more pics...

yea? ok!

All of the centerpieces were different and most of the materials were thrifted!



The wood used was from trees that the 04/27/11 tornadoes knocked down.



 

The "altar"

                                

These hung around the perimeter of the farm on the wooden fence

Cute decorations, sitting at the front as guests arrived.

June in Alabama, it was HOT! She took care of the guests with refreshing Izzys, tea, Vitamin Water, and other beverages!

Beautiful flowers, all arranged by the talented grandmothers!

Maid of Honor and Matron of Honor, 2 of the 14 bridesmaids :)

Rather than a father-daughter dance, they played bluegrass together...just like when she was a little girl.

and she sang a very cute song while her dad played guitar.

I have never seen a wedding that more perfectly reflected on the bride and groom as this one. It was truly wonderful. I hope they are having a fabulous time in Jamaica!
Bytheway!

This is obviously lacking photos of me+three....I will fix that :) As soon as the photographer gets finished with his editing there will be lots of photos of the flower girl, sleepy ring bearer, Zach and I.

mmmm, blueberries!

anyone wanna guess how many actually made it in the buckets?



Memorial Day Weekend

I hope you all had a *marvelous* weekend.

Our Memorial Day weekend typically involves cooking out every night, killing ourselves running a 5k, and swimming at the pool or the lake.

This year, we had pretty much the same plans....until the hubby found a car that tickled his fancy in Miami, FL.

So, next thing I know, we are on a plane to Miami for the weekend with the kids in Tuscaloosa with my mom.

We stayed until Monday and then drove home.

I have to say, I am not super bummed about missing the 5k. I hadn't trained properly and it was a whopping 95 degrees outside. All of the runners that I talked to said it was the worst ever.

I am very thankful to have the opportunity to spend the weekend with my husband for some much needed r&r and I am just as thankful for the men and women who serve/have served to protect us.

Super Yummy Delicious Coffee Punch

So, last weekend I threw a Lingerie Shower on Friday, a Pampered Chef Bridal Shower on Saturday, and a Tball Party on Sunday.

I think I have crossed the line to completely crazy.

It was good though because I cleaned the house once and got all of the entertaining done in ONE WEEKEND!

(Pics of the parties to come, once they magically jump off of my camera and on to the computer)

I wanted to share a recipe that I used for the Pampered Chef bridal shower.

We had it at 11:00 am so I chose to serve brunch.

I had mini quiche, chicken salad crossiants, fruit salsa and cinnamon chips, and a  veggie tray. I also put out the leftover "Friday Pasta" from the night before.

(More on that later.)

I decided to use one of Ms. Fielder's (Brett's mom) recipe for coffee punch at the brunch. It was so good and I learned that it needs to be doubled because we were scraping the bottom of the punch bowl.

(Think Wendy's frosty with coffee....yumm-o)

Teri Fielder's Coffee Punch

1 cup boiling water

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup instant decaf coffee (Folgers)

**Mix these together and refrigerate for a few hours**

2 quarts of milk (i used 2%)

1 quart of vanilla ice cream

1 quart of chocolate ice cream

***about 15 minutes prior to serving add milk, ice creams, and coffee mixture to punch bowl***

Remember, I would reccomend doubleing this if you plan on serving more than about 10 people because it is very addicting. Also, don't freak if the ice cream is clumpy when you combine everything. Just use a potato masher and get most of the clumps out. You could also soften the ice cream for about 15 minutes prior to combining ingredients.



Two Month Summary...

I think it has been an eternity since I last posted and for that I am an enormous loser.

So much has happened lately so this will just be a giant update, with a few pics.

Aubree had a great softball season, which is now over.

Our little LadyBugs were regular season champions!!!

Here are some pics of the next Olympic softball player.

Check out that face--She means serious business!!!

Aubree had a great time this season, made lots of new friends, and learned A LOT!

We are thankful for a knowledgeable patient coach.

****

Next, we had the tornadoes. If y'all don't know about the crazy severe weather then you must have been living under a rock.

April 27, 2011 our state was hammered with deadly storms that killed hundreds of people and one of the deadliest hit less than 200 yards from us.

We were very lucky and only had roof damage and scattered lawn and garden equipment but many were not so lucky.

My boss, for example, lost everything.

They lived in a hotel for two weeks and thankfully, are now in an apartment.

Our entire county and most of the northern part of the state were without power for a week. We did fine though. We combined resources and lived with my in-laws.

They had a big generator and a gas water heater (thank the good Lord).

We kept a generator going at our house to try and keep our freezers cold and our neighbors kept watch on it and kept gas in it in exchange for freezer space.

We ate SO GOOD during our natural disaster vacay....we grilled breakfasts of pancakes and eggs...dinners of pork loin, venison, and veggies - and smoked a ham and a turkey....we even made spaghetti and a fruit cobbler on the grill.

Ham/Pineapple Kabobs, Pork Tenderloin, Ribs, Corn, Twice Baked Potatoes (that I had frozen), and Mac and Cheese

The boys spent the days driving to TN for generator gas, doing relief work, and cleaning up Zach's parents property while I played with Aubree and Griffin and kept them busy. We tried potty training Griffin during our week at home but he was not interested at all.

 We had our friends and family over for hot showers and hot meals since we were the lucky ones with the gas heater.

Here are some of the photos we took:

 

Zach's expression pretty much sums up the helpless feeling we all had.

All of the trees in this photo are part of Zach's family's land. This is how close the monster came to us. Our future home site is just below and to the right of the water tower that you see on the left.

Our neighbors to the south in Tuscaloosa were hit the hardest and had the most deaths- partly because it hit so close to the University of Alabama campus and the people in the 2nd and 3rd story apartments didn't seek shelter elsewhere. If you haven't read THIS ARTICLE from Sports Illustrated, I highly reccomend that you take a moment and do so.

Have some tissues handy.

On a much happier note, Zach's sister and soon-to-be brother in law graduated college.

It was also Meredith's Birthday so the Fielder family invited us over for a barbeque in celebration of the graduates and her birthday. We had a wonderful time.

Zach and I decided to leave Arkansas Saturday after the graduation and drive to Memphis to stay the night. We wanted to take the kids to the Memphis Zoo on Sunday. Our camera battery died on us but we got just a few photos with the trusty iPhone.

We had a great time at the Zoo and I would highly reccomend that if you find yourself in Memphis that you pay them a visit.

I know I have missed a lot but these are just some of the high (and low) points of our life over the last several weeks. I will do my best to try to update more!

i {love} my father-in-law

 folks that marry young

{and marry the guy you dated since the age of 15}

understand me when i say that i dont have in-laws ~ i have 2 sets of parents!

i happen to have an awesome daddy #2 and let me just illustrate one reason why...

********

tuesday around lunch i sent him a link to this
asking if he could make it with his mad woodworking skillz...

found here

annnd....tuesday afternoon

{5 hours later people!}

 i get this picture message

 

how is that for awesome?!

 

I will be painting and distressing this little baby this weekend..

hopefully i can blog about the finished project next week!

My fireplace needs some help!

So, from the day we bought our house I have

{hated}

the fireplace.

terrible iPhone photo....dont hate

I don't like the black grout. Who in their right mind would choose black grout?

Zach's grandma says to be thankful because now I don't have to scrub soot off of it.

{like i would have done that anyway} I have considered having it covered with wooden planks painted a neutral color...whatcha think?

Anywhoo, I need to do something with the mantle. I have neglected it since we moved in....just setting pictures here and there and maybe a few candles. I have yet to buy anything specifically for the mantle.

I recently {on a whim} repainted the room. It is this color.


the one with the white sticker on it....thanks Lowes...

So now with the brighter walls and the darker fireplace I think I want a lot of white up there. These are photos I am using for inspiration.

Am I completely off by wanting to use white/light colors?
My fireplace is so much darker than these I am worried the white may be too much of a contrast. Should I stick with oak/wood tones?

I know I want to keep the family photo up there (with a frame of course) and I would like to have a wooden "T" with some pretty scrapbook paper madge podged on it or maybe one of these

heyyyyy batter batter

Have you ever seen a cuter ladybug?

Aubree's team is now 4-0...woohoo! I told her she didn't know how lucky she is. I went entire seasons without winning 4 games :)

The last two games have been brutally cold. She handled it like a trooper though. Us parents were whining and watching the clock waiting on the 75 min game to be over.

I am downloading video from last nights game now...i'll try and post it later.