Project 366: Day 57 [April 13th]

Morning bloggers!!

Hope you're all having an AMAZING day today!

I started off this morning CLEANING.

You all know the drill, I don't need to even explain it, right? Friday is the cleaning routine. With one kid.. or two kids.. haha! It HAS to get done, but let me tell you! It was quite the experience this morning with two kiddos under the age of 13 months running around here!  ;) I give mad props to any of you moms that do it on a regular basis- it's definitely some work! BUT. We got it done and that's what is most important! :) I cleaned out the fridge, mopped the floors, scrubbed the tub.. the usual! Love me some cleanliness! 

I even washed all of our decorative plates and candle holders and table cloth! I felt like I was on a roll, haha!

I got a phone call from my mom that morning and she asked if my dad and her could come over for lunch. Of course I say--ABSOLUTELY! I love spending time with them! :) So, I quickly turned on my Scentsy to make it smell good in here! What was the choice of fragrance today??

BLUEBERRY CHEESECAKE.

Yum! :)

If you aren't sure what Scentsy exactly is, click HERE and you can discover more! I am a consultant and I am addicted to the stuff ;)

And I got the grocery list together and clipped coupons today as well! Here's our meals for the week:

If you can't read my nifty writing, haha, it says:

Monday- Jambalaya
Tuesday- Steak/Mashed Potatoes
Wednesday- Pepperoni/Ham Strombolis (We're addicted!)

Thursday- Pizza/Wings
Friday- Breakfast!

We love doing breakfast once a week because we are never able to have breakfast together because of how early E gets up for work, so this is wonderful! Plus-- breakfast food is GREAT! ;) What are you planning for your dinners this week??

After that, E came home and had some play time with Tayler. Aren't they cute together??

I wish my bag wasn't in the way because that would have been an adorable photo, haha! Oh well, still cute :)

And E brought home an ICE CREAM MAKER. How incredible is that?! :) His sister bought it for him for his birthday. I am so excited to be able to use it!!

We went to the grocery store tonight and bought stuff to make Vanilla ice cream! Now- we just need a night of relaxation to be able to make it! Maybe Sunday night we can! :) All I know is I am excited! We also bought chocolate chip cookie dough candies to put in it ;) YUM!

And yes.. we went grocery shopping. Which leads me to the April Photo Challenge.

Today was-- 'Something You Found.'

This little dandy right here.

International Delight Iced Coffee.

I had a coupon for it and my mom and I saw it last week so I knew finding that $1.00 off was a sign! I BOUGHT IT. And OH MY GOSH.

Buy it.

You will do yourself a HUGE favor. I am drinking some right now as I type this. Seriously-- so good! And so much easier than making a pot of coffee, haha! You just pour it in your glass. Perfection!

And I messed around with photoshop today. I edited an older picture of Tayler. It was part of her Christmas pictures when she was 9 months old. I also put a new logo on there.

Is she not adorable? 

Photoshop is extremely difficult to figure out at times, but I am having fun learning!

Hope you all had a fabulous day!

Cheers to Project 366!

Project 366: Day 56 [April 12th]

Morning fellow bloggers! Hope you're all in good spirits today and anxious for the weekend to get here :)

We'll start off first with the April Photo Challenge!

Today's task was: STAIRS.

And here's the shot that I took:

What stairs did you take a picture of? :)

And while I was taking and editing that photo, I tried out photoshop again with two other pictures I had of our sweetheart. These are only my second and third attempt. I'm still getting the hang of it, but practicing is a lot of fun, especially with such a cute model ;)

She's just gorgeous :)

After that, Tayler, Kenton, Ethan, and myself went for a walk! It was beautiful out today. A nice breeze and gorgeous! Here's the kiddos all bundled up:

And let me just share this. I know I'm going to sound like some paranoid parent, but this really aggravated me and I got a video of it, but I won't share it because of the vulgarity. We were going for a walk and we live near a baseball field owned (I believe) by the city. Well, there were workers over there today cleaning, mowing, etc. and they had music playing through the system there. This is a LOUD system. It is used to announce batters and play music in between innings. We live in a small little neighborhood near it... with LOTS of kids. And guess what music they were playing? 

Music where the 'f' word can clearly be heard just about every other word. And nope, the 'f' word wasn't bleeped out. They were saying it.. over and over again. And there were kids playing at the park near there! How ridiculous is that?! I'm thankful I don't have a child that can repeat things... YET. I was furious. Who does that? Especially in a neighborhood? Ridiculous!

But anyways.. I digress.

We came inside and it was dinner time. We had breakfast today! French toast and hashbrowns with peppers and onions. It was SOOO good :) I was in the 'breakfast' mood, you know? Are you ever like that?? :)

And Ethan brought me a Yoo-Hoo home from work. Sweetie! ;)

After that, it was time to do our switch off, haha! Kenton was heading home and Natalie was coming over. It was so cute when Natalie got there because Kenton sat down beside of her. We tried to get Tayler to sit down next to them so we could get a picture, but it didn't work out so well. Kenton started to get up and so did Tayler... Natalie just looks scared that they are all around her LOL

It's a crazy household some days, but I wouldn't have it any other way :)

After that, we all got our baths and it was time for some 'American Idol.' Seriously-- was anyone else in complete shock of the bottom 3?? If you all remember correctly, I predicted Hollie, Philip, and Elise being in the bottom 3 and that's who Jimmy said too! So, I thought it was pretty accurate. But NO.

Jessica, Joshua, and Elise.

And Jessica got voted off (but then got saved!) 

I was in COMPLETE shock. I pegged Jessica to win it. Dude, she can sing like no one's business! I just could not BELIEVE that. 

After AI, we all got ready for bed. Natalie fell asleep and we went into Tayler's room and read some books to her. Her Papaw and Gigi bought her two new books for Easter, so we thought it was the perfect time to read those (in between her face planting on her soft chair. It's something she loves to do LOL)

It was a wonderful day!

Cheers to Project 366! :)

Project 366: Day 55 [April 11th]

Morning all of my sweet bloggers out there!

Can you believe it's hump day already? Personally, I think this week is FLYING by! How about you??

I got up today and had determination on my mind:

I wanted to start learning photoshop. I know it is a HUGE program and it will likely take me forever to learn ALL of it, haha, but I wanted to test it out. And I did on an older picture of Tayler. She'd just turned 11 months old here:

What do you all think?

Like I said-- I know I have A LOT to learn, but it was my first try! I felt pretty good about it to be honest! Hopefully I can squeeze more time in the next week to learn more! :)

And then I decided to take a picture of the Photo A Day Challenge for April!

Today's challenge was: Where You Ate Breakfast.

Well, here you go:

Pretty amazing right? haha! Yes, I had a protein shake (like I do EVERY morning.. I love those things!!) and I ate it right here! :) I'm boring, what can I say, haha!

After that, Ethan got home and we loaded Kenton and our Tayler up so she could go get her 1 year shots :( I HATE shot day. It honestly breaks my heart. I'm her Mother. I'm suppose to protect her from pain and here I am... letting them hurt her. But I suppose in the long run, I am protecting her from pain. It was a heartwrenching experience as always. Here we are in the waiting room. She was having a little snack, haha!

Gosh, she's adorable. She loves these cheddar cheese curls that Parent's Choice makes! :) Poor thing didn't know what was coming! :(

After shots, we headed home with two sleepy babies that both fell asleep in the car, so once we got home.. it was definitely quiet in here! I decided to make some strombolis for dinner.

We had meatlovers today. I took pizza sauce and layered it on the bottom, then added rows of pepperonis, cooked sausage, cooked bacon, cheese, and some onions. Closed her all up, made some slits up the top, and popped it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 17 minutes. It was SO good. We dip ours in ranch dressing and pizza sauce! It's an easy dinner that doesn't cost a whole lot of money which is PERFECT. 

Oh.. and guess what came today??

I have a really big bag that holds a tripod and my other two cameras, but I wanted one where I could just take my Nikon with me somewhere. And guess what-- Ethan bought me this one! :) It holds my camera with a lens attached and the other lens.. and my battery charger! It is PERFECT!! :) I love knowing I can just go anywhere with my camera now. I LOVE my big bag because it holds everything I need for sessions, but I do love this small bag too! It's perfect for ball games or just going to the park!! :) 

Ethan and I joked when we got up this morning about how I.. or I guess we.. start our marathon of baby sitting today, haha! I watch a little girl about 2-3 nights a week and I watch a little boy Monday-Friday. Well this week, it just so happens that I watch the little boy 900am to 630pm and I watch the little girl Wednesday night and Thursday night 615pm to 730am. So from Wednesday morning at 900am, I'll have one extra child here pretty consistently until 630pm Friday. I don't mind though. I love watching these babies! It's just funny how it works out like that some weeks ;)

So, there's a period of time in the evening between like 615pm and 645pm where we have all three babies with us! Natalie had just got there, Kenton was all bundled up and ready to go home, and well.. our kid, she just had a diaper on, haha! Shot days are horrible and we wanted her as comfy as possible!! :)

After Kenton left, the girls had their baths and Tayler was extremely cuddly. I think it's from her rough experience today. So, we cuddled and cuddled and cuddled...

And then it was time for American Idol!

Are any of you watching this year?? Who are your favorites?? :)

I thought tonight was great. I appreciate the modern music. I get tired of hearing 'oldies' all of the time. Sorry everyone! I just like the modern stuff because I can sing along.. which my husband might actually hate ;) haha! But I thought tonight was wonderful! 

I will say that I am calling the TOP THREE to be:

Coltin, Jessica, and Skyler.

Those are my three favorites :)

And who do I think is going home tonight??

Well, I think the BOTTOM THREE will be:

Hollie, Elise (even though she did great last night), and Philip Philips.

I know, all of the ladies out there love Philip, but I just think he's getting old. He does the same thing every single week. He stands in the middle of the stage, with a guitar, and sings. That's it. I just think we need to see more from him. Period. And I think that will hurt him!

But, I think HOLLIE will be the one headed home!

Thoughts?

Cheers to Project 366!

Project 366: Day 54 [April 10th]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY HUSBAND!

That's right. Today is my husband's 22nd birthday! So, Happy Birthday, E! :)

He woke up to breakfast in bed.

I don't want to toot my own horn. But I'm an awesome wife, haha! ;)

He had a cup of coffee, toast, crispy bacon, scrambled eggs, and hashbrowns with peppers and onions. I think this has to be one of his favorite breakfasts. I was so excited to make it for him! :) He took the day off work this morning, so he got to enjoy it.. and he got to sleep! What a birthday! :)

While he was eating that, I got started on making a taco dip. He claims it's his favorite meal that I make and he wanted it for his birthday.. and he loves it cold.. sooooo I got started making it AND the bacon cheddar dip that I LOVE. (Hey-- it's not my birthday, but I'm working my booty off! Might as well get something I LOVE too, haha!)

And the photo challenge today happened to be 'COLD' so I posted the ingredients to the bacon cheddar dip:

You need 16oz of sour cream, a bag of real bacon bits, a packet of hidden valley ranch mix, and a cup of shreddeded cheese. Just take all of those ingredients and mix it together in a bowl. That's it! Serve it with crackers! :)

It was wonderful! And taco dip. I forgot to take a picture of the ingredients, but the recipe can be found HERE.

And I didn't have green peppers this time, so I used an orange one, but it still tasted amazing ;) or so Ethan said, haha!

And all of that was done by 9:30AM, haha! I was trying to do everything at once and I think it was a success! After that, it was time to get the kiddos ready to go. Ethan wanted to go visit his mom for his birthday :) 

I thought Tayler's peejays were too cute last night.

It's a crappy picture because it was on my cell phone and she was running around like crazy LOL but I thought she looked too cute!! :)

Once we were all ready.. we were off. We had to make a few pit stops (BMV, Auto Zone, Tim Hortons..) but we made it to E's momma's house! I think Tayler had a blast!! :) We had a good time visiting with her :)

Tayler loved the cat Sweet Pea.. and she had a blast bangin' on the pot with a spoon, hehe! :) She had too much fun! 

Once we got home, Ethan decided it was his birthday and he'd make requests if he wanted to, haha! He asked me to watch 'Fast and the Furious,' turn up the heat, and put his old man slippers on! What a birthday, eh? ;)

We just relaxed the rest of the day. It was SO nice!

And then it was bath time.

Terrible picture because she wouldn't get any closer to me, but the symbolism is what matters :) I love our quiet time during bath time. It is Tayler and Mommy time where we turn on some worship music (our favorite is Kari Jobe) and talk to Jesus. I wait for this time all day it seems like. I love singing with her and praying for our loved ones and our hearts. She is the best thing in my world and has made me a better person.

I'm so thankful for this blessing!

We had a wonderful day with our 22 year old daddy, hehe! :) 

Hope you all had an amazing day!

Cheers to Project 366!

Project 366: Day 53 [April 9th]

What a wonderful Monday! Hope everyone is doing great out there today! :) 

I know, I'm beyond on the blogging, so I am attempting to catch up really quick! 

Today's task was-- A YOUNGER YOU.

And everyone that knew me when I was a baby tells me over and over again that Tayler is a split image of me. So, I figured I'd post a picture of her and I. I didn't take this picture (my sweet husband did!) but it's edited and I think it's a nice picture of my daughter and myself!

She's my best friend.. I'm proud that she's my mini-me!

And I had a little photo session with the little guy that I baby sit through the day and Tayler today and I think this is my favorite picture of our session today:

What do you all think?? :)

After that, Ethan came home and we all got ready to go out to dinner for his birthday! His birthday actually isn't until Tuesday, April 10th, but this is the one night of the week that my mom, dad, and our family had free so we decided to go out! But first...

BIRTHDAY PRESENTS!

My mom and dad got Ethan a new tape measure (he has been borrowing my dads forever! haha!) and I got Ethan ALL of the Fast and the Furious movies... including the new one ;) haha! He was really excited! We love you, E!

After that... we went to Garfields for dinner!

We got a yummy appetizer-- potato skins, quesadillas, and mozzarella sticks! And then Ethan got a burger, Tayler and I got chicken tenders, and I'm not really sure what my parents got, haha!

There's the birthday boy with his cake, my husband and myself, and our sweet baby :) 

We had such a wonderful time! I forgot my cell phone and my camera, hahahaha, so my momma let us use her camera! Sweet woman! 

Thanks for everything tonight mom and dad! We love you guys!

We hope all of you had a great day!

Cheers to Project 366!

Project 366: Day 52 [April 8th]

Good morning bloggers!

I hope everyone had an AMAZING Easter!

I love this 'holiday' because it reminds me of the fact that my sins are washed away. It reminds me of the fact that ONE man died so that I could live FREELY. It literally brings a tears to my eyes thinking about the fact that I can ask for forgiveness without going to a priest.. or giving an animal sacrifice. I can talk to Him.. every single day! I am so grateful for the sacrifice that He made! That's why I LOVE Easter! Why do you love Easter?

When we got up this morning, we told Tayler that the Easter Bunny came for her! We took her downstairs and there her Easter basket sat on the couch! He didn't hide it like a lot of other mean Easter bunnies I saw ;) hahaha! 

Here she is opening it and check out that messy, messy hair LOL

HAHA! She's a rough waker-upper ;) But she's so gosh darn cute! The Easter bunny brought her a bath toy, a soft stuffed animal, and two new peejays! He's such a cool guy :) She didn't like the stuffed animal though, haha! But we played with the bath toy immediately following this.. well not following this...following a pancake breakfast, but you know what I mean ;)

After breakfast and bath time, Tayler was completely ready for church! We were going to my Uncle's church that he pastors today with the rest of my family :) I was so excited to take Tayler. I thought she looked absolutely adorable!

She wasn't a HUGE fan of the hat and kept taking it off, but it was cute for a few pictures, haha! And guess what? I'm terrible! I did not take one real family picture of us all dressed up in our church attire :( I can't believe that! I completely forgot my camera when we went to church, darn it! But it was a great service. Tayler slept through most of it, poor thing! :( I think she's still not feeling good. But we heard some wonderful singing, saw a skit, and some puppets perform and heard a wonderful message about forgiveness! 

After that, we headed over to my parent's house. Apparently the Easter bunny stopped by there too! He's a busy fella!

He brought her a ducky, yummy snacks, Easter eggs with money and candy, two new shirts, and two new books! He's an alright fella, isn't he?? :) Thanks Mom and Dad *wink wink*

Then we thought we'd try out some pictures. Mom, Tayler, and Dad alllll dressed a like today, so we figured it was a perfect opportunity! I'll share a few that I took! Hope you all enjoy :)

I worked really hard on those! I know I have a long way to go in the 'photography business' but I LOVE doing it and I think that's all that matters! :)

After that, we all changed our clothes and headed down to the park where we were having our family Easter dinner with my Dad's side of the family.

Tons of food and an amazing family-- perfection.

I took a few pictures of some activities that were going on today...

The first one is Papaw and Tayler rolling the ball back and forth :) The second one is the boys playing some dodgeball, and the third one is Corey playing pass. I thought it was a sweet photo. :)

After that, we packed up and headed back to where we used to live to visit E's side of the family :) I love holidays because it's like we get to see EVERYONE! It's wonderful!

We saw Tayler's Aunt Susan, Uncle Tim, cousin Cody, and her Grandma Carol!

I think they all might love her ;)

And as you can tell, by the end of the day, Tayler had just plain had it! She was so worn out. I think she cried most of the time we were there, bless her heart! So, we eventually had to pack everything up and head out the door. We came home and all snuggled up and watched 'Jack and Jill.' We hadn't seen it yet, but boy, it was hilarious! :)

Oh and as for the April Photo Challenge!

Today was 'Inside Your Wallet.' Mine isn't very exciting, but it's completed, haha :) Are you all still doing this? I sure hope so!

Hope you all had an AMAZING Easter!

Cheers to Project 366!