The Reba concert was just as I expected…AMAZING! I went with my 2 good friends Angie & Mindy, we had such a wonderful time!
Melissa Peterman-AKA Barabara Jean (her character on TV show Reba) opened for her. She is hilarious!
Reba came out and sang new songs & old songs. I loved singing along reminiscing about the older songs she was signing. Love, Love, Love, that is all I can say!
If you are friends with me on Face Book, I will have all the videos I took during the concert, but here I wanted to showcase how she ended the show.
She left the stage and I was so disappointed that she didn’t sing Fancy. The crowd was up on their feet chanting, applauding, screaming and then her video for Fancy started playing. The crowd & Us went crazy!
Reba came out in a red dancing dress….
Watching these videos today still give me the goosebumps! I am so blessed that I was able to see her live in concert!
We were up early, dressed, lunch packed, breakfast eaten and hair gelled! Noah was looking pretty cool this morning. He was a good sport when I asked him to let me take his picture. He said, “wait…let me get my book bag!”
He made sure I had the whole 1st day back to school photo!
I can’t believe he is in Middle School and in the 7th Grade! His back pack is filled with school supplies, but not all of them. There was so much required for him to have, that he will have to take it all in over the next several days.
I know that he will have a blast this school year and we are blessed that he likes school and is a great student!
I seriously can’t wait to see her in concert tonight! Me and 2 of my good friends are having post birthday celebration with REBA!!! I just have to remember to take my camera
This past weekend was fun filled! I have the most amazing friends ever! Our playgroup had our summer annual Mom’s Night Out. I am surrounded by some of the most talented & wonderful Moms ever. All our members inspire me one way or the other.
Melissa, is the best professional photographer and she graciously offered to take our headshots. She has taken my families photos many times for me and for other members of my family. She is amazing at what she does! Here is the photo she took of me last Friday night.
This photo brings a huge smile to my face, because she captured how I feel about my weight loss. I am super thrilled! Even though I am not done yet, I am so happy with what I see so far. Oh and I was having a great hair day too…LOL!
I look back at the photo she took of Dale & I back in 2007 and ask myself “why did you wait so long?”
39 years old that is This past Saturday was my birthday and I had the best weekend. Dale is such a spoiler when it comes to my birthday, I mean he spoils me daily but on my special day he goes overboard! It was one of the most romantic weekends of my life!
Adam had his first sleep over at Uncle Brads & Aunt Suzies. She took our boys for the evening. Dale & I were worried about how Adam would do, but since Elias was there he did so well!
We headed off to a nice evening 24hrs alone! First a nice dinner, just the 2 of us. Dale & I don’t eat out anymore. He and I have done so well with weight loss and eating healthier we don’t have the need to go out. But since it was my special day, we went to Red Lobster….YUM! I even had a mixed drink….oh the calories, but I drank it and it was divine!
So much food, I could not eat it all and took most of my dinner home. The waitress said, “You hardly ate anything are you sure you are done?” If she knew that last year I could of eaten my dinner & Dales, she would have been proud of me for not eating all of that. LOL!
We headed to the Mall next, we walked into Dicks Sporting goods hand in hand and we trolled the exercise equipment section, Ohhh-ing & ahhhh-ing over all the of the treadmills, ellipticals and weights. Now that is romantic! I loved it! We do everything together and sharing weight loss and getting fit journey with him has been the icing on the cake!
When we got home, we watched several movies on the couch all snuggled up close together. We shared left over Red Lobster, talked & talked, laughed until our sides hurts and slept in.
It was the best birthday present he could have ever given me. Thank you sweetheart for the perfect weekend! I, too, have never loved someone so much before!
To the outside world we all grow old. But not to brothers and sisters. We know each other as we always were. We know each others hearts. We share private family jokes. We remember family feuds and secrets, family griefs and joys. We live outside the touch of time. ~Clara Ortega
Christina & I
Happy Birthday Chris! I love you very much! I truly hope that you have a wonderful birthday and that you are spoiled rotten today! Thank you for everything you have done for me in the past and present. I am so blessed to have a sister like you!
Last week was Dale’s birthday. The kids and I made it extra special for him, because he is an extra special man! We made his favorites. Dark Chocolate Brownies with walnuts & chocolate frosting and soft shell crab sandwiches. His Mom used to come over on his birthday and move me out of the kitchen and make those very things for him. It was a really great evening! I even made little Brownie bites for him to take to work. Although he forgot to share and brought them back home that evening….ROFL! The best part was when he walked into the door after work all 3 of our boys ran up to him, hugging him and chanted Happy Birthday! They really love their Dad!
I really wished I had captured that on video! It was the most adorable thing!
Friday night Mom & I went to The Delaware State Fair to see Paula Deen. With temperatures near the 100 mark we both were kind of worried about sitting outside sweating it out just to see Paula. We saw a lot of people with paper fans with advertising on them, we set out to hunt them down. Walking through some of the buildings, I didn’t find a fan right away but found a cute pair of DG sunglasses for $10…score! And of course Silly Banz for Elias. Rounding the corner there they were a stack of fans. We grabbed 2 and headed to find our seats.
We didn’t have the best seats in the house and that was fine by us, because looking at the “good seats” I was glad I wasn’t sitting in them. The people were all packed together with no shade from the sun. We were very grateful for the over hang of the grandstand and the A/C that would blow over us every time the door to the clubhouse opened.
The set up they had for her was amazing! A working kitchen right there on the stage.
Paula came out and I was surprised to see how small she was. Tiny little legs..lol.
Her husband came out and also her son and grandson Jack. What a cutie he was.
I was really thankful for the big screen and close ups
She didn’t do any cooking, but had a chef cooking some things on stage. She told funny stories and I can say this she LOVES her fans! The whole night she interacted with the audience, she took time to sign autographs and have small one on one conversations. It was really great! She also praised God for all her success. What an awesome testament to him!
Paula was telling us about the best banana pudding you ever put in your mouth and she just happened to have one already prepared. She shocked us all by giving the pan of pudding to a stage hand and told him to pass it around…ROFL! People were actually lining up to get a sample…the sample being a spoonful dropped in their hands!
“Just wipe your spoon off and pass it around”
The concert was great, I really thought she would be more like she was on her show, but as she said, “You can turn on your TV and see me cooking at least 3 times a day.” Paula is the sweetest person and really funny! I truly enjoyed it.
After the show we went to check on the entries Mom put in the fair and she won a couple of prizes! I knew she would
1st Place for her Applesauce Cake
2nd Place for her Pound Cake
2ns Place for her Blackberry Jam
3rd Place for her Strawberry Jam
And you can’t leave the fair with out getting to experience the farm animal exhibits. I took these photos for Adam.
Now, how cute are they?
On my way out of the fair I realized that I need a present for Adam. Lord knows his world would have turned upside down if I gave Elias something and not him. I settled on a light up sword. The kind that make all the noises when you swing it around…..I am now regretting that decision…..immensely!
Last night we declared a Movie Night! We had several movies we wanted to watch this weekend, so at Wal-Mart I told our boys to pick out some “movie candy” and I would go get the pop-corn and we would met back in the middle. I raced off to get the pop-corn (ultimate butter, of course!) and when I came back to met them they were in the ice cream isle. Instead of getting one big tub of ice cream they each picked out little tiny single servings of Edy’s. I went with Skinny Cow, which by the way is yummy!
We get home and after 2 hours of swimming, we started getting ready. Blankets and pillows everywhere. I had bowls of pop-corn set out, Noah picked Junior Mints and Mint Chocolate Chip ice-cream, Elias had Bottle Caps and Cookie Dough ice-cream and Adam had the DS (LOL) Sour Skittles and Cookie Dough ice-cream.
My pictures aren’t very good, because I was in a hurry and heard, “Mom we are trying to watch the movie!”
I said, “I am making memories!”
Boys, “We won’t remember the last part we saw if you keep flashing us with the camera.”
Bwahahahahahaha….Point taken!
Adam didn’t make it through the second movie and was asleep by midnight. The rest of us were up until 1am and after I went to bed I heard laughing and those 2 little stinkers (AKA-Noah & Elias) were still up at 2:30! Guess who is still sleeping as I type this post?
We have had movie night before, but never with all the little things that make it a real movie night! It was awesome family time!!
I really hate eating in the morning, truly I do. I have found a new love for Breakfast. Going through my weight loss journey, I have learned you have to eat breakfast.
Here part of an article I read about why you should eat breakfast.
“If you don’t eat something in the morning, you are literally forcing yourself into running on empty. Say the last time you ate was 8 p.m. last night. If you didn’t eat lunch until noon today, that’s sixteen hours of no refueling! Your body is screaming out, “Give me some help here!”
The fuel that keeps our motors running is glucose. Your brain and your nervous system need glucose to work: that means walking, speaking, stretching, typing - any activity requires this fuel. If you don’t supply it, your system resorts to finding stored carbohydrates or it tries to turn fat into glucose. Why put your body through all this?”
At first I was eating an egg and a piece of whole wheat toast. That really gets old after a week or 2. I was hanging out in the cereal isle, patiently waiting for my boys to pick out their cereal for the week and saw the Kashi display. I had heard people compare it to eating styrofoam rice cakes…yummy, right? I read the back of a couple of boxes and was really happy that I could have a bowl with my 1% milk for less than 300 calories..SCORE! The price was a little high for me, but I found eating healthier does cost a bit more, so it didn’t bother me to bad. I figured if it taste bad I would go back to the egg.
It was so yummy! The crunchy little clusters, the almonds and the slight sweet taste was so good! 9 grams of protein, which helps keep me full longer and 200 calories! Good stuff I tell you!!
After I finished that box, which lasted a week, because I ate the recommended serving size, I tried different ones.
When I was younger I love Frosted Mini Wheats, this is an awesome alternative! 180 calories for 1 cup, 1 gram of fat and no sodium! And let’s not forget cinnamon! Love this!
I like love Kashi!
If you have not had a chance to taste it, go out and get a box! You will be pleasantly surprised and maybe learn to love breakfast like I do now!
You can sign up for their newsletter and get coupons..Bonus!!
*these are my opinions, I was not compensated in any way for my blog post*
You are a special daughter
who means so much to me.
The day you were born,
there wasn’t a lovelier sight to see.
I am glad God gave you to me.
Your love and devotion
has been my reason,
to get through many tough times,
and through many seasons.
As you have grown up,
your beauty shines through,
with a wonderful smile
that shows the real you.
You have a heart that is
made of gold
and I know it will stay that way,
as you grow old.
You make me proud
that you are who you are.
The bond that we have
will keep us close,
and no matter where you are,
you won’t seem far.
The closeness we have
will never depart,
cause there is so much love
that connects you to my heart.
I am glad my daughter,
that you are mine,
because having you in my life
makes my sun shine.
Cherished Mother
Every day since I was born,
My mother cared for me.
Now that’s a lot of caring,
As anyone can see.Please, Lord, protect my mother,
And keep her safe from harm,
For she is a cherished person,
With great wisdom, love and charm.Lord, it’s my mother’s birthday
So please, help her to see
How much she means to us,
Her loving family.
I have this friend, she is an awesome friend and I heart her! Her name is Erin and she hates summer, misplaced commas, grammar errors, spelling errors, laundry and sometimes dogs…bwahahahaha! On Tuesday I was reading her blog and she posted this: The Top Ten Things I Dislike (Greatly) About Summer
If you click on the link above you can read her post. She cracks me up! So what I decided to do was write a blog post on the subject, but with a twist.
My Children are home from school. I love this only because I don’t have to get up at 5:30 am to start my day. Packing 3 lunches and getting 2 boys and one Fiance’ out the door on time and to school. Unlike Erin, I have not had to opportunity to be home alone all day. This September I will. Adam will be starting Kindergarten. I am probably sure I will have the same feelings as she does, when next summer rolls around. But until then, I love having the little buggers around all day.
I love the hot weather. Now don’t get me wrong, I probably would not feel this way if we didn’t have A/C. But I will take 100 degree weather over shoveling 3 feet of snow, to get out of my driveway. Summer has always been my favorite season!
Catching Fire Flies. This is about the only bug we love during the summer. The boys and I go out almost every night to catch them. Adam especially loves this, because he walks around with his jar full of fire flies and tries to light his way. We also have a citronella lantern, that keeps the mosquitoes and other annoying bugs that bite away. The only really thing that we hate are bees. Those nasty little creatures!
“Mommy, Can I go outside?” I have to say this is about the only thing that kind of gets on my nerves. Only because they are in and out. I love the fact that they want to be outside and doing something, but I am constantly saying, “SHUT THE DOOR!” They are out there for 20mins tops and back inside because it’s hot. You really can’t be out there just walking around without dying of a heat stroke. And like Erin, I do hear, “Mommy, I’m bored!” Of course this I hear this less and less, because I go on a 15 min lecture about all the things they could be doing. So, She and I agree on this one!
The Pool. The best money we ever spent! We have a 4ft deep pool in our back yard and that is where we spend a lot of days and nights. I really feel terrible for Erin, because she has a pool, but it is in her town and reading her post about getting them ready to go was exhausting even for me. The only thing that does annoy me about our pool is my kids want me in there all the time, I don’t find it as “fun” as they do. I would rather be in my lounge chair with a book.
The sun is our friend. We are so lucky that we don’t burn. We tan. And usually by the end of the summer the kids look like the Coopertone baby and I am rocking a nice tan. The best suntan lotion I have found that works wonders on the kids is Hawaiian Tropic SPF 60 for kids. It does take about 1/2 hour to lotion them all down, but it works so well. I don’t mind it. And we look so cute by the end of August all tan and sun kissed…bwahahaha!
No Schedules. When summer rolls around I am so happy that I can do whatever I want when I want. Time doesn’t matter, yes Dale still has to go to work but as I said before I don’t have to get up at the crack o’ dawn. In the winter, it was really hard to get them to go to sleep, but now after a few hours in the pool, they are out like a light in mins! Whoohoo, now who wouldn’t love that.
I love the long days. It is still light out at 9pm! And by this time we are all outside either still swimming or just sitting in the back yard. I hated when it would be dark when Dale left for work and dark when he came home. It made me depressed. It was like we had no time for anything.
Cutting the grass. Or mowing the lawn as Erin calls it..LOL! Just like laundry I love it! Why? I am not really sure, everyone else in my house hates it. I do all the grass cutting. I get outside in the morning (when it isn’t so deathly hot) and mow away! It’s great exercise for me, time to myself and I can get some sun too. I have always loved the look of fresh cut grass and the smell. My yard looks so pretty after it is all cut. I also love weeding my flowers and watching them grow. Adam and I take a tour around the house almost every night to see what new flower has bloomed.
Summer makes me miss Erin! She moved to WV almost 3 years ago and when she was here, we would spend a lot of time together. We would spend time at playdates together and at each others houses, just basically goofing off. If she was here now, I could see us hanging out in my pool, BBQing and going to the beach. One thing I love about her not being here, is the fact that I will be traveling to see her, hopefully soon. This will be a mini vaca for me. I never get a vacation, so she will have made this possible. Although, moving away was not how I envisioned myself getting a weekend away
There you have it, my spin on Erin’s post. All in good fun! BTW, Erin, no reverse hibernation for you, you can not be sleeping when I come over there. Plus I may kidnap you and bring you back and make you love summer, Trish’s way
To two of the best Father’s I know. They both deserve the very best today and they both have all my love!
To my Father
What Makes a Dad
God took the strength of a mountain,
The majesty of a tree,
The warmth of a summer sun,
The calm of a quiet sea,
The generous soul of nature,
The comforting arm of night,
The wisdom of the ages,
The power of the eagle’s flight,
The joy of a morning in spring,
The faith of a mustard seed,
The patience of eternity,
The depth of a family need,
Then God combined these qualities,
When there was nothing more to add,
He knew His masterpiece was complete,
And so, He called it … Dad
To the Father of my Children
A Father Means
A Father means so many things…
A understanding heart,
A source of strength and of support
Right from the very start.
A constant readiness to help
In a kind and thoughtful way.
With encouragement and forgiveness
No matter what comes your way.
A special generosity and always affection, too
A Father means so many things
When he’s a man like you…
Sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. 1 Chronicles 16:9
I have posted this video every where, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and now I am posting it here. I am a proud Mama!
As I have said earlier we have been at Vacation Bible School all week and before & after we sing. This is a video of Adam, singing & doing the motions along with the song.
For those of you who don’t know Adam personally this is not his norm. He is quiet, not really into things like singing, dancing and he is shy. When I turned around to video him I was shocked, he was just giving it his all and just having fun.
Look for him at 1:49mins in the video, he is rocking! It warms my heart & gives me chills, especially when he raises his little arms in the air!
The No Scale Challenge is no longer a challenge for me! After 3 weeks, I don’t have the urge to check & recheck the scale. Measuring my inches & weighing in once a week, makes me feel a lot better about how I am doing!
I wanted to find another goal/motivation tool to aim for. Last night I was thinking about a little black dress. I have never owned one or even looked for one for that matter. I have heard lots people talk about them, and they are beautiful! Now I want one I have no idea what size I should aim for (maybe a 12 or 14?) or what type. I did a search for them….talk about overwhelming *sigh*
I have several months before I reach this goal. In the mean time if any of you have any favorites that you own or would love to have, share them with me.
Anything & everything is WHY? Almost from the moment he wakes up until he lays down to go to sleep. I didn’t really notice it to much when he was younger, but now his curiosity has really started to peek and shine through.
That is him from this weekend, in our pool. He was “helping” us get the pool ready. Of course his helping was splashing around while it was filling..LOL! I have to admit I was exhausted by the time he went to bed. I think I may have answered more why questions than I ever had in my life. These are some of my favorites from yesterday.
I was getting ice to my tea and Adam says, “Ice is just water and it freezes. Why does it freeze?”
“Why is the water blue in the pool, but not in the hose?”
“I sucked the juice out and now it’s white, why?” (He was eating a Pop Ice)
“Why does the rain come out of black clouds?”
“Elias’ broke the swing, why did the ropes break?”
“Look at my leg, there is a bruise..why?”
“These rings for the pool have color on them. Why?”
I was putting sunscreen on him and he said, “Why is there smell in that and why is there a blue thing on the bottle?” He was talking about the design on the sunscreen bottle.
“I don’t like onions.”
Me, “I do, especially on my sandwich.”
Adam, “Why?”
Dale & I answered each of his questions and usually our answers brought on more whys from him. You could just see his mind churning and soaking up everything we said.
I told Dale that maybe Adam will be a Scientist when he grows up, then I laughed and thought to myself or a Talk Show Host
I can’t believe he is in Middle School and in the 7th Grade! His back pack is filled with school supplies, but not all of them. There was so much required for him to have, that he will have to take it all in over the next several days.
