Today I Am Thankful

... for a healthy family.


... for a childhood where I always knew I was loved, and would always be taken care of.


... for a home.


... for a husband who makes me laugh every day, and loves me in spite of all my many flaws.


... for a child who melts my heart with her smile.


... that I live in a country where I can worship God freely without fear of persecution.


... for the soldiers, Marines, sailors, and airmen who protect that freedom every day, and their families who sacrifice just as much, if not more.


... for food in our pantry.


... for my husband's work ethic, and determination to do the absolute best he can to provide for our family's needs, and wants.


... for an incredibly close extended family.


... for in-laws who have welcomed me into their family from day one, and treat me as if I am one of their own.


... for friends I can call 24 hours a day for anything at all.


But mostly I'm thankful for my Salvation, and what had to happen that day at Calvary to ensure my eternal life with our Lord in Heaven. I am excited to start teaching Addison about the true meaning of Christmas; that it represents the day we were given the most incredible gift of all... God's only son. I hope your family has a very Merry Christmas season. And somewhere in between the shopping, wrapping, parties, food, and celebrations, remember to give thanks for all the many blessings He gives us daily. 'Tis the Season!! :)

Where Did The Year Go?!

Well, I'm a little late on this post, but HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY ADDISON!!! :)

She officially turned one on Sunday - November 1st. I absolutely cannot believe that I don't have a "baby" anymore. Everyone always tells you to enjoy it because it goes by so quickly, and we all nod politely and say, "yeah, I know," but SERIOUSLY, where did the time go?! It doesn't seem like a year ago that she was born, but on the other hand, I don't really remember life before her either. She is the most amazing thing in the world, and I love her more and more each day.

She is getting to be so much fun, and has developed quite the little personality. She loves to "wrestle" on the floor with Daddy. I must get a video of that to share. She can point to her nose, eye, ear, mouth, and belly. When asked how to hit a volleyball, she lifts her arm up, and then slams it down. She claps whenever you say "good job", or whenever she does something she is proud of. She loves to turn off light switches, push the garage door button, and flush the toilet. Anytime she hears music of any kind she starts dancing - which is hysterical and makes me smile every time. She loves to eat, and we have not found anything that she refuses - although a few bites of PB&J made her break out in hives, so we'll be holding off on the peanuts for a while longer. She is great at playing by herself, but loves to be around people. She will smile and wave at anyone that gives her even the slightest amount of attention. She is now drinking whole milk during the day. She has stopped nursing completely, and I really thought it would be a bigger deal to "wean", but both of us did great. Once the whole milk was introduced she was like, "see ya Mommy!" She is such a big girl.

I have wanted to be a Mommy my whole life, and if the rest of it is like the first year, I couldn't think of anything else in the world that could be better! :) We love you little Addie. You make Mommy's heart smile!

In honor of her first birthday, I wanted to share some pictures of her first year!

November 1, 2008

November 2008

December 2008

January 2009

February 2009

March 2009

April 2009

May 2009

June 2009

July 2009

August 2009

September 2009

October 2009

November 1, 2009 - Happy 1st Birthday Baby Girl!!!

In Need of a Major Detox

Hi. My name is Krista, and I have a problem.

I'm going to lay a lot out in this post. Judge me if you wish, but this is all stuff that has been on my mind in recent days, and it just all came together this morning in a big way.

My life has been flooded with trash lately. TV. Music. Internet. I have literally been taken over by trash. At first it just crept in - so little that I didn't even notice. But, finally, it all showed its ugly face this morning bright and clear.

I never actually sit down and "watch" morning TV, but I will admit that as soon as my feet hit the downstairs floor in the morning - usually carrying a bleary eyed baby girl ready for her breakfast - I immediately grab the remote and turn the TV on to "listen" to Good Morning America as I make, and then sit down to eat, our breakfast. No big deal, right? Well, then comes Regis and Kelly - we've got to see who's on this morning! Oh, it's a trashy actor coming on to talk about their even trashier movie that's coming out this week, that I would never in a million years go to see? OK, we must watch it.... as I simultaneously check my email, facebook, blog, read the ever-trashier AJC online, etc., etc., etc... all while that adorable little girl goes into her playroom to play by herself. Don't they encourage "alone time" for all children?! Well, then comes 10:00 and the Doctors. Dumbest. Show. Ever. And I'm a former Health teacher! But does the TV get turned off? Nope. Most of the time it does get muted as Addison and I play together for a little bit in the playroom - but never too far away from the iPhone, just in case an email comes through or someone posts a status update. Then what? Oh yeah, The View. I couldn't imagine getting through my day without listening to these women discuss their immoral, anti-everything-I-believe-in, trashy, trashy, trashy "views". But, then they also have the same above mentioned actor on to discuss the same movie that's coming out this weekend as we saw just 2 hours ago on Reg and Kell. But when does the TV get turned off you ask? Only after Whoopi "takes a little time to enjoy the view". Ugh. It is now noon, and what do I have to show for my morning? Dirty breakfast dishes in the sink, and my child and I both still in our pajamas.

Now it is time for lunch... and then Addison's nap. Perfect time to get busy, right? Nope. Gotta go read everyone's status updates on Facebook again, because God forbid they do something that I don't know about! To my credit, at least I USUALLY do get in a shower during this time.... but how could I take a shower and get dressed without some trashy music on in the background?! I think some quiet time alone would just be too much to handle. Must. Have. Music.

Gone are the days of beating Addison out of bed, getting a shower and getting dressed, and being a cup of coffee down before she wakes. Gone are the days of my daily chore chart, and keeping a well-run household. LONG gone are the days of hitting the gym every morning. My new mentality?

So what if the house is a little "messy"? It just means it is well lived in.

So what if I didn't happen to get a shower today, and I'm still in sweats and ponytail when my husband comes home? He knows how hectic our days can be.

So what if my child doesn't see sunshine except through a closed window for 2 days? We'll go to the playground tomorrow - Oh, it's supposed to rain tomorrow? Well, then maybe the next day.

So what if my husband works a 12 hour day, and then comes home to grilled cheese sandwiches and warmed up Campbell's soup? He understands that I just didn't *feel* like cooking tonight.

So what if I honestly, and shamefully, couldn't tell you the last time I sat down by myself and spent time with God in His Word? Surely He gets it that I just really needed that extra 30 minutes of sleep this morning.

I have become slack. In everything. And I'm convinced that it is coming from the trash that I am letting into my life - both consciously and unconsciously. It is time for a detox in my life, and it is going to start now. No more trashy morning TV. No more trashy music being played. Less time spent on the computer. More quality time spent with my child. More time spent being a good wife, and keeper of our home. More time spent in quiet, alone with my thoughts and my God.

Why am I throwing all this out there on such a public forum? Because, I know if I put it out there for you to read, I will hold myself to it. And I hope that you will help hold me to it. We all need a little help from our friends from time to time, right?!

Oh yeah, and Facebook? Look out, I'm coming for you next! But for now... Baby steps, baby steps. :)

My Sweetie

OK, my friend Marcie tagged me for this post all about my one true love. Kevin is my best friend, and the love of my life. He doesn't get much air time on the blog, so this is all about him...

♥ What are your middle names? Leigh and Patrick

♥How long have you been together? We started dating in February of 2006, so between 3 1/2 and 4 years.

♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating? We met on a Friday night, and went on our first date the following Friday night.

♥ Who asked whom out? He asked me out... our first date was to the state wrestling finals... really romantic, huh?

♥ Who made the first move? Kevin

♥ How old are each of you? Kevin is 33. I am 27.

♥ Did you go to the same school? Nope

♥ Are you from the same home town? Nope

♥ Who is the smartest? Kevin is freakishly knowledge-smart, but I have more common sense. :)

♥ Who majored in what? Kevin has degrees is Math, Health and Exercise Science, and Educational Leadership. I majored in Health Education.

♥ Who is the most sensitive? Me. But, he's not too far behind.

♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple? Before we moved, we ate at our local Mexican restaurant once a week. We're still trying to find "our place" here in Dahlonega.

♥ Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple? St. Lucia for our honeymoon, but we've also been to Grand Cayman, Cancun, New York, Vegas, LA, New Orleans, Miami... we're thinking Boston or Chicago next.

♥ Who has the worst temper? I have the more frequent temper, but neither of us has a very severe temper.

♥ How many children do you want? We're planning on 4... we'll see.

♥ Who does the cooking? I do, but Kevin can hold his own in the kitchen.

♥ Who is more social? Me. Kevin will say, "I saw Joe Shmoe at Walmart today". Me: "Oh really? What's he up to lately?" Kevin: "Well, I don't know. I didn't say I talked to him; I just saw him!"

♥ Who is the neat-freak? Neither of us is much of a "freak" about neatness, but I will get to a point where everything MUST be cleaned up. Kevin, not so much.

♥ Who is the most stubborn? Both of us are equally stubborn. And Addison is 10 times worse than either of us.

♥ Who wakes up earlier? Kevin, by about an hour.

♥Where was your first date? Already covered that one... our second date was to the circus then to see an Elvis impersonator... seriously.

♥ Who has the bigger family? Kevin. He's the oldest of 4 kids.

♥ Do you get flowers often? No. Flowers die.

♥ How do you spend the holidays? We split time between our families.

♥ Who is more jealous? Neither of us is jealous.

♥ How long did it take to get serious? Not long at all. We were engaged 6 months to the day after we met.

♥ Who eats more? Sadly, I think I do.

♥ What do you do for a living? Kevin is a teacher/coach. I am a stay-at-home mom.

♥ Who does the laundry? We're an awesome laundry team. I put it in the washer and move it to the dryer. He takes it out and folds it all. Then, I put it all away.

♥ Who’s better with the computer? Me.

♥ Who drives when you are together? Kevin

♥ What is "your" song? We have lots of songs we love, but we danced to "Come Away With Me" by Nora Jones at our wedding reception.

OK... I'm not "tagging" anyone. If you want to share some cute things about your hubby, please do!! :)

Sort of an update, but mostly just ramblings...

Well... I have fallen into the blog slacker mode yet again. Seriously, I don't know why I haven't posted anything in so long - especially since SO much has been going on. At least 3 times a day I think, "I really should put an update on the blog," but the thought is fleeting, and alas, I do not post. So, I hope you are settled in and comfy because I have a feeling this might take a while...

First thing's first... the house.

We LOVE our new house. It has felt like "home" from the first day we arrived. Moving was fairly easy (says the girl who mostly just helped move boxes, and stood at the front door pointing to where I wanted furniture placed). We had several great helpers, and we really appreciate it more than they know. It took only 3 days to have all the boxes unpacked, stuff put away, pictures hung, and things organized. I am a freak when it comes to things being "undone", and couldn't stand to have our stuff just sitting around, so it got done pretty quickly - again, with the help of some awesome family and friends. Now, the other stuff (hanging blinds, putting up curtains, etc.) still hasn't been completed yet - and I know that's ultimately why I haven't taken and posted pictures yet - because I want everything to be done before I show it to anyone. I know that's ridiculous, and there will always be something to be done, so I just need to get over it and take and post some pictures. I know. And I will. Soon. I just have to get a few more things done. :)

Addison has done great in the new place. I guess kids are pretty resilient that way. It's crazy for me to think about the fact that she will never remember the old house. Weird. Anyway - she loves it here, and she definitely loves seeing her Daddy every night again. She just lights up when he walks in the door, and it totally melts my heart. She is a Daddy's girl through-and-through.

Some fun updates on Addison:

~She is now 10 1/2 months old (seriously, where does the time go?!)
~ I guess the biggest thing is that she is WALKING! She was 2 days shy of 10 months when she took her first meaningful (21) steps. She started taking 2 and 3 steps at a time about 3 weeks prior to that, but when she set her mind to it, she just took off... and hasn't looked back. She is now everywhere. It is fun, but exhausting, chasing her around now. She is just so darn cute toddling around all off-balance. I'll post a video of it soon.
~ She kicked the bottle about 3 weeks ago - cold turkey- and now drinks everything from sippy cups. I had always given her water in a sippy (from about 6 months old), so she didn't even blink when I started putting her milk in one, too. Pretty cool - no more bottles to wash!
~ She has 5 teeth - the bottom middle two came in at 8 1/2 months and 9 months, and the top middle two and the next one on the left all came in last week (yes, at the same time - that was SO much fun!).
~ She is eating all table food now, and feeds herself with her hands like a pro. We're working on the spoon. If I load it up, she'll take it from me, put it in her mouth, take the food, then hand the spoon back to me. She also loads the spoon herself by picking the food up with her fingers and putting it on the spoon. :)
~ I just started this week cutting her formula with whole milk. She is still nursing twice a day (first thing in the morning, and right before bedtime at night), and gets two 8 oz sippies during the day. So, I've started mixing 2 oz of whole milk in with 6 oz of formula, and she's doing great. I'm going to increase the milk (and decrease the formula) by 2 oz every week until she is getting all whole milk. I know they aren't supposed to get whole milk until a year old, but I think she is close enough, and she has never had any digestive or allergy issues, so we're going for it - slowly.
~ She just started clapping her hands this weekend. This is a big thing for us because it was truly the only thing she has not done "on time". We've been working on it for a while now, and last night she just decided that she would play along. And when she saw the reaction it got out of us, she did it the rest of the night. And every time she would clap her hands, she would get this HUGE smile on her face and look at us like, "I'm doing it - see?! I can clap! Aren't you proud of me?!"
~ She has a few words... Mama and Dada are said all the time. When she is upset, or tired, it is always "MaaaaaaaaaaaaMaaaaaaaaaaaaaa"... "Ba" is ball... And she will point to my coffee cup every morning and say "OT!" (HOT!) - I'm not sure she knows what "hot" means, but that's what she associates with my coffee cup. Those are the ones she says by herself, but she will pretty much mimic whatever we tell her to say. I cannot wait to hear her little voice when she starts really talking!
~ She loves to give kisses (she puts her open mouth against your cheek), and will grab your face with both of her chubby little hands and pull you close to her just to give you a big, wet, sloppy kiss. Be still my heart.
~ I've joined the MOMS Club (Dahlonega Chapter), and I am so excited about meeting other moms in the area and getting to do fun things. We are going to an Apple Farm in Ellijay this Friday (provided it stops raining - for those of you out of the ATL area, it has rained non-stop for 7 days and there is major flooding issues everywhere), and touring the Dahlonega fire station next week. They also have a play date at someone's house every week, bikes-n-trikes at the park a couple times a week, reading time at the library on Tuesdays, and stroller walks at the park on Thursdays.

Everything else is going great. Kevin is really enjoying his new job as the Adapted PE teacher for the county, and of course is loving football. They are 3 games in and are 2-1 so far. We love Friday nights. It is very much like the stereotypical small town high school football scenario - everyone in town heads to the stadium on Friday nights to cheer on the Indians, and when you win, everyone in town congratulates you the rest of the week - seriously, the guy in the Wendy's drive-through window told me congratulations the other day after a win when he saw my LC Football tshirt. So much fun.

Alright... I guess that's all I've got in me for now... House pictures and walking video to come soon... I promise. Gotta go get the little one up from her nap... I can hear her over the monitor playing sweetly in her crib!

CLOSING DAY #1

We are closing on the Loganville house today - YAHOO!! The actual closing is at 3:00, and as of about 8:00 last night, all ducks were in a row. Please keep us in your prayers. I'm still pretty anxious about it all.

Dahlonega closing is set for 10:00 tomorrow. Kevin's first football game is tomorrow night. Then, we move on Saturday. We had the walk-through Tuesday for the new house. I had not seen it since it was finished - and was so excited to see that it looks great!

Our cable, phones, and internet are being turned off today, so that I can turn in the equipment before the move. I will be lost without checking in with, and on, my friends, but I will be back once our new service is established on Monday. Perhaps that will keep me focused on unpacking for a couple of days! :)

Anyway - until Monday! Have a great weekend!

Because I Don't Feel Like Packing Right Now...

The First Lemon

Today was a very special day. Not only was it my 27th birthday (how can I possibly be getting so close to 30?!), but it was also the day that we publicly dedicated Addison to the Lord and had her baptized. We had almost all of our immediate family here (minus Aunt Shannon and Uncle Jamie in Charleston), and got to go out to lunch after church to celebrate. It was truly an amazing day.

I am in the process as I type this of getting all the pictures that were taken today organized and uploaded to the computer, and I will post a ton of them probably tomorrow, but I just couldn't wait to share this one. It was taken at lunch after church. I have been waiting for 9 months now for this moment... Addison's first lemon! :)

Bittersweet Excitement

I still can't even believe we have been so blessed by this whole moving chapter of our lives. Our house was on the market right at 3 months when we got a contract! Everything is going great with the selling of our house. The inspection couldn't have gone better, and the buyers just seem SO nice. They are a young couple who have been married for about 6 months. They will love their new house as much as we have I hope! :) Everything is still set to close on Aug. 27 - less than 4 weeks from now - CRAZY!


As excited as I am to start this new part of our lives, I can't help but feel a little sad to leave this last part behind. I bought this house right after I was hired at Parkview. I was 22 years old, single, and so thrilled to be buying my very first house all on my own. I moved in on the 4th of July in 2005 and had so much fun decorating and getting my little house all set up. Little did I know that 7 months later I would meet my future husband. I still vividly remember pacing the kitchen floor while I was talking to Kevin on the phone for the first time. I remember giving him directions to my cute little house to pick me up for our first date. I remember him bringing me home from the second date, and giving me our first kiss in the driveway of this house. I loved having my bridesmaids spend the night here the night before our wedding, and getting ready here the next morning on the big day. I remember getting home late the night we came back from our honeymoon in St. Lucia, and Kevin carrying me over the threshold of the front door, then staying up to the wee hours of the morning sitting on the living room floor opening all of our gifts before going to bed. I remember finding out that I was pregnant with Addison, and Kevin spinning me around in a huge bearhug in our bedroom after I told him the good news. I'll never forget bringing Addison home to this house from the hospital, and taking a million pictures of her just laying on her Boppy in the living room, our bedroom, her bedroom.


I will always remember this house for all the amazing things that happened in my life in the short 4 years that I lived here. I never would have imagined on that July 4th 4 years ago that my life would change so drastically, and I would be so truly blessed. I'll cherish all those memories every time I think of our sweet little Loganville house...

BUT - we are so equally blessed to have found our new house in Dahlonega. I mentioned in my last post that we had put an offer in on a house that we loved up there and were just waiting to find out if we got it or not. I also mentioned that we were going up the next day to look at "back-up" houses in the event we didn't get "our" house. Well, in the process of finding a "back-up house", we found one that we actually like equally as much as the first. We put an offer on it as well, just in case we didn't get our first choice. Well, as it turned out, we were so amazed to find out that our offers on BOTH houses were accepted!! So, we then had a decision to make. We really did love the first house. We had spent the last 3 months talking about and planning our future with that house in mind. But, the "back-up" house was such an amazing deal I just couldn't get it out of my mind. So, we weighed the pros and cons of each house, talked about it, prayed about it, then talked about it some more, and finally came to the conclusion that our "back-up house" was going to be the best house for us and our family.

SO - we have signed off on the contract, picked out the flooring and appliances so the house can be finished (I didn't mention before that it is a brand new house!), and we are getting so fired up to move in. I will show you a picture of the outside, but I want to hold off on inside pictures until it is all finished. Hopefully that won't be too much longer because we are set to close on it the 28th!! Here is our new home in the mountains!!

I want to thank everyone for the thoughts, prayers, and encouragement as we have gone through this process. Like I said, we have a little less than 4 weeks to get everything packed and moved. And, while I'm still a little sad to be leaving our Loganville house behind, I am oh-so-excited to see what the future holds for us in Dahlonega.

House Update

Well........ I decided to let go, and let God, and.........

We got an offer on our house this week! It was much lower than we were anticipating, but we countered at a much more acceptable price, and they accepted! With one catch... they want us to leave our dining room table set for them. REALLY?! I guess if it helps them feel like they are getting a better deal, and they will go through with the sale, fine. But, our dining room furniture?! It was actually Kevin's dining room table set that he had bought in his bachelor days, and it really is a beautiful table, so I think it kinda made him proud that they thought so much of it they wanted it to stay with the house. So, I got online and made sure we could secure the same table again for our new house, and we can. I guess it will be kinda nice to not have to worry about moving it (trying to look on the bright side here!). We'll just buy a new one and have it delivered to the new house...

Speaking of the new house... I think I have mentioned we found a house up there about 3 months ago that we absolutely love. We were just sitting back hoping and praying that no one else would buy it before we could. So, as soon as we found out we had an offer on ours, we called the other agent to put an offer on the Dahlonega house. Well, wouldn't you know, there was another offer on it the SAME MORNING as ours! So, now we are waiting to hear back if we are going to get it or not. Kinda stressful, but so awesome at the same time! We are going up to look at some "back-up" houses tomorrow, just in case our offer doesn't win out.

They are doing the inspection on our house Tuesday morning, and the closing is set for Aug. 27 (less than 5 weeks!). So, keep your fingers crossed and say a little prayer for us that the deal on our house goes to closing, and that we get our Dahlonega house, or find one that's even better!

We'll make sure to update as things unfold! Thanks for the prayers so far!

Let Go, And Let God

OK, I know the title to this post is a little cliche, but it best fit the way I'm feeling this morning.

As I've mentioned (many times), we are trying to sell our house in Loganville and move to Dahlonega. We couldn't be more excited about Kevin's new job in Lumpkin County. He is going to be the Adapted PE teacher for the whole county - traveling around to each school each day offering PE classes to special needs students. He will also be coaching football and girls golf. All summer long he has spent almost every day (and night) during the week up there for football practice, and it's getting pretty old being here without him. I miss him. Addison misses him. I hate it that he misses out on her waking up every morning. Misses out on lunchtime. Misses out on bathtime. Misses out on bedtime. And this is going to sound selfish, but I hate doing those things alone. Without him. We want to be with our Daddy.

We've talked about what we are going to do come August if school is starting and our house isn't sold yet. During the summer, Kevin has been staying with our good friends Tommy and Cory, the head coach and his wife and family, or with a couple of other coaches who have a house. And, when Addison and I do get to go up there, we stay with Tommy and Cory and the girls, too. And, although they have amazingly offered to let us stay there with them full-time come August, I can't imagine being that much of an imposition (I mean a family of 3 moving in with a family of 4!) for who knows how long. So, we have a couple of options... My grandparents have a lake house up on Lanier (about 15 miles from the school), which my grandfather has so graciously offered to us if we need to stay there for a while. Or, we continue to do what we've been doing - Kevin staying with Tommy and Cory (or the other coaches) during the week, and coming home on the weekends. Staying at the lake house is definitely our best option, but it's just not our "home", ya know? We'd still be living between Loganville and Dahlonega, and never actually feeling like either place was our home.

So, needless-to-say, I have been worrying and worrying and worrying about selling this house... worrying to the point that I feel sick... And I pray... and I pray... and I pray... that God would bring the perfect people to our home, who think this is just the perfect place for them to live.

Well, last night while I was laying in my bed saying my usual prayers, I remembered a sermon our minister preached about two months ago... He was talking about the Christian practices of confessing and repenting. I didn't think much of it at the time, but it all came back to me last night while I was praying. Our minister said that when you are in constant worry about something, you are basically telling God that you don't think He's big enough to handle your problem, or that you don't trust Him to handle it the "right" way. So, your confession should actually be that you don't trust God. And, then repenting would be telling God that you are sorry for not trusting Him, and that you are finally laying the problem at His feet and, in full submission, handing it over to Him. I found great comfort in that last night. So, I confessed that I had been worrying about it because I just didn't think He was doing enough to handle my problem. And then I repented. I told Him that it was now completely in His hands, and I would not worry about it anymore.

Amazingly, I woke up this morning feeling better than I have in quite a while. I know our house will be sold... in His time, not mine.

Now all I have to do is worry about keeping it clean! :)

The Stewarts' Staycation

Every year the GHSA mandates a "dead week" from all sports, clubs, and activities. It is always the week leading into the 4th of July, and no team, club, or organization can have any contact at all... no practice, no weight lifting, no meetings, no anything at all. It is so nice because it gives the families of the kids (and coaches) a set week every year that they know they can take vacation and not miss anything.

Well, we debated going to the beach for the week, but finally decided against it for a couple of reasons. One, we weren't sure if Addison would be able to handle it yet... I mean, she might be able to go out for an hour in the morning, and then another hour in the late afternoon, but what do you do the other time - sit in the condo and stare out at the ocean? Take turns going down to the beach alone? We weren't quite sure... Also, we are still really hopeful that we will be moving on up to Dahlonega here in the near future, and I can think of a million things I will want to have for the new house. So we decided to save the money we would have spent on a beach vacation, and have our own "staycation" right here in Atlanta. So, we planned fun things to do all week while Kevin was home, and we had a blast! Here is a breakdown, complete with some pictures! :)

Monday

We went to the Gwinnett Braves game. We hadn't been over to the stadium to see a game yet, and we were very excited about it. It's pretty cool having the stadium so close! We had a great time. We got there a little early and "tailgated" in the parking lot with Subway sandwiches, and then went on into the park. We brought a blanket and paid $5 for berm tickets. We found a great little spot right out in left-center field by the bullpen. It was so nice to spread our blanket out in the grass and let Addison crawl around and enjoy the game. Clint Sammons is the catcher in Gwinnett. He was a good friend of mine at UGA, and Kevin happened to coach him at Parkview his senior year, so we were excited to get to see him for a minute before the game started. We were sitting right by the bullpen, so we were able to see him warming up the starting pitcher. Also, during the game I got a phone call from another great college friend who said she was at the game, so we were able to catch up for a little bit, and she got to meet Addison for the first time. All-in-all, it was a great night!

Tuesday

We didn't do a whole lot on Tuesday. Luke's Daddy came over and talked to us about some of our financial planning, and then Kevin went to play some golf with his brother, Uncle Todd. Addison and I hung out at the house and played in the yard for a while, before coming in and getting dinner ready. After Addison was tucked away, Kevin and I watched a movie, ate ice cream, and relaxed... so nice!

Wednesday

I loved Wednesday! We left here after Addison's nap and drove up to Athens. Our first stop was this little blueberry picking place. It's really someone's house, but they have hundreds of blueberry bushes, and they let people come and pick their own blueberries. So, we put Addie in her stroller and found a couple of really full bushes just waiting to be picked. We had a lot of fun picking berries and Addison stayed pretty content in her stroller for about 45 minutes before she just got too hot. So we finished up with about 3/4 of a gallon. So, we now have enough berries for about a year's worth of pancakes, waffles, homemade ice cream, you name it!

THEN, we went over to my cousin Kathryn's house in Athens (she's a senior at UGA). Addison was lucky enough to get to stay there and play for a couple of hours while Mommy and Daddy had a date night! Kevin had made reservations at this little Italian place downtown (it's on the second floor over Bourbon Street if you are familiar with downtown Athens) called La Dolce Vita. We had a great dinner and dessert, but even better adult conversation! Sadly, I don't have any pictures of our date night. :(

Thursday

We had a great day Thursday. Kevin had to meet with a lady about his dissertation over in Norcross at 10:00, so we loaded up early and headed out for the day. He happened to be meeting her at the Forum, so Addison and I were able to do a little bit of shopping while we waited... we didn't mind! Then, we were off for Atlanta. Kevin had to meet with one more person whose office is at the Professional Standards Commission in Atlanta, so we dropped him at the door to the building and drove around for a little while before going back to pick him up. Once we left there, he was finished with school stuff for the day, so we decided to take advantage of a day in the big city. We went over to Atlantic Station to have lunch at Rosa Mexicano, a great little Mexican restaurant where the food is delicious, and they make fresh guacamole at your table - loved it! Then we went to Ikea- mainly because Kevin had never been, and wanted to see what it was all about. We tooled around in there for a few hours - I mean really, the place is insane, and everyone should experience it at least once. After that, the little one was well past ready to be home, so we headed on this way. Again, sadly no pictures from the day.

Friday

We had a very lazy morning Friday. We enjoyed sleeping in, getting up and having breakfast, and then we all went back down for a "family nap". Does it get any better?! When we finally got our lazy behinds going, we packed up and headed for Powder Springs to spend the night with Pops. Mops was gone to Illinois for a family reunion that we missed out on, so it was just us there with Pops and the animals. I cooked dinner for all of us and we had a great little visit.

Saturday

HAPPY 4th OF JULY! Kevin and I got up extra early Saturday morning, and we were off for the big city again. We, along with 55,000 other crazy people, enjoyed 6.2 miles of 4th of July fun! I ran the Peachtree Road Race for the very first time!! It was so much fun... well MOST of it! It was great people watching if nothing else! Kevin was so sweet to stay "behind" and run the whole thing with me. He probably could have finished about 30 minutes ahead of me, but he said he wanted to experience it together, so we went at my pace... which... was... slow. But, I finished, and got the t-shirt to prove it! I'm so proud of my shirt - I have it on right now! We finished in 1:18:05 and 1:18:06... guess who finished first?! ME! I timed us on my watch, but we didn't know our official times until we got home, and we realized I must have crossed the finish line just ahead of Kevin, which I think is hilarious! So, for at least the next year, I have bragging rights! :) After the race, we went back to Pops' house to grill hamburgers and celebrate the 4th... and by celebrate I mean shower and take a LONG nap. We got home last night, put the little one to bed, watched the few fireworks we could see from our backyard, and crashed out. I forgot to take the camera with us downtown (and really, what would we have done with it while we were running?), so we took a couple of pictures when we got back to my parents' house. My first Peachtree:

Sunday

Our Staycation comes to an end... We've had a great day today... just resting up and letting our bodies recover from our run yesterday. Sadly, Kevin has to be in Dahlonega bright and early tomorrow morning for a week of kids' camp and practice, and I have one more week of the online summer school class that I'm teaching. So, it's back to the real world.

This is Addison "helping" me cook dinner tonight... she fell fast asleep sitting straight up in her walker... poor thing.

We had a wonderful week. Addison and I loved having our Daddy home with us the whole week, and we are now more excited than ever to get our house sold so we can be up in Dahlonega with him all the time. I hope everyone had a great long holiday weekend! Happy 4th!

8 month update

How is it possible our little one is 8 months old?! I guess time truly does fly when you're having fun. Addison is doing all kinds of fun things these days... and she's definitely keeping us on our toes. She started crawling the weekend she turned 7 months and has not slowed down since. She LOVES to crawl, and she'll take off with no particular destination in mind, she just wants to be on the move. About a week after she mastered crawling, she started pulling up. She thinks she is such a big girl standing up, and will pull up on anything she can get her hands on. Just in the last week or so, she has started "cruising" - walking while holding onto a low table, a couch, a walker, etc. It's so sweet to watch her... her little toes stay curled under her feet and she takes the tiniest little steps. She's so proud of herself.

And, she is getting so big... we had to take her in to the pediatrician about a month ago for a little infection, and at that time she weighed 20 lbs 7 oz., so I imagine she is probably topping off at around 21+ lbs now. Obviously, she likes to eat a lot... I'm still making all of her food, but she is getting more and more table food now. She loves chicken and vegetables, but her favorite is homemade yogurt and mangoes. And she is SO tall... I can't imagine where she gets the height from! :)

Addison is such a joy. When she does slow down, she loves to cuddle and will burrow her face into your neck and just snuggle in, which just makes her mommy melt. She has also gotten very good at giving "kisses" ... she'll lean her head into your face and open her mouth against your cheek... and she loves doing it... she'll pull back from your cheek with the biggest smile on her face! I think Kevin and I say about 10 times a day, "she's just the COOLEST kid!"

Anyway... Our little sweetie is doing awesome... doing cool new stuff every day... I'll try to update more often - I know I'm terrible about it! I'll close with a few pictures of our recent goings-on:

First trip to Illinois to visit family - swinging out in Great-great-aunt Marilyn's backyard

Daddy's spring football game:

Addison's first Braves game:

First Laser Show at Stone Mountain:

Dancing to the music at the Laser Show:

Feeding herself for the first time:

Swimming in her friend Ella's pool:

Feeding the animals at the Yellow River Game Ranch:

Our little piggy with a great big piggy:

Playing around:

Happy 1st Daddy's Day!

Every single day I am completely in awe of Kevin with Addison. I always knew he would make an incredible father, but I had no idea what a great Daddy he would be. From the very first second he held her, he was sunk. And, even better, she's completely smitten with her Daddy. It makes my heart happy to watch them together. Here is a small glimpse into the last 7 1/2 months of Daddy/Daughter time. Happy Father's Day to all the Daddies out there.

It's Awkward...

I just spent an hour of my life looking at this website... an hour that I will never get back... but it IS pretty funny! :)

Oh, by-the-way - the Stewarts are doing great. There have been lots of things going on lately, and I promise I'll have a true update coming very soon.

XOXO!

Addison's Brushes with Greatness

In the first 6 1/2 months of her life, Addison has been in the arms of some pretty impressive athletes. Not that we are trying to force her to be an athlete, but hey, whatever works right?! :)

Last night we were at a cookout for Kevin's math department at Oconee Co. and got the latest picture taken with Reese Hoffa, a world champion shot putter (also a Georgia grad, and the husband of one of the other math teachers). Then I started thinking about some of the pictures we have of her with other athletes and thought I'd share...

With Jeff Francoeur (right fielder for the Atlanta Braves, and a good friend of Kevin's family)... she was 3 weeks old.

With Brent Abernathy - Olympic gold medalist and professional baseball player (OK, I know this one is kinda cheap because he's family, but hey - still a great athlete!) :) ... she was 5 weeks old

With A.J. Green - receiver for the University of Georgia (and her Mommy's favorite player)... she was 5 1/2 months old

With legendary football coach and athletics director for the University of Georgia, Vince Dooley

And with Reese Hoffa - World Champion Shot Putter and two-time Olympian... she was 6 1/2 months old
So, as you can see, I've gotten pretty shameless about saying, "Hey, can you hold my kid for a picture?"... Oh well, maybe one day she'll be the one having her picture taken with babies while she's off on the AVP tour... a mom can dream, right?! :)

So good you'll wanna slap yo mama!

Our dinner tonight was so unbelievably delicious, I would feel terrible if I didn't share it with you... I got the recipe from this month's Southern Living. We had shrimp and grits, and the recipe is the one used at The Hominy Grill in Charleston. Ask anyone from Charleston or anyone who has visited Charleston, and they will tell you this place is one of the best restaurants there... and shrimp and grits is about as southern as it gets... anyway...

As I mentioned in my previous post on grocery shopping, I plan my weekly menus around what is in the sale sheet for the week. This week Kroger has shrimp on sale ($3.99/lb), sliced mushrooms on sale ($1.67/8oz package), green onions on sale ($0.49/bunch), and Hormel bacon on sale ($3.00)... all of these items are ingredients in the shrimp and grits - so it's not only DELICIOUS, it's cheaper (make no mistake, I said "cheaper", not "cheap" - this was definitely a splurge meal... it probably cost me about $15 to make, but we couldn't have had it at Hominy Grill for that... not to mention we have left-overs for about 3 more meals!). Sadly, it was the only meal I will cook this week because of Kevin's football schedule. They are in the middle of spring practice, and he's driving home from Dahlonega every night, getting in pretty late... So I figured a "splurge" meal was definitely in order! I can eat left-overs or cold cereal the rest of the week, right?! :)

So... on to the good stuff... I'm not going to go to the trouble of copying the entire recipe here, but I will point you in the right virtual direction... Here is the recipe for the shrimp mixture... and here is the recipe for the yummiest cheese grits ever... I will tell you, I used quick grits instead of the stone-ground... much quicker, and no different. Also, I had everything pre-chopped and measured out before I started - Kevin even helped me peel and devein the shrimp. I got the grits going, and then started on the shrimp mixture, and they both were finished at the same time. We went from walking in the door to sitting down to eat in 35 minutes! Like I said, this recipe makes a TON, so for the two of us I will definitely half the recipe in the future... it would also be a wonderful meal for visitors.

I hope you enjoy this as much as we did... It was FANTASTIC!!

Belly Laughing!

I... LOVE... THIS... LAUGH!!! :)

The Grocery Game

I'm totally piggy-backing off my friend Lauren's recent post on menu planning and grocery shopping, so if you read both of our blogs (Marcie), sorry if it's a little repetitive!

Few of you know this about me, but I am a grocery gamer. I'll admit, I'm not as avid about it as I wish I was, but I really have a great time trying to see how much I can save each time I make my weekly grocery trip. It started out about a year ago with me setting a goal to save 25% on my grocery bill... I wasn't clipping coupons or shopping the sales sheets, I just thought I could do it on my own... wrong! When I realized that it wasn't going to happen that way I made a game plan and just now am I starting to see the fruits of my labor.

For the last few months I have observed, adapted, and revised my game plan and am loving my new system of grocery shopping! Each Sunday I take our local paper and pull all the grocery sales sheets and coupon booklets out of it (and give the rest to Kevin!), and spread out on the kitchen table with my scissors, a legal pad and pen, coupon organizer, and recipe binder - I keep a 3-ring-binder of all of my favorite recipes organized into categories (appetizers/party foods, chicken, beef, pork, fish, soups, sides, desserts, etc.). Side note: I LOVE the IDEA of organization, and I really try to be an organized person... I love putting together notebooks, and making lists and charts... it is the following through with things that's often difficult for me... but that's a whole other post for another time... So, then I make a menu chart (much like Lauren), of each day of the week. I mark the days that Kevin will not be home until past dinner time (b/c of football or golf practice, or grad school work) - and those are our leftover/clean-out-the-fridge nights. Then I plan for the other nights - I usually end up cooking 3-4 nights a week. The first thing I do is look at the sales sheet. I do all of our shopping at Kroger for 2 reasons. (1) It is the most convenient location for me, and (2) I like their Kroger Plus Card savings -we rack up so many points on our card, we get gas for 10 cents off every time we need it! I digress... back to the sales sheets... I see what Kroger has on sale that week, and then find a recipe in my binder (or online) that uses that particular food - for example, this week they have baby back ribs on sale for $2.99/pound... guess who's having ribs on Thursday night?! :) Then I check out the produce that is on sale, and plan my side dishes around that as well. The majority of the meals I make each week (everything included) are right at or under $5.00... Of course I will "splurge" (usually once or twice a week - like ribs this week) and spend around $10.00 a meal, but for the most part, I'm pretty thrifty with our meals. In each box of my menu plan I write down the main dish and each side dish (and I usually will do one dessert a week as a treat). Then in the last box of my chart I write down the ingredients that I will need to make that meal. I do that for each of the nights I plan on cooking. Then my meal chart, and each of the recipes I will use that week, go in the clear plastic cover of my binder for easy access!

I also check out the produce that is on sale that week to see if there is something that Addison is running low on... like last week, green beans were on sale $0.99/lb, so I stocked up on those and made about 3 months worth of green beans to freeze! Yellow squash and zucchini were also on sale for $0.99/lb. She won't start eating those for another month (they are 7-month-old foods), but they were so cheap, I stocked up on those, and pureed and froze about 3 months worth of each of those as well... seriously, you should see my freezer... I put Gerber to shame... we may have to invest in a separate baby food freezer for the basement of the next house. It's a little ridiculous.

Once my meal plan for the week is made it is time to make the grocery list. First, I go to my pantry and fridge and take note of the "staples" that we are out of, or close to being out of. Cereal and milk are the two biggest staples in our house... I drink skim milk and Kevin drinks 1% (he swears he tastes the difference and will not touch skim milk - whatever), so we each have our own gallon in the fridge, and EACH OF US will usually go through about a gallon-and-a-half of milk a week. Obviously we use it with cereal, and most of the time we drink it with dinner as well... And cereal... I'm not sure if I am embarrassed or proud of this fact, but I'll share it none-the-less... at any given time, we will have no fewer than 6 boxes of cereal in our pantry. We love cereal. But, we aren't cereal snobs; we eat whatever happens to be on sale when it is purchased. Again, I digress... grocery list. So, after putting the staples on the grocery list, I add all the ingredients that we are going to need for meals that week. Then I take that list and copy it into another grocery list.... did I mention that I love making lists?!... I organize my second grocery list by store aisles. I put all the produce first because that is where I start, and then I go aisle-by-aisle in my head and list each item in the appropriate section of the list - this is where being familiar with your store comes in handy!

Lastly, I clip coupons. I do this last for a reason. I love coupons, I really do. I believe you can save a lot of money by using coupons... BUT, they can also end up costing you money as well... If I am not careful, I can be very bad about buying a product that I normally wouldn't buy, or I flat out don't need, just because I have a coupon for it! So, by clipping coupons last, I make sure to only clip coupons for the things that I already have on my grocery list! That way I'm not buying something just because I have a coupon. Now, I'm not completely rigid about this. If it is an item that I do use, but I don't currently need (like toilet paper, pantry staples, etc.), I will clip the coupon and stick it in my organizer, that way I do have it when I need it. Then I go through my organizer and toss out expired coupons (gasp!) and pull out any that I need that week. While I obviously use coupons, I really could do better... I like websites such as this, and this, and this, where you can pick and print coupons for specific items that you use, but our printer has been on the fritz for a while, and honestly I just haven't made it a priority to have it fixed (really, I know we are probably going to have to buy a new one, and I'm just not ready for that reality right now). So, while I do use coupons, I know I could do SO much better than I am.

Now when Monday (aka "Grocery Day") rolls around I have my organized list and my coupons ready, and off we go! Addison loves to grocery shop with me. She is endlessly entertained just by holding the list for me, and we (ahem, I) make up silly songs about each item we (I) put in the cart. I can't wait until she can play along.

So, like I said, I know I could do SO much better than I am with the grocery game, but at least now I am consistently saving right at 25% each trip I make. I could clip a few more coupons, or wait to buy everything I need until it is on sale, but for now, I'm pretty content with my 25% savings! Who knows, maybe after another kid or two (God-willing), I'll up the ante and shoot for 30-40% savings!!

Now, if I could just get those darn baggers to stop putting the raw meat in with my produce we'd have a great thing going!! :)