Friday Five: According to James

What five things James is loving this Friday.



-One-
That mommy can't get off the floor as fast as I can climb on the table.


Also that Cheerios are a great substitution for confetti when you have something to celebrate and no tiny pieces of colored paper to throw in the air.

-Two-
That I got to walk Molly all by myself this morning in my PJs.



And jump in every puddle along the way.




-Three-
Baby Boat Drinks.


Miami Vice anyone?

-Four-
My new book, Barnyard Bath!


Scrub, scrub, scrub little piggy.

-Five-
My new car. I got it by trading in my hair, great deal if you ask me.


Just waiting for it to be delivered...

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To Grandmothers House We Go

James, Molly and I have spent the past few days with my parents house and it's been lovely.

All ready to go to Nannie and Popa Morgans house!

Josh is on a business trip and I had a bridal shower for a dear friend, so we decided to stay for a while.
Kristin had a beautiful shower at the beach, it was so fun to catch up with old friends and literally see her showered with love. I'm so excited for her and her awesome fiancé. They make the perfect pair. I thought she looked very Kate Middleton, no?

I tried to edit the picture in iPhoto, but I have trouble with that app. Kind of neat, but not exactly what I was going for.

I had fun wrapping her present and tried to be a little shabby chic, while using a template I had pinned on Pinterest.

I've been going 'homemade' on wrapping and cards lately. Mostly because I don't want to bring James shopping with me. I have mental images of him yelling until I let him take every card off the rack. I'm probably imagining the worst, but still he likes to be very hands on. So I take out some scrapbook supplies and go to town. I'm really missing Paper Source these days, but wouldn't dare bring James in there-ha!

We are enjoying our time with Nannie and Poppa Morgan. James and Molly just got back from their third walk of the morning. So I'm off to play trucks.

Five on Friday & SUYL

Is it wrong that I'm throwing my own personal "linking up to everyone else's link parties" party today?  Is there blog etiquette for this? I do not know, but I just love the Friday 5 and Kelly's Show Us Your Life, so here are things I'm thinking about today.

-One-
The Joys of Cooking (or not)
I try to do most of the prep for our dinner while James naps, because
it's very hard to cook with a little one holding onto my leg saying,
"Mama, MaMaaa, MAMA," a few thousand times.  No kitchen triangle can
contend with a toddler who wants the chiefs attention!  Cooking dinner
causes me stress.  I've learned to make all our breakfast and lunch's
for the week on Sunday night so it's simple, healthy and there's hardly
any mess to clean up earlier in the day.  I could use that at the end of
my day, too. Enter Freezer meals.I'm seriously considering a doing a month of freezer meals one of these days.  I've heard great things about Once a Month Mom.  I made a bunch while pregnant and was so very glad that I did.  Our favorite were Skinny Taste Asian Turkey Meatballs and still are a favorite now enjoyed by James as well!  I even have a Pinterest Board dedicated to Freezer Meals. One of these days I'm going to devote a weekend to cooking, so I don't have to for the rest of the month -doesn't that sound amazing?

-Two-
Speaking of cooking, I checked out Jessica Seinfeld's, Deceptively Delicious, from the library this week.I never thought I'd be one to check out cookbooks from the library, but our story-time circuit makes it pretty convenient, especially if I put it on hold before we go - that probably makes me an official, yet efficient, nerd!

Thanks to baby led weaning James really eats just about everything, and I just get so tickled to see him chow down on asparagus spears, broccoli and spinach.  I do love the idea of sneaking in even more nutrients from fruits and veggies, but making puree's to put into recipes is a whole extra step that I don't know if I want to add to my meal prep drama-ha!

-Three-
In a welcomed break from all the national news my home state is causing, this lady who wants to just wear a mermaid tail at her community pool, is quite the scandal here in Tampa Bay. She can come swim at our house anytime!

-Four-
 James is keeping me on my toes these days!  He just gets into everything, and oh boy he is fun and adventurous!  He loves to walk Molly, and now likes to make everything he finds into a leash...for himself.  I'm not a fan of unwrapping electrical wires from his neck multiple times a day, not sure if this is an "ignore and go away phase" or something where I need to start honing my none existent disciplining skills.  He seriously wrapped a computer wire around his neck while I pulled this up to publish!  So I guess I'll be checking out discipline books from the library this week instead of cookbooks, any recommendations?

-Five-

My brother is deploying soon to "an undisclosed location in the middle east."  I'm so grateful for his service and pray for his quick and safe return. 

So close

Almost finished putting together some train tracks before Godzilla came and destroyed them.



It took me a week of daily destruction to finally build an airplane from mega blocks.




It didn't last long...







One day he's going to want to do this with me right?

Gotta go pretend I'm a monkey now! Never a dull moment here.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Friday Five

It's my first time linking up!

-One-
The gift that keeps on giving.



A wine saver, helps me maintain my new mantra, a glass a day keeps the fights at bay.

It took me 16 months of motherhood to finally realize how much a glass of something white and refreshing helps during that 4 pm witching hour. James does not wake up refreshed from his afternoon nap, more like a crazed injured wild animal whose tranquilizer just wore off. My momma friends just told me, have a glass (or two) of wine. I hated opening bottles that would eventually go to waste. Until one of my momma besties gave me this. Game changer, the pressure is off to finish a bottle in a day or two! I wonder if my husband as noticed I'm not as crabby when he gets home from work?

-Two-
No more ponytails and make-up free days. Hoping to look in the mirror and say Oh YEAAAH a few more times a day than oh NOOO. I'm still figuring out how to get dressed (in non-workout cloths) and ready with the hot Florida sun, working out a few days a week, and you know a toddler who likes all attention on him all the time. The awesome kid zone at the club is a hug help. Ironically I think I've blown my hair out in the locker room more than at home this summer-ha! Yesterday I flat ironed and eyelined for the first time since Sunday as seen in the photo above.

-Three-
Is that my child picking up after himself?!?


There is so much food on our floor, Molly has actually gotten picky about what she will eat now. I vacuum at least three times a day. Thinking about getting a dust buster instead of lugging out the central vac all the time.

-Four-
So excited to going to Trader Joes this weekend. I love Publix, but miss my TJ's terribly. Going to a sorority sisters daughters birthday in Sarasota, and visiting their nearby TJ's- its totally the icing on the cake this weekend. Looks like my email campaign to TJs paid off as they are building one in Tampa right by my church-yeah!!

-Five-
Speaking of church, I'm teaching the lesson on Acts this week (we rotate teaching). Have to finish my lesson plan during nap time this afternoon cause its going to be a fun filled and busy weekend!

Hope you have a good one!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Splash park

It's all fun and games



Until its not...




King of the water park!



Oh no, what did I do?!?




Momma, get me out!

Can't get much better

James is pretty happy most of the time, but most happy

Riding in his wagon

Walking Molly, playing with car keys, visiting grandma and grandpas house and wearing his backpack full of toys or in this case doing all four.






Feeding himself his afternoon snack before we go to the gym.

Happiest 4th

My favorite holiday (tied with Christmas).

And oh we had fun!



Best part of our day was celebrating our favorite patriot as my brother surprised us by flying in from Texas and strolled into my kitchen just before lunch was ready. I hugged his neck for the longest time.



All the awesome desserts, apple pie, flag cake and chocolate torte. Yum!




So proud to celebrate our great country and our freedom. My brother deploys in a few days to protect us all, I'm so very grateful we got to spend this holiday together as a family.






James had such fun riding in his wagon, being surrounded by all his grandparents who he proudly calls by name (all day long), swimming and playing with sweet friends. He stayed with grandparents while Murphey, Josh and I watch fireworks in the rain from across the bay. I may have serenaded them with a few of my favorite patriotic songs!



James calling his partner in crime!