Fun Fridays!

Today's Fun Friday post is about something that both pleases me greatly and makes me a little sad. INDEPENDENT PLAY!!!! I love that Chloe has such a great imagination and can play by herself for hours, but I hate that the more she does it means the more grown-up she's becoming. I'm guessing soon she'll have her door shut with a DO NOT DISTURB sign on it--just kidding-- NOT in this house! She's going to get hugs from me everyday whether she likes it or not! :-) This isn't really all that new for Chloe, she's been doing it since she could walk and talk. But she did regress a little in this when Emma arrived, and wanted us to play with her more than before. Something we understood and tried very hard to fit in our schedules. Well, she's pretty much over it now and will disappear for lengths of time leaving me to have to call upstairs to her and get verbal confirmation that she is in fact still breathing with all of her limbs intact. Her independence does have its downsides. For instance, I tend to stay out of the playroom because seeing the mess usually shocks me and makes me feel like I need to clean it right away. Lucky for me, I'm usually able to fight that feeling and Micky and Chloe will tackle that room together on Saturdays.
Yesterday, Chloe stayed in the playroom for a good part of the day and when Micky went up there last night to work out he found this:
(click on image to view larger)




We've had discussions with her about not putting stickers on furniture, but she assumes anything in the playroom is fair game. That's understandable. This piece of furniture is one that I miss greatly. It's the matching coffee table to our end tables and foyer table downstairs. Obviously we bought this stone death trap with crazy sharp corners before we had children, and it sat in the middle of our rug in the great room. Ever since Chloe could crawl it has been stuck up against the wall in the playroom-- in a spot very unlikely for children to run into it. But apparently in a great spot for placing Dora stickers!

Fun Fridays!

Today's Fun Friday post is about one of Emma's favorite toys, the Rock-a-Stack from Fisher Price. She loves taking the rings on and off, but mostly she loves chewing on them. I remember this being one of Chloe's favorite toys too. It's a classic toy, and I'm pretty sure it-or something just like it- was around when I was a baby too. This week her teething has been STRONG-- as evidenced by the minimal sleep she's been getting! So this week her favorite thing has been to take all of the rings off and then gnaw as hard as she can on the yellow part. It must have worked because she now has 2 teeth (front center bottom) to show for all her work!

Fun Fridays!

Today's Fun Friday post is about something that is a lifesaver around here... PLAY DATES!!! Chloe doesn't have school the entire month of August, and everyday she wakes up asking, "What are we doing today mom?" I can only get away with saying, "nothing" so many times before her head starts spinning and strange sounds come out of her! So this month more than any other, we will be utilizing every play date chance we get. "My" Nina is going out of town next week so we've had to prepare for that this week with 2 play dates! Chloe is stocking up on her Nina time so she can make it a whole week without seeing her. It's actually quite cute. She told me the other night that Nina would be gone for 100 nights. I explained that it would only be for 7. Her response was, "Seven? That's even worse! She'll get so big before I see her again." (She's definitely been hearing too many people say how much Emma's grown since they saw her last!) I've reassured her that the week will be over before she knows it and that she and Nina will still remember each other. She continues to look at me as if I were crazy-- but she's been doing that a lot lately. Maybe it's got something to do with my new crazy haircut. Who knows?!?

Fun Fridays!

Ok, so I'm a day late with this one. But today's Fun Friday post is about the iPod Touch. Micky gave me one for Christmas, and it has been enjoyed by me, him, and Chloe! Here she is checking out an episode of Hong Kong Phooey.





Micky downloaded a couple of those for her and she loves them. We even took it with us to the hospital for her overnight stay and she was so happy to have it and get to watch her shows! The only problem with the iTouch is that we only have one of them in our house. Now that 3 of us want to use it I'm considering setting up a timeshare (with me obviously getting the most time!). We've enjoyed it so much that we're considering changing our cell service when our contract ends in November so we can get some iPhones. I'm sure Sprint would just hate to lose our 500 minute plan!

Fun Fridays!

Today's Fun Friday post is about one of our all-time favorite movies. We like to think of it as a classic. The likes of which we will probably not witness again in our lifetime. One of the best comedic films of all-time, maybe even the best (not quite sure, but it's gotta be close!)... I'm talking about Dumb & Dumber.
Believe it or not, the first time I saw this movie at the theater I fell asleep. In my defense, it was a midnight showing, and anyone who knew me in high school may remember that no matter where I was at midnight I was falling asleep. I did not sleep through the whole movie. I was stirred awake by roaring laughter at the scene where Harry was using the bathroom that ended up not being able to flush and found myself laughing through my stupor of sleep. Micky and I have since watched this movie too many times to count, and we never get tired of the craziness. It can always make me laugh- and anything that can do that is AWESOME!
Micky and I will often pull out quotes from this movie while out and about, and gauge people on their coolness if they get it too! When we moved back to Columbia and started hanging out with Misty & Lee I knew we were going to be lifelong great friends when we were out one night and THEY started quoting lines from this great film! I almost choked on my Tom Collins I was so excited. What great friends!!!
So, if you're in the minority who hasn't seen this movie I highly recommend it. And if you're in the minority that thinks it's too silly to watch I say--- Get over yourself and loosen up a bit! Everyone needs a mindless laugh sometimes!!


oh, by the way, I've had to break Micky's heart and tell him that his next car can NOT be a duplicate of the "shaggin' wagon"!

Fun Fridays!

Today's Fun Friday post is about Chloe's all-time favorite book, The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Big Hungry Bear. We can't remember exactly when she got the book, but we do know that we started reading it ALL THE TIME about the time that she turned 2. By the time she was 2 1/2 she would recite the book in the car, bathtub, while learning to go potty-- pretty much anytime, anywhere. Sometimes she would use the book as a prop (of course she couldn't read it, she had just memorized every word), other times she would just say, "Let me tell you a story about the big hungry bear mom." And 20 minutes later, after hearing the story about 5 times, we would plead to hear a different story! She still loves the book, and can go weeks without having read or talked about it and still not miss a word if you ask her to tell you about it. I think that's pretty cool. I'm actually very excited that her favorite book has nothing to do with a princess. It has opened the door for bedtime stories about all types of animals-- not just fairy princesses. Which, by the way, is exactly what Chloe says she's going to be when she grows up. That, and a dentist. I told her that I think tons of people would love to see a fairy princess dentist! Gotta have a dream!

Fun Fridays!

As you know, last Friday was the 4th of July! This is always one of my favorite holidays and this year was no exception! We kicked things off by heading to the SC Peach Festival in Gilbert, SC. This was my first time attending the festival, and while I was disappointed that there was no one dressed up in a huge peach costume-- I did have a great time. We sampled all the peachy things they had to offer, and the peach ice cream was definitely my favorite!







After eating our way through the festival (and when the temp reached at least 1,000 degrees), we headed back to Cola town and had some BBQ and swimming fun at Aunt Marsha's, followed by more BBQ and swimming fun at Micky's parents house.




Due to a much needed rain storm we were unable to shoot fireworks Friday night, but shot them off Saturday night! And Emma, who is the best baby sleeper I've ever seen, was able to sleep through the war zone I call "Nano's fireworks!"

Fun Fridays!

Last Friday I wrote about my all-time favorite snack. This week I'm writing about Micky's. Now, I didn't start to enjoy Fudge Rounds until I was 7. Micky, however, began enjoying his favorite snack in the WOMB. And it's been "Truly Satisfying" ever since:










Yes, the Snickers bar! The #1 selling candy bar of all-time. Sales reach approximately $2.5 billion each year! Apparently, in 1977, Micky's mom accounted for about half those sales :-) and reportedly consumed at least one Snickers a day throughout her pregnancy! Who can blame her really--- they are available in mini size, fun size, and even King size. Way too many options for a woman with strong cravings! Her love for Snickers passed on to Micky, and he's been enjoying them on his own since he got his first tooth!

Fun Fridays!

My great friend Misty started posting "Time-out Tuesdays" on her blog, in which she posts about things she and her family love. I think this is such a great idea, and figured I'd give it a whirl and start posting Fun Fridays. It'll consist of things I love, Micky loves, or the girls love-- and some things we all love! Thanks for the great idea Misty-- and if this should ever make any money--from the 10 people who read this blog:-)-- I'll be sure to cut you in!
My first Fun Friday item will be my all-time favorite snack. It's been around since 1964 and I believe I've been enjoying them since 1984. I'm pleased to present

Little Debbie® Fudge Rounds!



This cookie, filled with rich, chocolaty goodness, is my go-to snack. It was what I craved most at 3a.m. while pregnant with Emma, and the one thing I gave up for Lent a few years ago. That was my hardest Lent ever! A Fudge Round and a glass of milk always hits the spot! Somehow, it only ranks at #8 on Little Debbie®'s best-seller list. I guarantee I'm doing my part to increase that, and I'm passing this knowledge on to the next generation. Chloe loves them, and something tells me that Emma will too!