for everything, there is a season...

ok...don't get mad. you know we have been having some stinking luck with the house stuff lately? (meaning to sum it up, we are taking our house off the market and waiting until next year to try to sell again since luke is starting school in august and next week he has "kindergarten kamp". how cute is that??) anyway, to balance it out, i hit a little bit of a GOOD luck streak on the blogs lately. i won, count them, THREE things!! and they somehow all coordinate!

from Joy, i won a beach towel that was embroidered by kera. from kera, i won that darlin kitchen towel. and from seleta, i won that INSANE hand painted tray and glasses. they even came in a hand made pillow case type bag with a satin ribbon tie. i am DYING to display them. i know it is out right bragging, but for just today, i am going to do it.

also, the other day, darby invited us to use our fresh squash and zucchini and try her chicken delight. which i did. and i have had it again. and it is DEE-LISH!! i even added onions and peppers and i have tried it with adding a little pesto to it right over the chicken. sah-lurp. i discovered a new spaghetti sauce in the process and now have a new favorite. all that to say this...why don't yall try the mexican version of the same dish?? it will help you use some other seasonal fresh veggies like fresh corn, peppers and tomatoes. (i just realized i didn't take a picture of it cooked. this is just assembled. sorry 'bout that!)

what can i say? i was HONGRY!!
i used:

boneless skinless chicken tenderloins
sliced onion
sliced bell pepper
corn (i used frozen cause i had it. you could use some fresh i'm sure)
black beans (drained and rinsed)
salsa (i used the peach/pineapple chipotle and it was FFIINNEE!!)--you could also use your fresh 'maters but the hubs and i don't care for tomatoes unless they have been processed in some form e.g. salsa, ketchup, tomato sauce, etc..
cheese

season the chicken with jane's, pepper and chili powder. layer the ingredients as listed above on top of the seasoned chicken. put it in a foil pack (use the non stick kind. it is way too cool!!) throw it in the oven or on the grill. you could serve this with a mexican rice or yellow (saffron) rice. yum!!

and i got my living room rearranged so i could at least use one of my end tables and lamps that i madeover from my thrift store finds.

i have added black dots around that monogrammed tray (also a 1 dollar flea market find. silver tray that i spray painted and then used a paint pen to draw on the "T") and it's looks even cuter. plus, i found some square glass "candle holder plates" that are now repurposed to be coasters. i know that lamp totally dwarfs my vase, that is actually pretty chunky, but it's what i have for now. i want one of those big apothecary jars. but i'll hold off. i'm not spending $30 for one. i'm figuring it out reading a jillion crafty blogs a day. if i made a list (which i totally intend to), yall will see that i have serious issues. and that i'm "wasting" a lot of time reading blogs. but hey, it's my job to thriftily and craftily make my house a home, right?? did i mention that i also coupon? cause i totally do.

Ally Claire's First Birthday Party

you asked for it!! we had family, friends, food and fun!! and of course, the most beautiful and sweet angel baby in the whole world. the party was on the 20th, the same day we brought her home from the NICU a year ago. we surely didn't need anything else!!

cheating for expedition

if you want to see my beach pictures, click here. i know i'm cheating by putting them on facebook, but it worked tonight. you have seen a few glimpses here. and i know i will use some on posts to come. but to see more, click on "that thar link".

350th post SALE!!!

in honor of my 350th post and not the fact that i've had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day or four i am having a sale on red heads. we'll start with this one. he comes when "counted to" by the name of "luke".

and because you are loyal readers, who i know love a good bargain as much as i do, i'll make it buy one get one free. this one answers to "seth"...or bubby...or biscuit...or bops. or sometimes luke.

oh who am i kidding? today, they are both free to a good home. they have had their shots, are potty trained, at times loveable and fiercely smart. however, i'll warn you, they don't always play well with children...or adults. but they are super cute, right?

that must be why i keep them.

please don't leave me...

i can't wait to tell yall about the party and show you the pictures.

but today, i have taken down with "tha funk" and can barely hold my head up. i have fallen asleep 2-3 times since being home from church this morning. my poor hubby...he probably hasn't much enjoyed his day. but i did get up and make him cinnaminis. does that count?? i promise i'll be back. super promise. i am so behind now i will have days of waiting on pictures to upload here. so if you have anything quicker, let me know. i'll work on it. even facebook has been letting me down...and that was trying to load ONE picture. stupidstupid.

how bout a funny? on our trip back from the beach we had just a few minutes until we got home. i was entertaining AC and blowing her kisses. luke said he wanted one. so i blew him a kiss and he said "great mama! i caught it and i rubbed it alllll over me like the chicken pox."

i have no idea.

I.O.U...

first of all, i have been dying to tell yall about an awesome ministry opportunity. i completely covet your help, but i'll give you more info coming up when i can completely devote individual time to it.

then, i have first birthday pictures to show you. but first, we have to finish the celebration with her party this weekend, so stay tuned for that next week.

and then, i'll fill you in on the beach. that is likely to be more of a picturepalooza since we did NOTHING but vacate in the sugary sands and have a great time!

(and to explain myself, i have been trying for a couple of days to get these pictures to you in some form. i mean, condensing 400 pictures down to 40 to share with you was a challenge in and of itself. i have not edited them b/c you'd never see them if i took the time to do that!! also, literally when we walked in the door from the beach, we had an offer on our house waiting on us! so we have been dealing with that for the last couple of days. oh--and today i had to take AC to the doctor b/c i had a suspicion she was getting an ear infection. call me the queen of "catch 'em early"! so...all that to say this...please bare with me. i am doing my best. now i'm off to plan sis's birthday party. cause i haven't started yet. and this is officially the longest thing i have ever put in parentheses.) have a good one lovelies!!

Happy 1st Birthday, ALLY CLAIRE!!

Dear Ally Claire,
Oh my child, my angel! As I type this, I have no idea how I will ever find the words. There are so many, yet none of them seem significant enough. I have prayed for you since I was a little girl. I always wanted children. I always wanted 3 children. I always wanted one of them to be a girl. And girl, you are far better than anything I ever prayed for! I can't believe how your little life started a year ago. I never would have guessed that you would have a 10 day NICU stay for respiratory distress because of "wet lungs".

I never would have guessed that I wouldn't get to hold you for FOUR days. I never knew how sweet that first time of finally getting to hold you would be and then how bitter it was to have to put you back after only 10 minutes. I hated (only slightly) that you were a good eater and that is all the time it took. I was thrilled that you were so good b/c it meant that you would get better faster. You were born on a Tuesday. Getting to hold you was a Saturday. Sunday morning when I woke up, my whole body ached like I had the flu. I have never known what it was like to feel like you were missing part of yourself, until that very moment. I needed you like I needed every breath. I wonder how many times during those 10 days i uttered those exact words "I need her." You have brought back a softness to me that I feared was long gone after 5 years of raising boys. You have made me want to be healthy so that you will be. You already help me remember what it was like to twirl in a dress, even though you haven't quite yet taken that first precious alone step. Right now, we are at the beach and while you don't like it very much, I know you will. Because you are mine. And the first thought I had when we put our toes in the sand on Sunday night was "I can't wait to bring you here, just us girls!" Everything about you is so delicate, so precious, so innocent. My prayer is that you will stay that way as long as possible. I pray that God will protect you, my sweet, when your daddy and I can't. I pray that you will be happy and healthy. I already pray for the husband you will choose and this it is the one that God is already preparing just for you. I pray that you will be blessed with babies, as many as you want. I pray they will be as sweet as you. I have no idea what your future holds, little one. I just know that I don't want to miss any of it if I don't have to. Those first 10 days were hard enough. You were so brave and so strong. I'll never forget singing to you everyday in that NICU. My "theme" for you was "Jesus Loves Me" because of the line "little ones to Him belong, they are weak, but He is strong." Little sissy, He brought you through that, and I have no doubt He will lead you through the rest of your life. I pray with everything that I have that you will let Him. That is my biggest hope for you.

Thank you so much for being part of my life. I can't wait to have so many adventures with you. I can't wait to see who you will become. But I will wait. This time is so precious, and I wouldn't miss it for the world. I love you sooooo much. You'll never know my angel. You'll never know. my cup runneth over.
Love,
Mama

AC 360 + a 5 minute craft

we have 5 days until ally claire's birthday. and being that i have a warped sense of humor, i decided a while back that since i call her AC on the blogs, i had to do a post titled AC 360. (if you don't watch the news ever, that is the name of anderson cooper's show. i thought it was funny.) anyway...what better way to start your 360th day with some fresh 'O's...

and freshly painted toes?? just in time to sport them in the sand little sister. well played.

try not to eat her...

and for your craft...do you have a million of these around your house? i'm certain we have them in every room. and while they are convenient...they are ugly. and you know i have a slight love affair with a can of spray paint, right? (it can right so many wrongs!!) why not take a few minutes, a wipe box, a can of spray paint and a paint pen and go from this...

to one of these???

i copied this "T" from the towel giveaway i won from Joy last week.

('member when i was trying to decide what color to use on those thrift store end tables? this is the cappuccino that i didn't use on them.) and you could peel the sticker off, but i'm obviously lazy and didn't. that's so much prettier than nemo in my bathroom.
i also won that fantastic handpainted tray from simply seleta's giveaway. i am waiting anxiously in the mail for it. i never win anything, but after the craziness that has been trying to sell our house, i sure was tickled about those. go make your house pretty. i'll see yall next week!!

didja wanna see...

what i've been up to?
here, we have the during process of rewiring my kitchen. fortunately, we had a great electrician and he was super nice and super quick and super reasonable...and that was SUPER!! (if you'll look in the background, you can see my chalkboard tray that says we have 11 days until gulf shores. that was a week ago.)

i've also had to deal with this...the boys are supposed to throw their trash from lunch away when they are done. this is the evidence that seth didn't follow that rule that day. things can be "too quiet" even with an almost 1 year old!! BUSTED!!
why yes, mom. i also use pudding to paint on your semi-clean floors.
and here we have miss almost walking. she can get behind her little toy and walk from the front to the back of the house. i would assume that by the end of june, i'll have a little walker on my hands. and if you think i don't update enough now (not that any of you have said that), just wait. cause she is obviously also little miss into everything.
and yesterday, i was super busy. i washed 4 loads of laundry in preps for our trip. i re-hung sis's curtains a few inches higher...

and i redecorated my bathroom. i should have done a before and after shot. but i wasn't sure i was gonna pull it off and be quite so pleased. first, i moved a cabinet over to the other wall and replaced some of the "stuff" on top. then, i decided to make a shower curtain and hang it HIGH.
(why yes. yes that IS a twin sized sheet that i added grosgrain ribbon to and hung it on a rod with drapery hooks.)
i just slapped that bar up there where i wanted it. figured out how much i'd need to fold over from the top of the sheet. gave it a good iron and added two stripes of ribbon for a finishing touch.
so by doing that, it gave me a curtain and a valance...b/c i wanted to desperately cover up this totally hideoderous shower. i hate shower doors. HATE them.
and some of you have probably recieved that card in the frame. but doesn't it look cute? i think so. and that cutie patootie lamp came from the DG (dolla gen-ral). the shells that you can kinda see are compliments of gulf shores a couple of years ago.
and now, as completely entertaining as that was, i must bid you adieu. reason being...not sure if i've mentioned it, but we are going to the beeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaach. and we are leaving on saturday for a quick stop in troy to see our college friends. and do you know that i haven't even gotten the suitcases down from the attic yet? totally not how i usually roll. but never fear, i will be bringing my computer with me so that you can see AC on her actual birthday. i mean, who can be without that kind of cuteness?? and did i mention that i'm supposed to show my house today? yeah.