what's going on?

Summer is in full swing around here...I can't believe tomorrow is the first day of July! I feel like we have been busy around here...but I'm not even sure I could tell you what has been going on. 

So remember how Grayson has turned into a speed crawler? Well apparently that just isn't cutting it anymore.  He's had a push toy since Christmas but I really didn't think he would use it until closer to his birthday. wrong. G decided to start cruising this week pushing his toy. Holy big boy, batman! He is so nonchalant about it. He just stands up and starts moving right along...until he runs it into a wall. :) Of course when I get the video camera out he stops after like 3 seconds. SO, now I have about a gazillion 3 second clips of him pushing his toy. 

Grayson has also decided that he only wants to be a good sleeper when daddy puts him to bed. When I am the one here at night and try to get him to sleep, it is a nightmare. He has cried it out for the past few nights. However, when Ben is at home at puts him to sleep...he passes out cold and doesn't wake up all. night. long. Go figure. 

I realized last night that my beloved Mr. Coffee pot has 3 huge cracks in it. what the frack?! My child wakes up at 5:30am...I can't function properly without coffee. Thank goodness for sweet first graders who filled my wallet with Starbucks cards. G and I made a roadtrip there this morning to get this mama a big ol' caramel frap. I looked at Target and realized that coffee makers are not really expensive--minus the Keurig of course. I think I will just buy a new one. Which is where you people come in handy...what kind should I buy?? I'm kind of a coffee newbie so any suggestions are appreciated!

Throwback picture of me & Carl...my 21st birthday in Hotlanta! 

I have friends that literally live all over the country: Los Angeles, Atlanta, Mississippi, Memphis, El Paso, Dallas...seriously. All over. It's so hard to keep with people the older you get. I have always struggled with this...I'm not really a big phone person and it's hard for me to find the time to catch up with my friends when I know it will be a long convo. Anyone else have that problem? I talked to my best fiesty redheaded friend, Carly, this week.  Carly is one of those friends where we could probably go a whole year without talking & still just pick up right where we left off. Love those kind of friends! 

That's all I got. Baby is napping...I should probably go be productive:)

so what Wednesday

This week I am saying so what if...

• I have roots an inch long and I can't get my hair done until the end of July.

• my child loves ketchup and in order to get him to eat small carrots and peas last night I had to put a little large blob of ketchup on his highchair tray.

• I ate 2 ice cream bars today. 

• my car is an absolute disaster and I have mail sitting in my floorboard from a few days ago when it was wet & rainy. 

• I reward a hard days work {dealing with that precious, molar-getting baby boy} with a glass of vino.

the big 4-0

Grayson is 40 weeks and 1 day old today. He has officially been outside his little womb for the same amount of time that he was in! 

I remember the night I found out I was pregnant like it was yesterday.  I had been complaining all week to my friends about a pain in my side. They kept telling me to take a pregnancy test and I kept blowing them off. We had only been trying for one month...there was no way I was pregnant. Well, the peer pressure got to me and when I got home from dinner that night I took a test. Well, I think we all know what happened after that!

I felt like I was pregnant forever. It was the longest 40 weeks ever. These last 40 weeks? Totally have flown by! Funny how that works.

I've never known love like the kind of love I feel for my baby. It's something you can't understand until you have a kid. My mom always told me that and now I get it. This little man has made the last 40 weeks the best of my life & I really can't imagine life without that little toothy grin!

recipes...nom nom

I made 2 new appetizers for Cathleen's lingerie shower last weekend. Both of them got 2 thumbs up so I thought I would share! I'm nice like that:) I made bruschetta and chocolate chip cheese dip and I am pretty sure I could eat them both all day.

Chocolate Chip Cheese Dip

This recipe was originally a cheese ball. I'm a dip kind of girl, so I just never formed it into a ball and served it in a bowl instead. It worked:)

what ya need:
1 8 oz. package of softened cream cheese--use the fatty kind. go big or go home.
1/2 cup of softened butter
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup chopped pecans--I left these out

Blend the cream cheese and butter together until completely mixed. Add the powdered sugar and blend. Mix in the brown sugar and vanilla. Gently stir in the chocolate chips & pecans if you decide to use them. Serve with graham cracker sticks, nilla wafers, or in my case...Scooby Snacks. don't judge.

Balsamic Bruschetta

What ya need:
8 diced roma tomatoes
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
2 minced garlic cloves
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
1 loaf of yummy french bread

Combine all ingredients except for the bread...obviously. Let the mixture sit in your fridge for a few hours so all the flavors can mix together. I promise, this makes a difference! Serve on lightly toasted french bread. I changed the actual recipe a smidge because it called for fresh parmesan but I didn't think that it needed cheese. So I took it out...because that's how I roll.

What are your go to recipes for appetizers & entertaining??

26.

I turned 26 yesterday. I've decided that I will still consider myself to be in my mid-twenties for another year. Late twenties makes me feel old! :)

On the eve of my 26th birthday, I came home to this box.

I told Ben that the one thing I wanted for my birthday was a Double Doozie birthday cake...and not just any Double Doozie cake. I wanted a Double Doozie cake from the Great American Cookie Company!

So you can imagine my excitement when I saw that pretty red box sitting on my counter.

It was pretty much everything I had dreamed of. And now, thanks to Ben, I am pretty sure that I am 24 pounds heavier. Oh well, you only turn 26 once!

Jack wanted to feel included and give me a gift...so he got me some OPI nail polish. Please take note of the name. He is one smart chi! I also got a spa day...ahhhhhh. I will use that later this summer! So excited--I've never been to a spa!

This boy made my 25th year very special & I can't wait to see how much he changes this year!

Oh, and in case you were wondering...G loved him some Double Doozie cake!

menu plan...Wednesday?

I've switched around my grocery store day to Wednesday...so now my menu has changed. I'm a creature of habit so this is throwing me off a little bit and makes my brain hurt. I'm still trying really hard to coupon but have not been too successful. However, Southern Savers got me fired up again {sidenote: I feel extremely old since I used the term "fired up" when referring to couponing & not something like hanging out in the grove all day drinking mimosas...ah, adulthood} when they posted this guide to couponing. Anywho, here is my menu for the next week...based on what was on sale at Publix! I'm changing my ways, folks.

Wednesday: Poppyseed chicken & creamed spinach

Thursday: pork tenderloin, baked apples, white rice

Friday: chicken parmesan, bruschetta, salad

Saturday: chicken quesadillas

Sunday: using leftover chicken to make quesadillas again:)

Monday: chicken cutlets with gravy, mashed potatoes, carrots

Tuesday: grilled hot dogs

I've been asked a few times about my poppyseed chicken recipe. It's so easy and so good...it's one of our staple meals because we always have the ingredients on hand. Here is my recipe for poppyseed chicken:

You need:
2 or 3 chicken breasts
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 boil-in-bag rice
a palmful of poppyseeds--I eyeball it
crushed up ritz crackers

I bake my chicken for 30 minutes at 375 degrees with salt, pepper, and ground thyme. While that is cooking, I get my rice ready. Combine the soups and poppyseeds in a baking dish. When rice is finished, stir it in the dish. Shred the chicken and add it to your baking dish. Top with the crushed ritz crackers (you can use corn flakes too) and then drizzle some melted butter. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

I've done it without the rice but I like how the rice thickens it up. Put it in, leave it out...it's good either way!

girls weekend

This past weekend was my friend Cathleen's bachelorette party! Cathleen, Whitney, and I were all in the education department at Ole Miss together. Ever since we met during our last year of college we have called ourselves the Three Musketeers...they are 2 of my favorites!

We had the lingerie shower at my house on Saturday afternoon after a day of shopping in Green Hills...without a baby stroller...it was so much more convenient! {by the way, you can't see it, but the new buffet is now in our dining room! we moved those 2 pictures and candle holders to that wall and I love the way it looks now!} I channeled my inner-Martha and made lots of tissue paper poms via her tutorial. I'm kind of obsessed with them. I'm pretty sure if 2 boys didn't live with me, I would keep hot pink tissue paper poms up year round.
...I made a banner using pretty scrapbook paper too.

The ladies of the weekend consisted of Carrie Anne, Christy, Cassie, Leener--the BRIDE!, Whit, and moi. We had fun! Cathleen got lots of pretty lingerie...but I'm a lady (ha!) and will not post those pictures on the world wide web.

Saturday night was when the fun started. This was my first real "night out" since the baby was born...I needed a late night out with my girls! Of course Cathleen had to wear the typical bachelorette sash, tacky blinking button, and tiara with a veil attached. It's just not a bachelorette party without those essentials! I'm pretty sure we saw 87 other brides wearing an outfit very similar to this. :)

Musketeers ready to conquer Nashville!

The Jurgensen girls!

My bestie. Makes me sad we don't live closer!

We went to a few different places on Broadway, but our favorite was the dueling piano bar. So. Much. FUN! Staying out until 2am did me in though...geez. I just can't hang anymore! I'm still catching up on sleep-ha! It was so much fun hanging out with the bride-to-be...next time I see her all the musketeers will be married!

a day for the dads

Watching my husband fall in love with our little boy this year has made me fall even more in love with him. There is nothing sweeter than seeing Grayson's eyes light up when his daddy walks through the door. I think the feeling is mutual!

Ben is such a great dad and Grayson and I are so lucky to have him. He is so hands on and genuinely loves spending time crawling around and playing with his little boy. Ben is also a fabulous bottle washer. Ha! G loves his daddy so much and I know they will always be best friends!

I'm also a lucky girl to have such a wonderful dad of my own! My dad has taught me all sorts of things...how to clean a car, how to manage money, and how to appreciate good music...although maybe at the time I didn't think it was good music. :) I also love him for loving my sweet boy so much--he's a great Poppy!

Happy Father's Day!

Be sure to check out Grayson's 9 month post below:)

9 months

Grayson is 9 months old today! Holy cow! He is looking more and more like a little boy and less like a baby every day. This was a hard photo shoot...

Can you figure out why? :)

9 month stats:
Weight: 18.6lbs (20th percentile)
Height: 28 5/8 inches (70th percentile)
Clothes: all 9 month clothes but he is now too long for his 9 month pajamas. We are switching to 12 month pajamas this week!
Diaper: size 3

This was a BIG month of baby milestones. Here's what has been going on this past month:

• Grayson is now a speed crawler. He is SO fast!
  
• G pulls up on anything and everything. He can now walk while he holds on to things. He loves to walk along the couches, the coffee table, and the entertainment center.
  
• Grayson is eating more and more table food. His favorite "real" foods are goldfish and graham crackers!
• Grayson is now a copycat. He smacks his lips when we smack our lips, he clicks his tongue when we click our tongue, he coughs when we cough, etc...
• He went to the pool for the first time this month! He would rather play on the steps in the shallow end than swim because he can walk along the wall. Typical.
• Grayson started his Kindermusik baby music class 2 weeks ago. He is going with his cute friend Ruby & he loves it! It's so cute. We sing, dance, and play instruments. He loves his new instrument!
• Grayson claps his hands and can give a high 5!
  

Grayson is now taking only 3 bottles a day. He drinks them at 6:30am, 1:30ish, and 7:30pm. He eats 3 solid meals a day and has some snacks in between. Grayson is still a really good eater...we're lucky! We've had no problems adding meat into his diet...he loves pureed chicken. Ick! He also discovered ketchup recently....and LOVES it!! I think he will eat anything if I put ketchup on it. The kid loves his condiments!

This boy is so active. I'm afraid we will be busy once he starts walking! Grayson is happy as long as he is doing something that interests him. He crawls all over the place! Long gone are the days of putting him down and knowing that he would stay there. Grayson is a busy boy! Right now his favorite toys are his walker (he is a maniac in that thing!), any remote, Jack's tennis balls, the dog bowls, his rattle, and his music table toy.

Grayson plays hard and sleeps hard. Thank goodness! However, he is an early bird. He sleeps from about 7:30-6:00. At least he is always in a great mood when he wakes up...that makes it a lot easier for me!

Grayson's personality is so much fun. This is a great age! I mean, look at that face! Hilarious.

I can hardly believe that G has been here for almost as long as he was inside my belly! He is growing up so fast and I am trying hard to soak up every second. I know that he won't be a baby for much longer!
Happy 9 months little G!

Pinnable Me Fridays

I'm linking up today with Stefanie for Pinnable Me. I heart Pinterest so I am all about this link up! These are some of my pretties for today...
{via Randi on pinterest}

I love monograms. That's all I need to say!

{via Southern Living}

It's no secret that I love color. You will never find me living in a house with all white or tan walls. It's not my style. This? Totally my style. Such a fun use of all those bold colors. My favorite part? The lime green upholstered chairs. I melt.

{via the gallery on Project Nursery}

This nursery is to die for. It is such a serene place for a little girl. I'm kind of obsessed with the turquoise crib and little green side table.

summer tv

Summer time television usually makes me sad. All of my favorite shows go on hiatus (aka: The Office, Bethenny, and Law & Order: SVU) until the fall. Hmph. However...do you know what starts next week?! The original Teen Mom girls!!!!! Contain your excitement. I can hardly wait to see Macy and Beeeeentley. oh, and of course Gary & Amber. What do you watch during the summer?
Are you guys watching this season of the New York Housewives? I miss Bethenny...so glad she has her own show. I can't decide who I actually like this season. They are all a little bit off their rocker. I think Kelly may pass for craziest...she's just odd. Whatever happened to LuAnn's blossoming (ha!) singing career? Money can't buy you class....

I am so over American Idol. Have been since the season of Carrie. But The Voice? It's awesome. I love the concept & I love who the judges picked to be on their teams. So much raw talent! The show has also given me 2 new celeb crushes: Blake Shelton and Adam Levine. Don't worry, I think Ben has a new crush too...and it's not Cee-Lo. :) I was so sad this week when Christina did not pick teeny little Raquel. That girl could belt it!

Holy hot mess!! I love all of the Housewives (minus DC--snoozefest!) but Jersey is probably my favorite. I can't deal with the drama. Do people actually live like that??!! The new girls have added a lot of family issues this season...but I like Melissa! The guys are so funny to look at. I find it humorous that these women think their husbands are so hot...ick. Too tan, too much gel, and way too much muscle. Don't hate if you are a guido-lover...it's just not my thing!

When you come to my house, chances are, the channel will be turned to Food Network. It's my favorite channel, hands down. Giada is my fave...her food is so pretty. Makes me want to become a food photographer. I always watch this show and then a disappointed when the winner is not seen much on the network. Right now I am loving Whitney, Orchid, and Jeff. Who do you think will win?

wordless wednesday

reasons I love my kid

• He gives me the biggest grin when I walk in his room every morning...even at 5:30am!

• He has the best laugh...especially when he thinks his daddy is being funny!

• He loves to explore and learn new things.
  

• He has no fear. Ask me if I love this in a few years...could be scary-ha!

• He is a dog lover already. His 3 pups are his best friends. As a dog lover/rescuer there is nothing sweeter to me than watching Grayson's eyes light up when he sees his doggy friends.

• I love how he is now reaching up for me when he wants to be held.
  

• He makes the funniest noises and even though he can't talk yet, he has so much expression!

• He is an expert people watcher...just like his mama!

• He has an easy going personality. He doesn't mind when I go stir crazy and have to get out & about...he's just along for the ride.

• He has the funniest fake laugh ever. It's pretty ridiculous.

• I love how he only snuggles me when he is sleepy & in his glider. It's my happy time:)
  

• He tries to be so big when we are at the pool. He prefers to stand on the steps like the big kids and play with his toys...if they can do it, he can too! I love seeing that proud face when he feels big.

• He smacks his lips after he eats his baby food...he likes his mama's cooking:)
  

brain dump.

• I really can't stand how hot it is already! Grayson gets SO sweaty in his carseat and I always feel so bad for him. He's like me and is always red-cheeked and hot. Poor kid.
  

• I don't understand this new "white boy dressed like a rapper" style that the high school guys seem to be wearing lately. It's terrible. The baseball hat with the shiny sticker & flat bill, black socks with Jordans, basketball shorts, and a wife beater. You, lame 16 year old at the pool, will never have a girlfriend. Sorry.

• I unpacked all of my china and crystal this week. We've lived in this house for 2 1/2 years. That's how I roll!
  

• Next weekend is my friend Cathleen's bachelorette party here in Nashvegas. We will be doing some things at my house...dinner & lingerie party. I am in DIY party planner mode and am scouring the internet for fun decorations. I'm also making my first tissue paper lantern thing! I'm excited.
  

• Bathing suits were so much more fun before I had a baby. I'll leave it at that. Okay, I lied. I won't leave it at that. My chest has turned into deflated water balloons. Not so much flattering in any kind of bathing suit.
  

• Allow me to brag for a moment. I am 43 lbs lighter now than I was on my delivery day. I gained 24 lbs during my pregnancy. Boo-yah. Must. Keep. Working. Out. Can somebody teach me how to enjoy working out?
  

• I'm obsessed with looking at houses online. I have a problem. I feel like I will always have the itch to move. There are so many great houses around here!!

• I keep getting this anxious feeling that I need to squeeze in as many fun activities with Grayson before school start in August. My heart starts to beat fast. Then I realize I won't be going back to school in August. Still feels strange.
  

• I tried that wooden plaque/scrapbooking paper wall art yesterday. I failed miserably. I used wood glue and the paper got some bubbles in it and wouldn't lay flat. Crafty people, what type of glue should I use??
  

what our summer looks like so far.

Thousands of dead cicadas. Finally.

Skinny dipping in the backyard. Swim diapers are expensive, okay?! How cute is that little booty??

Naked car rides because it is 937 degrees. If we don't blog in the next few days, it's probably because we melted.

Lots of pool time with mama and friends.

Swinging in the park.

oh, and playing with anything that gets us dirty!