The (Single) Mommy Life

For You Lovers Today...

2012-02-14T12:31:00.001-08:00

A beautiful song about love by Brandon Heath...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nQy-aP_Koo

Happy Valentine's Day!

2012-02-14T06:59:00.002-08:00

I'm spending another Valentine's Day alone. Well, not really...I have my Maggie, of course, who is a delightful Valentine! However, I do have the ultimate valentine...Jesus. In case you're alone on Valentine's Day too remember He loves and cares for you...here's a couple reminders...

Jesus Loves You....John 3:16- For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life.

Jesus Cares for You...Matthew 6:26- Look at the birds. They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren't you more valuable to him than they are?

Jesus is loving-kindness...Psalm 86:15- But you, O Lord, are a God of compassion and mercy, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.

Jesus Persistently Pursues You...Luke 19:10- For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.

4 Days til Florida!

2012-02-13T14:30:00.001-08:00

Maggie and I will be flying out this Friday to the Sunshine state! Hopefully, we will enjoy warm and sunny weather on our weekend escapade and return with sun-kissed cheeks!

Back Up and Running...

2012-02-12T08:21:00.001-08:00

Well, hello....I'm going to attempt this blogging thing again :-) It's been almost a year and if I'll be freshening things up...watch for changes and new posts!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2011-03-17T19:25:00.000-07:00

Well, I hope everyone had a wonderful St. Patrick's Day!! Maggie and I had our green on today!! We had a very busy St.Patrick's Day...we worked at the church this morning and then headed to the gym this afternoon. However, this blog isn't really about how we spent our day today but more how we spent Saturday afternoon, this past weekend.

Southwest Airlines "landed" here in Greenville this weekend, so Maggie and I headed out to see the celebration. I have to say, they did a great job of making it an exciting event! They had the Clemson Tiger Band, cheerleaders, and the Tiger. They also had a plane pulling competition! Maggie loved being able to walk right up to the airplane and even received a free pom-pom. I love living in Greenville and I'm excited to see it grow!

We have some exciting events coming up...Maggie is potty training, albeit very, very slowly AND I'm training for my first 5K (also very, very slowly)! Stay tuned for updates!

We're Going Green!

2011-02-28T11:30:00.000-08:00

That's right! Our house is slowly going green! Now don't be expecting solar panels to warm the house OR us bicycling to create power to get the coffee maker going in the morning. I would need the coffee before I got on the bicycle but I digress... we have made a few steps towards "greenness", steps that would make any environmentalist proud.

Since I'm not taking any classes this spring, I decided I needed a few projects. Therefore, Maggie and I have started composting. We save up food scraps, like fruit, veggies, coffee grinds, etc. and bury them in the garden. Hopefully, our garden will be over-flowing with nutrient rich soil, which, in turn, will bring us delicious vegetables this summer. Home and Garden stores do offer specialty composting containers but their usually made of plastic, which is made of petroleum, which continues our dependency on foreign oil...also, they're usually made in China, which under-age children are probably working in horrible conditions and being paid pennies for hours upon hours of work....again, I digress....

Another step we've taken is using a recycling bin. We received the bin on Friday and already it is almost full! Hopefully, this summer we will be investing in a rain barrel. Go ahead, roll your eyes, I already get plenty of that from my parents. The Lord has blessed us with a remarkable world and we are doing our part to help take care of it. While I don't believe that mere man can destroy what God has built, I do believe that we can damage it severely.

Well Hello There!...

2011-02-22T11:36:00.000-08:00

It's obviously been awhile since our last post but hopefully in 2011 I can be better about recording Maggie's life and sharing it with everyone. Here's some recent pics to enjoy....

We have been thoroughly enjoying the warmer weather by starting many new projects and we will be blogging about them regularly.

Warm Wishes!!!

Christmas Pics...

2011-01-24T12:04:00.001-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-12-04T12:54:00.001-08:00

Well, I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving weekend! We had a fantastic weekend in the teeny, tiny little town of Blue Ridge, Georgia. We went to visit the Carrier (Mimi's side) of the family and we always have a great time with them. Blue Ridge is an adorable little town with great shopping and scenery. I highly recommend a visit. Papa also treated everyone to a train ride on the Blue Ridge Scenic Railroad, which included a visit with Santa. Maggie did much better with Santa this year than last year :-) The cookiness of my child persists....she adores and runs to hug Mickey and friends but Santa still concerns her. Andrew, Katie and baby Michael were able to make the trip also. Overall, it was a great weekend and it was fun to get away for a few days.

Maggie's first attempt at fishing, off Uncle Doug's dock

Tinkerbell Fever!!!

2010-11-22T06:02:00.001-08:00

Maggie has developed a new fascination with Tinkerbell. In fact, I would say Tinkerbell is her favorite thing right now...I've even heard her talk about Tinkerbell in her sleep! So what else would Maggie be for Halloween than Tinkerbell! She even, surprisingly, kept that flower bow in her hair. We celebrated Halloween two different weekends. First at Boo at the Zoo, at the Greenville Zoo and then second, at the Enchanted Tracks at the Pavilion. Both were tons of fun and Maggie received lots of candy.

Isn't she the cutest Tinkerbell ever??? :-)

And We're Back!!!....

2010-11-16T08:00:00.000-08:00

After a long hiatus, The Mommy Life is back! We've had many changes over the break and hopefully I can catch everyone up to speed. Here are some pics from over the past months..

Maggie meeting her nephew, Michael Weston

Maggie's 2nd Birthday Party

Maggie and mommy at Disney World

Maggie and Emery enjoying feeding the chickens, at the zoo

We have had quite a busy summer and fall. Maggie turned two, I took some extremely stressful classes, and we've had a new family member added, sweet Michael Weston. It's been a busy but wonderful six months but I'm glad we're back!

Maggie Goes to the Biltmore

2010-05-29T11:24:00.001-07:00

Mother's Day weekend we were fortunate enough to take a day trip to the Biltmore Estate. We had a wonderful time and surprisingly it was very kid friendly. Maggie ran around the estate like she owned the place!

Happy Birthday Popop!

2010-04-19T09:44:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday Uncle Mike!

2010-03-24T18:03:00.000-07:00

Uncle Mike and Maggie match..they're both in pink!!!

Happy Birthday Mimi!!

2010-03-15T06:38:00.001-07:00

Look What Mommy Made!

2010-02-23T19:50:00.000-08:00

Last summer, I was in a children's boutique and saw some very cute bow holders that were outrageously expensive. After taking a closer look at them, I realized...I can make that! I made this adorable bow holder for Maggie and it finally hanging in her room. The best part...it cost less than $5 to make.

Maggie Goes to The Children's Museum

2010-02-10T20:22:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been too long readers. School has started back, so things have been slightly busy for us around here. Now that we're back into the swing of things hopefully, I can keep up with our blogging a little better.

A few weeks ago, Maggie and I headed to the new Children's Museum with a group of friends. We had a wonderful time and there was plenty of things for Maggie to do. First we headed downstairs to make a craft....

The craft was super-neat and perfect for Maggie's age. It was equal parts shaving cream and glue mixed with food coloring. When the mixture dries, its puffy. I'm so proud of my little artist!

Next, we headed over to the toddler water tables. Seriously, Maggie and the rest of her friends could have stayed here all day. They loved it! They all cried when we took them away. We then headed to the Cafe area to watch a ballet troup perform excerpts from The Nutcracker and drink some hot chocolate.

After the ballet performance, we headed upstairs to the farm area, which again all the kids loved and was perfect for Maggie's age.

Right outside of the farm area, they had a gigantic light-bright. It was great! Overall, we had a fantastic time and it was a great place for a playdate. I was worried that there wouldn't be anything there for Maggie's age but there was plenty for her and her friends to do and they had a great time!

Happy Birthday Uncle Andrew!

2009-12-30T11:29:00.001-08:00

Maggie Meets Santa!

2009-12-24T10:49:00.000-08:00

This morning Mimi and I took Maggie to the Chick-fil-A on Pelham Road to decorate cookies with Santa. We had a blast decorating a gingerbread cookie and meeting Santa. Unfortunately, Maggie was a little overwhelmed and wasn't exactly hugging Santa. More or less she was trying to run away from him, as fast as she could!

However, she thoroughly enjoyed the cookie she made! We're headed to the Christmas Eve service at church this evening and then will be hunting for Christmas lights. We will be celebrating our family Christmas on Sunday when the rest of the family is in town. We're anxiously awaiting their arrival!

The best Christmas wishes for everyone from Maggie and Mommy!

Signed, Sealed and Hopefully Will Be Delivered...

2009-12-20T14:12:00.001-08:00

Christmas cards are in, addressed and ready to go! I ordered them from the super-cute Pear Tree Greetings. So keep an eye out in your mail this week!!

UPDATE: My camera has been fixed!!! Thanks to my wonderful Dad who fixed it with a good old fashioned smacking...Seriously, he found several people on the internet who said they had had the same problem with their camera and hit it several times and it started working just fine again. Ta-da!

Maggie Must Have: First Juice!

2009-12-18T09:16:00.001-08:00

Well, it certainly has been awhile since we've featured a Maggie Must Have, so this will most likely be our last one for 2009. Maggie's new must have is First Juice. I discovered this product, really out of desperation. Maggie and I were in Babies R Us one afternoon just browsing around and she ran out of juice. Well, if you have an infant, then you probably know that this can turn into somewhat of a catastrophe, so I quickly headed over to the food section. Here's the dilemna with juices: All juices have enormous amounts of sugar in them, so I always dilute them with water. See, we weren't headed home anytime soon, so I was going to have to buy water and juice! Coming down the juice aisle I spotted the First Juice section, so I strolled on over and picked one up. The fact that there is only 12 grams of sugar in the juice AND that Maggie loves the taste of them are not the only reasons I adore this company. The fascinating part about them is they come in sport-like, REUSABLE bottles! It's also organic and have fascinating flavors like, blueberry-purple carrot, which happens to be Maggie's favorite. (Go ahead and make fun of me for purchasing organic products for Maggie, most of my family does anyway) Another bonus if you write the company, the owner and founder, of the company will personally send you some coupons. So:

Low in Sugar: A+
Organic: A+
Reusable:A+
Customer Service:A+
Maggie Loves It (and it's healthy): Priceless!!

So take some time and visit the First Juice website and find a local retailer near you!!

The New Name...

2009-12-15T20:14:00.000-08:00

As you can see we have finally chosen our new name...The Mommy Life. I hope you like the new name if you don't...oh well. My camera is broken and will cost almost $100 to fix :-( Maybe Santa will bring me a new one.

Holy Cow...It's Been Awhile!

2009-12-08T19:39:00.000-08:00

Ciao, blog readers, it's been too long. Classes are finally over for the semester and I'm extremely thankful for the break.

Maggie is continuing to explore her world and is into EVERYTHING! We will occasionally find tupperware in strange places and her toys in even stranger places...like Charlie's food bowl. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and we hope you did as well. We headed down to Florida to visit with Aunt Amy, Uncle Mike, and Cooper. We enjoyed several days of playing on the beach and lounging around the beautiful condo we were staying in. We also were able to visit Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo and Maggie even got to feed a giraffe...hopefully I can post the video soon! Unfortunately, Maggie caught a cold at the end was not in a happy mood for the last couple days. I think we're over the hump and hopefully it will be smooth, healthy sailing through the end of the year. We have a busy weekend coming up two Christmas parties and a cookie swap. Meanwhile, enjoy some pics from our Thanksgiving vacation!

Maggie Meets Mr. Landon!

2009-11-11T19:18:00.000-08:00

On October 31st, Maggie and I headed to Lexington to help celebrate David, my friend Mary's son, first birthday. One of the best parts of the party, was that Maggie and I got to meet Mr. Landon, my friend Melanie's five week old little boy. He was super cute and so sweet! Melanie and I were college roommates and it's hard to believe we've known each other for almost ten years. We've been through a lot together and I'm so glad that we've gotten to share having children close together. Mr. Landon is such a blessing and I know Melanie and her husband David will be wonderful parents to this handsome little man!

Halloween Fun...

2009-11-11T18:06:00.000-08:00

Well, I know this is extremely late but hey better late than never...right? Maggie second Halloween stretched to two weekends and she had tons of fun. The weekend before Halloween we headed over to The Pavilion for their "Enchanted Forest" event. Maggie dressed as a bumble bee and enjoyed petting rabbits, pigs, and some funny looking birds. She was too young to participate in the jumpers so we headed to the Enchanted Forest tour, where Shrek, Pooh, Snow White, and Tigger gave her candy. On Halloween, October, 31st, Publix was letting children trick-or-treat in the store. So we headed to our local Publix and let Maggie dress as a pumpkin. She definitely was the cutest pumpkin in the patch!

Katie tagged me...

2009-10-25T18:06:00.000-07:00

A - Age: 26
B - Bed size: queen
C - Chore you hate: dusting
D - Dog's name: Charlie
E - Essential start your day item: watching Mickey Mouse clubhouse in bed with Maggie
F - Favorite color: Green
G - Gold or Silver: silver
H - Height: 5'4"
I - I am: going to hug Maggie a little extra tonight (a lady I am in school with was killed this weekend and her daughter was seriously injured in the wreck)
J - Job: Mommy, daycare worker, eBay-er
K - Kids: One--Maggie!
L - Living arrangements: At home with Mom and Dad
M - Mom's name: Cathy
N - Nicknames: Abby
O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: none, thankfully
P - Pet Peeve: Arrogance
Q - Quote from a movie: "Winter must be cold for those with no warm memories" Deborah Kerr (An Affair to Remember)
R - Right or left handed: right
S - Siblings: 1 sister, one brother
T - Time you wake up: Anywhere between 7-8
Underwear: yes
V - Vegetable you dislike: broccoli
W - Ways you run late: um, it's called being a mom
X - X-rays you've had: none
Y - Yummy food you make: pot roast, pasta dishes
Z - Zoo favorite: elephants

I tag YOU!! Have fun!

Re-naming the blog...

2009-10-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

Well, I have decided to rename my blog...Only I'm having some trouble incoming up with some names. So, I'm soliciting your help in the process...post your ideas and we'll see who wins! Here are some I've been thinking about...

The Mommy Diaries (play on the book "The Nanny Diaries")
The Mommy Life

Those are seriously the only two I can think of. I'm blaming my lack of creativity on lack of sleep and our too busy schedule. Give us some suggestions huh?

Mangia, Mangia!

2009-10-08T09:40:00.000-07:00

In case you didn't know that means..."we eat" in Italian! As most of you know, I usually cook dinner during the week for Mimi and GrandPop. I have come to thoroughly enjoy cooking when not to long ago I would have rather warmed up a Lean Cuisine Meal. It doesn't hurt that Mimi and GrandPop have a spectacular kitchen and almost every utensil you could ever want for the kitchen. Also, since (as noted in a previous post) I can't really afford to help out with the bills having a dinnner ready for Mimi and GrandPop when they get home seems to be the least I can do.

Recently, Mimi has been wanting me to fix Shrimp and Grits, a typical Southern dish. So last Friday I gave it a shot and if I do say so myself it turned out pretty delicious! I used The Neely's recipe from The Food Network Channel. Here is a picture of how it turned out...

I did make one variation to the recipe, instead of 2 pounds of shrimp I only used one, which was more than enough for the three of us. We even had plenty of the shrimp mix leftover for a "take two" dinner. We simply added a jar of our favorite marinara sauce with the shrimp mix and fixed some fettucine noodles and made a fancy spaghetti night. Mangia everyone!

Charlie's Special Day

2009-09-30T07:46:00.001-07:00

For those of you who know me then you know of my love for dogs. And my big Charlie Brown is my special dog that I bought at Pets, Inc. in Columbia. Charlie's life was turned upside down last year when first we moved home to Greenville (leaving behind his roommate Sam) and then when Maggie was born. He suddenly had a room of toys he couldn't touch and this tiny thing that screamed and took attention away from him. Well, slowly him and Maggie have become better friends and I think it's safe to say that Charlie is Maggie's favorite toy---he's interactive! Maggie feeds Charlie every night, with GrandPop's help, of course. And she loves to give him treats! Hopefully, we'll be able to post video of it soon.

Back to the point of this blog...Charlie had a special day a couple weeks ago at Waggin' in the Waterpark at Southside Park here in Greenville. It's an annual event that allows dogs to "take over" the water park and swim around and play. This year we took Charlie and he had a blast. Charlie and I's picture was the only one to make it into the newspaper! So if you venture over to this website you can view the full gallery of all the dogs that day. It was a great event and we will be returning next year!

UPDATE: Charlie will be getting another special day soon...Greenville Tech is hosting Bark in the Park in October!

A Penny For Your Thoughts...

2009-09-20T12:02:00.000-07:00

A new feature we will be displaying the blog is "A Penny For Your Thoughts: Fun Quotes". If you take a gander down the right side of the blog you will see this new feature. We will display quotes that I find interesting, funny, or inspiring. If you have any feel free to submit them!!

Update: We Are Alive...

2009-09-19T18:12:00.000-07:00

Obviously, Maggie and I have been quite busy as you can see from the lack of blogging. Being in school, working two part time jobs, and being a full time mom has definitely been exhausting. Maggie is doing really well and seems to enjoy being on the go so much. She's walking all over the place ;practically running sometimes! AND...we have our fourth tooth!!!

Lately I've been struggling with feelings of wanting to be selfish and wanting to return to my old life. Why I'm not sure; it was a life that was very empty and self-indulgent. Even now as I'm writing this it's hard to think that before Maggie it was rare that I was headed to bed at 9:15 on a Saturday night. Back then my nights were just getting started. Now I find it hard to stay awake past 11...my how life has changed. Instead of bars and designer purses it's bibs and diapers. I guess the hardest part is the money, as it usually is. I miss being able to walk into a store and not worrying if spending $100 would break the bank, now I worry if spending $10 will affect me being able to pay my bills. I know this is where faith comes in and that I just need to pray. So pray with me or for me if you will. Maggie is the best thing to ever happen to me and I hope that I can one day provide a great life for her.

On a lighter note..now that we're into more of a routine I will definitely try and blog some more...Ciao!

Back In School!

2009-09-06T15:08:00.000-07:00

As all the kids headed back to school this fall so did I. (This would be the reason for my lack in blogging) I've enrolled in classes at Greenville Tech to hopefully begin my road to becoming a nurse. The decision to go back to school was a bitter sweet one. Bitter in that it's time away from Maggie but sweet that I will be able to make a good life for Maggie and I. So keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we begin a very hectic couple of years.

Maggie's One Year Photo Shoot

2009-08-17T17:30:00.000-07:00

The other week we were fortunate enough to have my sister in law Katies' sister over to take Maggie's one year photos. Sarah did a fantastic job and the day turned out perfect as we were able to take all the pictures outside!

I highly recommend Sarah for any events you have coming up! Here is a link to her photography website to contact her and to look at more of Maggie's one year pics! Thanks Sarah!

Happy Birthday Toot-Toot!

2009-08-11T08:37:00.001-07:00

Maggie Celebrates Her First Birthday...At Disney!

2009-07-23T14:39:00.000-07:00

What better place could there be to spend Maggie's first birthday than at Disney World! On July 11th (the day Maggie was born) we packed up the car and headed to our favorite vacation spot. We had a fabulous time and Maggie had plenty of new adventures awaiting her. Here is how our week went:

Day 1: We checked into our Grande Villa at the Old Key West Resort. It was a beautiful Villa and the best part, everyone had their own bathroom...so important! We then headed over to the Magic Kingdom for a Winnie the Pooh character dinner at the Crystal Palace. Maggie loved the characters and gave them all hugs. Everyone around us enjoyed watching Maggie squeal and hug the characters. For dessert, our waiter Rand, brought Maggie a cupcake with a candle and a card signed by all the characters. We sang "Happy Birthday" and giggled as Maggie eventually mashed and devoured the cupcake! After dinner, we of course, had to head to Pirates of the Caribbean and It's a Small World. We finished the evening by riding Cinderella's Carousel.

Day 2: July in Florida is hot...really hot. So we mostly hung out by the pool on Monday and Maggie, being the little dolphin that she is, loves to swim! That evening we headed to Epcot to have dinner at the Japan complex at the Hibachi style restaurant. We had a great chef, who was super entertaining! Unfortunately, it was quite loud and scared Maggie a little bit. She also knocked her mouth on the edge of the table causing her to scream for a couple minutes. Thankfully, everyone in the restaurant was quite understanding (mainly b/c they all had small children with them too). After dinner, we watched a Billy Joel covervand which was very entertaining. Maggie, along with being a dolphin is quit the dancer and danced the night away during the concert!

Day 3: Aloha!! Have I mentioned that July in Florida is hot?? Because the mercury kept rising we hustled down to the pool to cool down. We had an early appointment to do a family photo shoot at the Polynesian Resort so we headed up early from the pool to get dolled up. Our family dressed very classy in khaki and white and had a good photo session with our photographer. After our shoot, we headed to the Luau!!! Here's the thing with the Luau, it's outside. So unfortunately, it had rained earlier in the day causing Orlando to turn into a steam basket. So it was extremely, extremely hot. Maggie was hot and tired because her afternoon nap had been cut short. So needless to say she was not a happy camper during the dinner but we seemed to turn a corner as the show began. It was a great show and let's just say...we probably won't go back to the Luau until Maggie is a little bit older.

On Wednesday we were on our own for dinner so everyone mostly hung around the pool then headed to the Magic Kingdom in the evening. Thursday morning we had a delicious buffet breakfast at the Tusker House in the Animal Kingdom park. It was another character breakfast and Maggie, of course, loved the characters. Her favorite is definitely Mickey! Doesn't she look like she's begging Mickey to take her with him?? We had a fantastic trip and it was all due to the generosity of Mimi and GrandPop. Our family has been truly blessed to be able to make several trips to Disney World...three to be exact...during Maggie's first year. I hope that Maggie and I will have the ability to return the generosity we have received over the past year...

Happy Birthday...to me :-)

2009-07-22T18:01:00.000-07:00

Today is my 26th birthday! Maggie and I spent this morning at the church nursery and then had lunch with Mimi and Great Granny. We finished the evening off with a delicious dinner at Portofino's....I love that place. Thank you everyone for the sweet birthday wishes!

Four Generations go on a Road Trip...and Survive!

2009-07-20T19:06:00.000-07:00

Back in June, Mimi and I accompanied Granny on a trip to Cincinnati. I have many wonderful memories in Cincinnati as we use to go there almost every Christmas growing up so I was excited to go back. Maggie, being the great traveler that she is, of course, did fantastic! On our way up to Ohio we stopped at Cove Lake in Tennessee...it's nice to know some things never change. We use to stop at Cove Lake almost every trip to Cincinnati.

We spent a lot of time with family and several of Granny's friends. It was so wonderful to see everyone and we just had to make a stop at some of our favorite restaurants including; Montgomery Inn and Skyline Chili. The food was even better than I remember...I'm anxious to get back to enjoy some ribs and phony conies!

On our way home we stopped in Winchester, Kentucky to visit with Granny's sister JoAnne and her daughter Leslie and her husband Dale. They purchased a beautiful home or should I say mansion? Their front door alone is 25 feet tall and the house has more rooms than you could count. And you have to use cell phones in order to find each other in the house. It's absolutely gorgeous and I can see why they fell in love with the house! They invited us to stop by anytime and spend the night so hopefully we can make it back up soon!

Happy 1st Birthday Maggie!

2009-07-11T23:35:00.000-07:00

Happy 1st Birthday my dearest Maggie!! I can't believe you are already one year old! This year, at times, felt like it was going so slow and then other times it felt like it flew by. How do I even begin to express my gratitude to the Lord for giving you to me. You've blessed my life in so many ways and have brought a powerful meaning to my life. As usual, we'll be traveling on your birthday because we're headed to Disney World! Your third time in your wee 12 months on earth. I know we'll have a fabulous time and create numerous new memories to share. Much, much love my little one...I'll like you forever and love you for always....

Love,
Mommy

Happy Independence Day...We've Been Busy!

2009-07-04T18:30:00.000-07:00

Happy Independence Day!!

We've managed to stay incredibly busy over the past couple weeks, so sorry for the delinquicy in posting. Two weeks ago we enjoyed a week long visit with Aunt Amy and Uncle Mike. We had a great time and hit all the restaurant spots. Also, during their visit I was helping host a shower for Melanie who is expecting Baby Landon in September, so Maggie and I made a road trip down to Columbia.

After we came back from Columbia, the entire family headed downtown for a delicious dinner at Smoke on the Water. Sadly, Aunt Amy and Uncle Mike had to go back home the next morning. Also, Mimi and GrandPop left the same too, to go to Charleston for a couple days to celebrate their anniversary. (Happy 35 years Mimi and GrandPop!) Maggie and I had supper club on Monday night and it was fun to get together with all the girls and even the littlest members of supper club were there; Maggie, Aubri, and Emery.
Today for Independence Day we went over to the Lehman's for a delicous dinner of ribs, corn and homemade ice cream. Coming up: Four Generations Go On a Road Trip...and Survive!

Maggie's First Tooth---Finally!!

2009-06-10T16:50:00.000-07:00

On June 1st, Mimi was watching Maggie while I went down to the warehouse and work. When I returned home Mimi informed me that Maggie had her very first tooth. I checked her mouth and sure enough there it was! It had just broken through--which explains some moodiness over the past couple days--and you could see the very tip of it! Almost eleven months later there it was :-)

I'm so proud of my little munchkin--she'll be eleven months tomorrow and while I'm extremely happy that she's happy, healthy and growing it makes me sad at how fast her first year has gone. At some times this year I felt I was too busy dealing with the day to day small things that I've missed her changing. The best part has been seeing her learn things and watching her little brain work. As the old saying goes, "time flies when your having fun!"

Look At What Mimi Made...

2009-05-29T15:13:00.000-07:00

A couple weekends ago Mimi suddenly became inspired and made this...

This adorable bib features fun frogs jumping around and is detailed with a green ribbon accented with a swirly yellow ribbon. It is too cute!

Maggie was thrilled to model the bib and hopefully Mimi will make one for Maggie for the Fourth of July! (hint, hint :-)

Happy Birthday Aunt Amy!!

2009-05-27T06:52:00.000-07:00

Happy Memorial Day!!!

2009-05-25T10:21:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-11T17:10:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the mommie's out there! I hope everyone had just as much fun as we did. We first headed to the early service, then to McDonald's for a quick breakfast, home to change, then finally headed downtown to Artisphere. It was the perfect day to go downtown, it was warm but not too hot. We walked through the artists' tents and enjoyed some delicious food at Smoke on the Water. Maggie's pretty dress was a gift from some of the ladies at Miracle Hill...
For an extra little treat in the evening we headed to Bruster's for an ice cream. Even Maggie got a free mango sorbet which she thoroughly enjoyed!

The View From Here...

2009-05-11T17:03:00.000-07:00

This has been the view of our front yard this past week. GrandPop decided to put in a tankless water heater and replace the water and sewer lines. While it was something that needed to be done, we are on day 8 and are ready to have a green yard back....

Submission...Yea Right!

2009-05-01T09:17:00.000-07:00

This post has a round-about thing to do with Maggie. I am notorious for constantly changing the radio station in the car and it's quite annoying for some folks. So, as usual I was skimming through the radio stations and heard Beth Moore speaking on one of the local Christian radio stations here. I've heard her speak before and she's always interesting and pretty funny. She just happened to be talking about marriage, a subject I know very little about. She started commenting on submission...well, if you know me then you know this probably isn't my strong suit. Submission used to be a four letter word to me; you don't say it and don't expect me to do it. Then Beth Moore quoted another man's view of submission: "Submission is learning to duck so that God can hit your husband." I thought that was too hysterical and so true! Hearing that quote was like having a paradigm shift for me, my views of submission have almost completely changed. While I don't know if I'll ever get married, I don't feel that Maggie is lacking in wonderful male Christian role-models; men who love their wives and families and Christ loved the church. I don't pray for a husband because I feel selfish as I've been given so much, I simply pray that God's Will, will be done and that I'll recognize it when I see it.

Disney Day Five: Our Last Day

2009-04-28T17:35:00.000-07:00

On our fifth and final day at Disney we again headed back to the Magic Kingdom (can you tell which park is our favorite?). Since before Maggie was born GrandPop has been talking about riding Dumbo with her, so we made it our goal to make sure they rode Dumbo. I was a little nervous about her going on this ride as there aren't really any straps for her and it goes pretty fast. My fears were unfounded as she smiled and seemed thrilled the entire ride! I'm sure it helped that she had GrandPop holding onto her tightly :-) After a quick tour around the Magic Kingdom we hopped on a boat and headed for lunch at the Polynesian Resort. The Polynesian Resort is my personal favorite resort and I hope to stay there again someday. After a delicious counter-service meal we headed to ride the Monarail over to Epcot.We had dinner reservations at Chef de France which is a super-delicious restaurant in the World Showcase at Epcot. To my surprise this restaurant had the best style high-chair and it's pretty loud in there so if your child squeals it's not really disturbing anyone. As we were eating dinner we noticed a man walking around pushing a fancy cart with a dinner plate under a fancy lid. He rolled it over close to our table and pulled of the lid...it was Remi from Ratatouille! The little mouse danced and squeaked, it was too cute! After a delectable dinnner we headed back to the hotel to pack up as we were leaving the next day.The week flew by and we had tons of fun. I was sad to leave but I try to keep in mind that in only 90-some odd days we would be returning. This time with Aunt Amy, Uncle Mike, Uncle Andrew, and Aunt Katie in tow. We'll be celebrating Maggie's first birthday down there with a special character dinner!

Disney Day 4

2009-04-27T17:22:00.000-07:00

On our fourth day at Disney we headed back to the Magic Kingdom so Maggie could ride "It's a Small World". Maggie rode this ride when we came in December but she was a little too young to enjoy all the colors and sites. However, this time around she was fascinated with all the dancing dolls and sounds about her.

We then headed to Mickey's Toon Town and took a tour of Mickey's house. After that we hopped on the Disney World Railroad and took a wonderful train ride around the park. Maggie loved it! Shortly, after we headed back to hotel as we had dinner reservations at the Turf Club at the resort.

Disney Day 3

2009-04-22T17:27:00.000-07:00

Brrrrrr....that is one way to describe the way the weather was on Day 3 at Disney. Overnight, it turned cold (cold being 65 degrees; for us Southern girls anything under 80 is considered cold) and windy. So, we bundled up and headed to Disney's Hollywood Studios, affectionately and formerly known as MGM Studios. The park was extremely crowded and many of the rides had long waits so we mainly shopped. However, we were able to see Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Friends Live! Maggie watches Mickey Mouse Clubhouse almost every morning while I'm getting ready so I was very excited to see how she would react when seeing the characters live. Unfortunately, we had to sit on the floor which made it a little difficult for Mimi and GrandPop but they did great! Maggie also loved the show and bounced up and down and squealed! It was great!

We then had a delicious dinner at the Prime Time Cafe, which is a 50's home-cooking style dinner. The food was absolutely delicious and the waiter was a hoot! They make sure you keep your elbows off the table and clean your plate. By the time the sun went down it was even more chilly so we just headed on back to the hotel for a good nights sleep.

Disney Day 2

2009-04-20T17:03:00.000-07:00

On our second day at Disney we had an absolutely relaxing day! We decided, since Maggie had never been swimming, that she should have her first swimming adventure and she did great! She was a little nervous at first, so I sat in the water behind her. Soon after, she was splashing and squealing just having a grand-ol' time! Mimi didn't stay for the entire pool experience because she had a spa appointment, which she thoroughly deserved and enjoyed. Here is a picture of us swimming in the pool at Saratoga Springs. Maggie's bathing suit is a supercute design from Target.After the pool, we all cleaned up and ate a quick lunch at the resort. We then headed over to the Magic Kingdom for our dinner reservation. Our reservations were for the Plaza restaurant right off Main Street. It was a throw-back to old ice cream parlor days and the food was absolutely delicious...I highly recommend the rueben! We had a super-sweet waitress who gave Maggie a light up Tinkerbell that she very quickly put in her mouth :-) As we were leaving the park the sun had set and the castle was all lit up. It was so beautiful I had to take a picture...

Happy Birthday GrandPop!

2009-04-19T11:50:00.000-07:00

Disney: Day 1

2009-04-12T16:04:00.000-07:00

On our first day at Disney we headed to Epcot to see the Flower Power Festival plus that's where we had dinner reservations that night. We had a delicious counter service meal at Mexico and I certainly recommend the churros for a sweet treat! Maggie rode her second-ever ride at Mexico. She wasn't quite sure what to make of it but she handled it quite well. After that we took our time making it around "the World". Sadly, we had to say goodbye to Uncle Mike and Aunt Amy as they had to head back to reality of the working world.

For dinner we headed to the Land Grill, which was a fun character dinner. We were able to see Mickey, Pluto, Chip and Dale. The characters made their way around as you ate so they stopped by our table about four times each. Maggie was a little aprehensive at first but by their second trip around she was loving it! She would squeal, wave and clap as they came around. Another cool thing about the restaurant is it turns! By the time we finished our meal the place had made a complete 360! At Disney they have "stroller parking" which is where you can park your stroller while you ride rides or eat at the restaurants. Well, when we came out of the restaurant Maggie's brand new MacLaren stroller was NOT where we had parked it...can we say heart failure! After a little panic and some direction from some friendly folks we found it... some employees had come and moved all the strollers that were in the area where we parked the MacLaren and moved them into the main stroller parking area. Apparently, they tend to do this at Disney which I understand the point but a little heads-up would be nice!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T15:56:00.001-07:00

Today was Maggie's first Easter! Maggie actually received her second Easter basket this morning. Aunt Amy gave her one in Florida last week and Mimi gave Maggie one this morning. It was filled with a pink dress and sweater along with a new book about Jesus and a Mickey Mouse picture frame that we bought for her at Disney. Maggie's Easter dress was a gift from Jan Malone. It was such a girlie pink dress and she got so many compliments on it!

We headed to the (too) early service at church this morning because we went to Asheville this afternoon to meet Uncle Terry and Aunt Diane, Maggie's great-great aunt and uncle. I'm so thrilled that Maggie is getting to meet all of her extended family! We had a delicious lunch at the Corner Kitchen and it was wonderful to be able to catch up with them. Overall it was a wonderful, relaxing day!

Maggie Must Have: PediPeds!

2009-03-26T18:13:00.000-07:00

Almost since Maggie was born Great Granny has been determined to buy Maggie a pair of shoes. Well, one Saturday Mimi, Great Granny, Maggie and I were out shopping and stopped by the adorable little store The Lilypad where they carry super-cute baby clothes and accessories. They also happen to carry PediPed's, a children's shoe line. These adorable shoes range from dressy to sporty to casual. We picked out Maggie a great pair of casual pink shoes so they match several of her outfits perfectly! They are soft-soled shoes and supposedly are the next best thing to bare feet for little babies. The only down side to the shoes is they're velcro and Maggie has figured out how to take them off other than that they're fantastic!!

UPDATE: Here is Maggie in her newest pair of PediPed's! These were Maggie's Easter shoes; a gift from Mimi.

Happy Birthday Uncle Mike!

2009-03-24T07:39:00.001-07:00

Happy Spring!

2009-03-20T06:50:00.001-07:00

Happy first day of Spring everyone! Maggie and I have been enjoying the warmer weather...it's so nice not to lug sweater, hats, and blankets everywhere with us! Unfortunately, we have had a little bout with allergies but I think the rain this past weekend helped calm them down a little bit.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2009-03-17T17:14:00.000-07:00

Today was Maggie's very first St. Patrick's Day and boy was it busy! Maggie's great-great Aunt Linda (yes another one) and her husband John are in town for the week and we spent St. Patrick's Day with Mimi, Linda and Granny. I feel so fortunate that Maggie is able to meet her extended family! Maggie and I woke up this morning and hurried to get ready so we could pick Linda up at her hotel. We then headed to Granny's to visit for a little bit then we met Mimi for lunch. We ended up sitting at the restaurant for two hours catching up and talking. Linda is actually Granny's baby sister and is only two years older than Mimi. It's been wonderful to visit with them as we only see them every five years or so.

Happy Birthday Mimi!

2009-03-17T16:44:00.000-07:00

This is two days late but Happy Birthday Mimi!

Maggie's Must-Have: Avalon Organics Baby Products

2009-03-14T15:58:00.000-07:00

We will be starting a new feature on the blog...every now and then we will feature a "Maggie Must-Have" where we will highlight items that Maggie loves. So here is our very first...

I don't know about you but growing up I never really paid attention to any product labels, that is, until I started working at Bella Lucce. It wasn't until then when I really started looking at what goes into and onto my body. When I had Maggie I was definitely concerned about what products I would use for her. And since Bella Lucce doesn't have a baby line (hint,hint, Lela :-)I knew I would have to find a new bath product. I didn't want to use chemical-filled products on her, especially since she had been in the NICU when she was first born and had been pumped full of antibiotics already. So started the search...and we found Avalon Organics, certified organic baby products.

The product line is wonderful and we use almost every baby product they offer! Maggie loves the shampoo, it leaves her skin soft and her hair smelling wonderful. I love it too because I can pronounce and know every ingredient that is going onto her skin! So far I've found the products at Babies R Us and Publix, who even carries their traveling kit! They are a little bit on the pricier side than regular baby shampoo but those few pennies are definitely worth my piece of mind. So until Bella Lucce (hopefully) creates a baby line; Maggie's must have bath product is: Avalon Organic for Baby!

Once a week...

2009-03-13T16:19:00.000-07:00

Maggie and I head over to her Great Grandmother's to spend the day. We have a wonderful time and I'm glad that Maggie is able to spend time with her and will hopefully get to know her as she gets older. Granny has dubbed herself "Old Granny". You can typically find us at Salsaritas or Chick-Fil-A and then we'll head to Target. I'm definitely looking towards the warmer weather as we'll be able to take a walk around Granny's peaceful neighborhood and when summer comes we'll head to her pool!

Here is a pic of Granny the very first time she held Maggie after she came home from the hospital.

More Snow Fun...

2009-03-02T13:31:00.000-08:00

Here are some more pictures from our Snow Day!!!....Maggie and her snowman!
Maggie with Mimi and GrandPop
Even Charlie enjoyed the snow!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow...in March?!

2009-03-01T18:35:00.000-08:00

Today is March 1st and what happens it SNOWS!!!! Maggie has seen a lot in her 7 1/2 months; the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, Disney World, and now snow. She didn't quite understand what was going on and neither did Charlie. We had a wonderful lazy day and will hopefully have another lazy day tomorrow as even Mimi has the day off school. Here is Maggie enjoying her first experience with snow...

Maggie's first snow, it had just started and look how much was already on the ground!

Charlie playing in the snow!

Maggie Meets Melanie

2009-03-01T18:17:00.000-08:00

Last Friday, my good friend Melanie came to visit. Melanie and I first met when we were 17 years old at freshman orientation for Columbia College. We asked each other two questions: Do you like Mexican food? and Do you like the Dixie Chicks?...After that we decided to room together! We've been through a lot since then and I'm so blessed to have wonderful friends like her.

Melanie came up to spend the day, so we went to lunch (Mexican of course!) and then ran some errands. Melanie looks awfully good holding a baby doesn't she? Melanie and her husband David will hopefully be moving to the upstate in the next couple years...I'm keeping my fingers crossed. We had a wonderful visit that was way too short.

7 Months Old, A Trip to Florida, and our First Valentine's Day...

2009-02-15T17:51:00.000-08:00

On Maggie's 5 month birthday we were traveling to Disney, On her 6 month birthday we were traveling to Hilton Head Island so why would her 7 month birthday be any different? On Maggie's 7 month birthday we loaded up the car and headed to Florida to visit Aunt Amy and Uncle Mike. Great Granny (old Granny as she calls herself) even came along with us! She has two sisters, Josie and Cat who live in Zephyrhills and we were able to bring her along so she could visit with them. It was neat to see Maggie meet her great-great Aunts.

Maggie with her great-great aunts, Josie and Catherine

After we dropped Granny off with her sisters, we headed to Aunt Amy's. We had a wonderful long weekend and thoroughly enjoyed the warm Florida weather. On Friday, it was even warm enough that Maggie was able to dip her little toes in the Gulf of Mexico! She's 7 months old and already seen her second ocean...she's a great little traveler! We had a wonderful, quiet Valentine's day as Uncle Mike fixed some delicious steaks and Maggie received an adorable outfit for her first Valentine's Day gift. We were sad to head back on Monday but it's nice to know that in April Maggie will be making her second trip to Disney World!!

Maggie with Aunt Amy and Uncle Mike at the beach

I heart Snapfish...

2009-02-06T18:25:00.000-08:00

I don't know if you use Snapfish but I love it! Snapfish had a special offer to create a free "Snapshow" on Friday night so I created one to commemorate Maggie's first trip to the ocean. It even has music to it! So click here and you can watch Maggie's special Snapshow of her trip to Hilton Head.

Sneak Peek!

2009-02-03T17:32:00.001-08:00

A few weekends ago, we had a photographer come out and take Maggie's 6 month pictures. We just received a few of them back and they turned out BEAUTIFULLY! Follow this link: http://www.rachaelboling.com/blog/ and her pictures are on the photographers blog...ENJOY!!

FYI....

2009-01-27T11:31:00.000-08:00

Here is a pic of Maggie...hard at work....:-)

I'm sure everyone is wanting to know what could Maggie and I possibly do all day. One thing is for sure we're not sitting around the house watching soap operas and eating bonbons! We manage to stay quite busy and we're almost always on the go...

I'm running an eBay store for Miracle Hill and it takes a bit more work than what I was expecting. It's been pretty fun actually, it's kind of like running your own business only someone has outlined all the small details for you. Almost every day Maggie and I pack up in the morning and head down to the downtown Miracle Hill store for the majority of the day. I have a large private office that I can store all the eBay items in and take their picture. Maggie is quite the hit at the warehouse and the ladies are particularly sad when I don't bring her. Maggie starts her social rounds with GrandPop, as I usually start taking pictures and get things listed on eBay. Just like other single mothers I am working more than one job...

Twice a week, every other week, and every Sunday evening we pack up and head to Southside Fellowship to work in the nursery. It's tons of fun as I work with other young mothers and we can exchange tips and ideas on raising small children. It also allows Maggie to be social with babies around her age. Also, once a week we go and spend the day with GiGi (Great Granny or as she affectionately calls herself Old Granny). We've had tons of fun and once the weather gets warmer we'll definitely be headed to her pool!

So there you go...a glimpse into what Maggie and I do during the week.

Maggie Meets Mr. David

2009-01-22T18:06:00.000-08:00

Last week Maggie and I were able to meet David, my friend Mary's new son. Mary and I have known each other for a couple years now and have become close friends. We were even pregnant at the same time so we were able to exchange pregnancy joys and discomforts. Mary and her husband Todd welcomed baby David in November and he is absolutely precious! Mary was in town visiting her family so we were able to meet for lunch. We had a delightful visit and it was fun to finally meet baby David.

Maggie's a Beach Baby!

2009-01-14T18:30:00.000-08:00

This past weekend Maggie, GrandPop, Mimi and I were able to travel to Disney's Hilton Head Island resort. It was the perfect weekend to go..the weather was absolutey beautiful and the island wasn't crowded at all! On Saturday we took Maggie to the ocean and she loved it! She curled her little toes in the sand and would giggle when the surf hit her toes. Of course we had to look for seashells to commemorate her trip and we lucked out finding shells also! The tide was headed out and there were sanddollars everywhere~I've never seen this before~we probably saw hundreds of sanddollars! We picked up two beautiful sanddollars that we will be able to preserve and frame to commemorate her first trip to the ocean! She's a beach baby....

Maggie's First Christmas Cot'd

2009-01-06T17:47:00.000-08:00

Good Glorious Food...I'm not quite sure of what to think about this food thing...

Now that everyone was in town we opened presents on December 26th. Maggie received some precious stuffed animals, toys, books, and clothes. Even though Maggie really had no clue about what was going on, it was still funny to see her reaction when we opened her presents. She would kick her legs and sometimes even let out a squeal! Overall it was a wonderful Christmas and it was wonderful to have everyone here.

Maggie's First Christmas (Better Late Than Never)!

2009-01-05T13:50:00.001-08:00

My precious Maggie had her first Christmas at the ripe age of 5 1/2 months! Due to other family obligations we didn't actually celebrate Christmas until the 26th when everyone could be together. So on Christmas Day, Grandpop, Mimi, Gigi, Maggie and I had a quiet day around the ol' homestead. We had a delicious breakfast and a wonderful pot of vegetable soup later in the afternoon. After lunch, we all took Granny home then headed to the airport to pick up Aunt Amy and Uncle Mike. The plan was to head to Waffle House for a late dinner but when we got to the WoHo it was packed (guess we weren't the only ones with that idea) and people were smoking (yuck)! So we headed home for more delicious vegetable soup. The next day Aunt Toot Toot (Katie) and Uncle Andrew came over so our entire family could be together for Christmas. We had a delicious meal and a beautiful tablescape (Sandra Lee would be proud!). We also decided that Maggie's first feeding of "real" food should be made into an event, so while everyone was around the table Maggie had her first bite of baby cereal. She made the funniest faces but she eventually got the hang of it!

Are all of these for me???

Charlie playing with his present

Coming Soon: Maggie's First Christmas: Part 2

Aunt Jenn Comes to Visit!

2008-12-26T14:24:00.001-08:00

On Saturday (Dec. 20th), Aunt Jenn came to visit Maggie and me. Jenn and I went to college together and even lived together for two years. We haven't seen each other in over a year so it was great to see her and to be able to catch up. We hung around the house and chatted for most of the day then headed to lunch at Adam's Bistro. Jenn was a natural when it came to holding Maggie...see the picture above...Maggie is sound asleep in Jenn's arms! Jenn has never changed a diaper so maybe next time we'll let her tackle changing Maggie's diaper :-) (j/k Jenn!)....maybe ;-).

Maggie Gets Her First Ornament!

2008-12-26T14:14:00.000-08:00

Maggie received her first Christmas ornament from our dear friend, Kara. Kara and I have known each other since we were Maggie's age. Our parents went to college together and so we literally have known each other our entire lives. Anyways, in the rush of Christmas excitement, we overlooked buying Maggie a Christmas ornament. I'm so very thankful for such amazing friends and family like Kara. I've truly been blessed.

Maggie Goes to Disney: Day Two

2008-12-23T11:10:00.000-08:00

Well Maggie's second day at Disney was just as busy as the first! We woke up and headed to Epcot. At Epcot, Maggie was able to meet several of the Disney characters including; Goofy, Pluto, Donald, Minnie, and of course Mickey! Epcot offers a "Character Spot" where several of the characters hang out for pictures and autographs. So Aunt Amy and I jumped in line. Maggie loved meeting the characters and she even gave Pluto a kiss on his nose :-) We then went to the ride "Finding Nemo" and enjoyed "Turtle Talk with Crush". Even though Maggie wasn't quite sure of what was going on she seemed to really enjoy watching the animation. For lunch, we went to the restaurant inside of Mexico which was quite delicious. Poor Maggie was so worn out from all the excitement earlier in the day she slept through the whole lunch! Last but not least that evening we had tickets to see Disney's Candlelight Processional at 6:45pm. Maggie did extremely well and enjoyed the music and lights. After the show was over, GrandPop, Mimi, Maggie and I all headed back to the room so Maggie could go to sleep. Overall, we had a wonderful trip and we can't wait to take Maggie back this Summer! Here are some pictures from our trip...

Maggie Goes to Disney: Day 1

2008-12-17T17:24:00.000-08:00

Well, Maggie had her first trip to Disney World this past weekend! The entire family was able to make it so we had a wonderful Wolff mini-vacation. I was worried that all the new sights and sounds might frighten Maggie but she did fantastic...she's quite the excellent little traveler! On Friday, we arrived at our resort, Old Key West, then headed off to the Magic Kingdom. Our first order of vacation was, of course, to have our picture taken in front of the castle. We then headed off to "It's a Small World" where Maggie rode her first ever park ride. She sat with GrandPop and Mimi so I could take her picture.

We then headed off to buy Maggie her first pair of ears! We found the perfect pair at a store in the Magic Kingdom and had her name embroidered on them. She looks so cute in them! Next we headed back to the hotel to eat dinner at Olivia's, the hotel restaurant. Everyone was pretty worn out from traveling so we called it an early night and headed to bed.

Stay tuned for our adventures on Day two! :-)

Sweet Swap

2008-12-09T17:35:00.002-08:00

Maggie and I went to our very first Sweet Swap on Saturday! We searched and searched for delicious, festive yet easy cookies to bake. Well, we accomplished two out of three of those :-) I made Giada's Peppermint Chocolate Sandwich Cookies. While there weren't that many ingredients (definitely one thing I look for in any recipe) there were several steps. And it was quite difficult balancing baking the cookies and Maggie's schedule. The cookies turned out beautifully and were quite delicious. However, next year I will be making cookies a little less time consuming. Thankfully, Mimi and GrandPop were there to lend a helping hand if Maggie got fussy. Bobbi from Supper Club hosted the party and it was fun to see everyone's delicious creations. Of course the best part was tasting all of them! Maggie was able to see her friends Aubrey and Emery. Maggie and I will be hosting Supper Club in December and we're still looking for suggestions on the menu...

PS- I also found an easy recipe for Peppermint Bark, just visit http://www.foodnetwork.com/ and type in Peppermint Bark, Paula Deen.
Countdown to Disney: 2 days!!

Maggie's First Thanksgiving

2008-11-29T16:58:00.000-08:00

Maggie had her first Thanksgiving and we had tons of fun! Can't you tell from the picture? (Maggie is rolling with laughter at her cousin Kenny.) GrandPop, Mimi, GiGi (great-granny), Maggie, and Mommy all headed to Atlanta to Aunt Brenda and Uncle Doug's house for Thanksgiving. She got to meet most of her cousins including her new cousin Vivienne who is almost exactly two months younger than Maggie. There was tons of food and tons of fun. Maggie took a long nap with GrandPop by the downstairs Christmas tree then she played with Vivienne on the floor. It was fun to be with the Carrier side of the family as we don't get to see them very often. The only thing that would have made it better is if Amy, Mike, Andrew and Katie could have been there. We missed y'all! I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving!

Maggie Goes to the Mountains

2008-11-04T18:12:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, we took a family outing to the mountains at Table Rock. It was an absolutely beautiful day, the trees were beautiful and it was a perfect day to drive through the mountains. We made our first stop at the new Victoria Valley Vineyards. The local vineyard has some delicious wine and I have to recommend the Pulse. We ran into a long-time family friend at the Vineyard, Melanie. Melanie use to babysit my siblings and I and it was fun for Maggie to meet her! We then traveled a little bit down the mountain to Aunt Sue's Shops and Restaurant. As always the food was delicious. We learned an interesting fact from Melanie while at the Vineyard. When we got there, the place was covered with ladybugs. Seriously, thousands upon thousands! Melanie told us the twice a year Clemson releases the ladybugs as they're a natural pesticide and will help clean out agricultural areas, so they help sustain the vineyard. Very neat! If you're ever in need of a good day trip the Vineyard and Aunt Sue's is a wonderful place!!

Surprise!..Aunt Amy Comes to Visit!

2008-11-04T18:00:00.001-08:00

We had a special surprise for Mimi on Thursday...Amy came into town! We never thought that we would be able to pull it off but we did. I went and picked Amy up from the airport on Thursday evening and Mimi was certainly shocked when she walked into the door at dinner-time. We had a lovely girls weekend and I was thrilled that Amy got to see Maggie. She hasn't seen her since she was born and Maggie has changed so much. Also, in other family news Uncle Andrew is finally home from Greenwood and he and Aunt Katie were able to come over for Sunday dinner. It was nice to have everyone together (minus Uncle Mike--we missed you!) even if it was just for a weekend. Maggie had a wonderful time with her Aunt Amy and especially liked it when Aunt Amy rocked her to sleep.

COUNTDOWN TO DISNEY:36 DAYS!!!

On a Lighter Note..Maggie visits Bella Lucce!

2008-11-01T09:02:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday I took Maggie to visit my old workplace, Bella Lucce (this is where I had that dream job and got to travel to fancy places)! It brought back so many memories. I got to meet the new crew and it was wonderful to see the place going strong. After a brief visit at the office, Lela, Maggie and I went out to lunch at Miyo's. It was so much fun getting to catch up with her...we reminisced about old times and caught up on some happenings. I was super-nervous about taking Maggie down there by myself but she did perfect! She barely fussed at all...you can see in the picture she's really tired but she didn't want to go to sleep because she might miss something exciting. Bella Lucce has many delicious body products and Maggie is a fan of the Vanilla Coconut Whipped Shea which she puts on after her bath almost every night. Thank you Lela for a wonderful visit...hopefully next time we can see Chloe and Celie!

Random Babblings

2008-10-23T17:09:00.000-07:00

My goodness...I can't believe it has been so long since I last posted! Maggie and I have been quite busy lately with working in the church nursery and managing the eBay store. She's growing so fast I can hardly believe it. I pulled out a newborn diaper last week and it's hard to believe she ever fit in them. She's been such a blessing to me and I'm excited to watch her grow. However, the recent turn of events in the country make me wish she would stay this little forever so she would never know how cold or mean the world can be. My heart aches as I wonder what her future will be like. More than ever I'm trying to have faith and trust that God will take care of us, like He has done so many times before. Yesterday on my way to work I heard on the radio the verse that reminds us God's ways are not our ways, and then Tiffany, my boss, later that morning said the exact same verse.

I'm doing a Bible study on Wednesday evening with other young mothers that has truly been a blessing and I look forward to it every time we meet. I find that I am not alone in my fears for my child but I find comfort in talking with these other mothers and their assurance that God is watching over us. I hope someday to be so steadfast in my faith. We're studying the book of Ruth and it truly is an example of how God's ways are not our ways and that His plans are to further us not to harm us. Naomi begged Ruth to return to her home and not follow her but God has other plans as He moved Ruth to join Naomi. These two women were almost outcasts in society both without husbands and children. They would never the CNN ticker these days, they simply would have passed on without any noticed. But God provided for them and gave us their story to learn how to trust Him. God tells us not even to worry about the sparrows because He will take care of them. So I'm trying not to worry and have faith.

So there are my random babblings, read them or don't read them. But I do ask that you pray for our future as I so want my daughter to have the blessing and opportunities that we had growing up.

Laughter is the best medicine...

2008-09-30T17:27:00.000-07:00

Maggie laughed!! On Friday (9.26.08), Maggie and I were playing and suddenly she laughed! It certainly melted my heart! I was home alone with her and was anxious for GrandPop and Mimi to come home to hear her laugh. While she didn't laugh again for them Friday evening. Sunday, Mimi got to hear her laugh and GrandPop heard her laugh on Monday. What a thrill! I have done lots of fun things but watching Maggie discover everything is the best enjoyment ever.

Maggie Gets Her Shots

2008-09-15T16:56:00.000-07:00

On Friday (August 12th) GrandPop and I took Maggie to get her shots. Her appointment was at 10:30am and we didn't see the doctor until almost noon! We saw a new pediatrician named Dr. Drew who was very nice and kept complimenting how beautiful Maggie was. He was very kind and even prayed with us before Maggie got her shots...I think he could tell I needed a little prayer because I had already been crying. Maggie received three shots and one oral vaccination. It's a lot for a little two month old but she handled them like a trooper. I had a bottle ready for her and as soon as she was finished, she was quite ready for the bottle. She, luckily, has had no reactions to the vaccinations and even went to church on Sunday. Thankfully, we won't have to go back for another two months!

Meet Charlie

2008-09-03T17:02:00.000-07:00

Meet my beloved Charlie! He is the handsome chocolate lab lounging in the pool and standing beside him is his girlfriend Harper. I adopted Charlie almost exactly one year ago from Pets, Inc.; a wonderful rescue shelter in Columbia. Charlie was found wondering down the road one day and taken to the shelter where soon after I adopted him. He is such a wonderful dog! He loves to play fetch, take long walks, napping and following my dad around the yard on the weekends. He's still a little unsure around Maggie and wonders why this human makes such strange noises and doesn't pet me. Although, I'm sure they'll be best friends one day...most likely when Maggie can pet him and throw the ball. Maggie has started going on daily walks with Charlie and he does extremely well walking right beside her. There are rumors of the city opening a dog park just down the road from us. I hope they do so Charlie could makes lots of new friends!

Mommy's Night Out

2008-08-20T16:10:00.000-07:00

Once a month a fun diverse group of young women get together to chat and eat dinner...it's my Supper Club! I was invited by my dear friend Kara to join the "club" after I moved back to Greenville in May and have really enjoyed it. These wonderful women threw me a surprise baby shower at the June Supper Club and I only had met all of them once before! I went solo last night while Mimi and GrandPop watched little Maggie (they did a swell job). While it was nice to get out of the house for a bit, I was anxious to get back home and see my little darlin'. Melissa hosted the dinner last night and made a delicious Mexican feast! She's a phenomenal cook as she made fresh guacamole, salsa and cheese dip and fixed delicious chicken and vegetables on the grill. When I got home Maggie's birth announcements had come in the mail that day so keep an eye out as you should be receiving one via mail very soon!

I will be hosting the November Supper Club so any dinner ideas are welcome!!

It's the Little Things in Life...

2008-08-15T19:58:00.000-07:00

Maggie has had quite the busy week. Early in the week she began responding to sounds and faces. We had quite the rousing game of Peek-a-Boo this afternoon! Also, this afternoon I set up Maggie's Rainforest inspired floor gym for a little "tummy time". Before I knew it she had rolled over on her back!! It's the little things in life that bring joy and I was quite proud of my little munchkin marking some developmental milestones this week. We then met GrandPop at Saturn of Greenville to make sure Maggie's car seat was in correct and a local Fox News cameraman and reporter showed up and filmed the Safety Team inspecting my car and also took some footage of Maggie. So keep your eye son the local Fox News because you might see us! More big news for Maggie...she will be making her first trip to Disney in December at the distinguished age of five months thanks to GrandPop and Mimi!

Meet Maggie

2008-08-13T09:17:00.002-07:00

Well, here she is! This is my darling Maggie. (Feel free to ooh and aah :-) She was born on July 11, 2008 at 11:35pm. After a 10 day stay in the NICU I was thrilled to have her at home. We now fill our days with napping, playing with Charlie (the dog), singing, playing peek-a-boo, and meeting friends and family.

My First Blog..Yay!!

2008-08-12T19:02:00.000-07:00

Hello All! Welcome to my blog...After seeing how much fun my sister-in-law was having blogging, I decided to jump on the bandwagon. I also want to use my blog as sort of an online baby book of my daily adventures with my daughter Maggie. Another inspiration for starting Adventures in Mommyhood was the blog of Storked!, a funny yet honest look into the life of a single mother. (The paper version of storked can be found in Glamour Magazine) As I journey into the world of single mommy-hood I look forward to adventures ahead and welcome you all to join me! Hope you enjoy the ride!

The (Single) Mommy Life

For You Lovers Today...

Happy Valentine's Day!

4 Days til Florida!

Back Up and Running...

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We're Going Green!

Well Hello There!...

Christmas Pics...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tinkerbell Fever!!!

And We're Back!!!....

Maggie Goes to the Biltmore

Happy Birthday Popop!

Happy Birthday Uncle Mike!

Happy Birthday Mimi!!

Look What Mommy Made!

Maggie Goes to The Children's Museum

Happy Birthday Uncle Andrew!

Maggie Meets Santa!

Signed, Sealed and Hopefully Will Be Delivered...

Maggie Must Have: First Juice!

The New Name...

Holy Cow...It's Been Awhile!

Maggie Meets Mr. Landon!

Halloween Fun...

Katie tagged me...

Re-naming the blog...

Mangia, Mangia!

Charlie's Special Day

A Penny For Your Thoughts...

Update: We Are Alive...

Back In School!

Maggie's One Year Photo Shoot

Happy Birthday Toot-Toot!

Maggie Celebrates Her First Birthday...At Disney!

Happy Birthday...to me :-)

Four Generations go on a Road Trip...and Survive!

Happy 1st Birthday Maggie!

Happy Independence Day...We've Been Busy!

Maggie's First Tooth---Finally!!

Look At What Mimi Made...

Happy Birthday Aunt Amy!!

Happy Memorial Day!!!

Happy Mother's Day!

The View From Here...

Submission...Yea Right!

Disney Day Five: Our Last Day

Disney Day 4

Disney Day 3

Disney Day 2

Happy Birthday GrandPop!

Disney: Day 1

Happy Easter!

Maggie Must Have: PediPeds!

Happy Birthday Uncle Mike!

Happy Spring!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy Birthday Mimi!

Maggie's Must-Have: Avalon Organics Baby Products

Once a week...

More Snow Fun...

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow...in March?!

Maggie Meets Melanie

7 Months Old, A Trip to Florida, and our First Valentine's Day...

I *heart* Snapfish...

Sneak Peek!

FYI....

Maggie Meets Mr. David

Maggie's a Beach Baby!

Maggie's First Christmas Cot'd

Maggie's First Christmas (Better Late Than Never)!

Aunt Jenn Comes to Visit!

Maggie Gets Her First Ornament!

Maggie Goes to Disney: Day Two

Maggie Goes to Disney: Day 1

Sweet Swap

Maggie's First Thanksgiving

Maggie Goes to the Mountains

Surprise!..Aunt Amy Comes to Visit!

I heart Snapfish...