Countdown to Christmas

WOO HOO! We have only 46 days to CHRISTMAS!!!! Getting so excited!!!

Menu Monday

Sunday: Chili
Monday: Chicken and Dumplings, Macaroni and Cheese, and Fried Okra
Tuesday: Leftover Chili and Hotdogs

Wednesday: TJIFridays Chicken and Broccoli Skillet Meal and BreadsticksThursday: Leftover Chicken and Dumplings, Green Beans,

Friday: Out to Eat

Saturday: Out to Eat/Order Pizza

The Verdict is In

Sunday morning Tyler was nice and woke up at his usual 7:30! Yay for not waking up at 6:30 since the time changed. Now only if he would go back to sleeping till 9 or 9:30! A Mom can dream right? I got him up and he played in my bed with me for a little while and I noticed he is not feeling well. He has had a cough since last Thursday but it is getting worse and now he has a low grade fever, congestion, sore throat and a weird rash. Boooo! We decided it was best to skip church to not expose any other children in the nursery. He took a late morning nap, which he has been skipping for the last 2 weeks then got up and we had lunch.

Sunday afternoon my Dad volunteered to drive us over to the new outlets. We have been dying to go but not excited about the crowds. I was glad to go with my Dad because Tyler loves him so I would be able to look! Well we get there and the parking is horrible! Great! Not only is there hardly any spots it is laid out horribly! All the stores are built where they face the inside and parking is rounded around. Another bad thing is there are NO sidewalks around it so you have to walk in the road with a million cars to get to the 4 openings that let you get to where the signs are. It is horribly layed out for strollers and wheelchairs! Also do not think you are going to just run in one store and out because it is more like a mall and the store name signs around the outside are just advertising what stores they have. It is not where the actual store was! We did find some cute things but most stores were not having any sales, especially not GOOD sales. Carters looked liked a war zone and real war zone! They had hardly anything left at all! They did have some sales but the ones in Gatlinburg were much better! Childrens place is a waste of time for me to go in! I really never find anything I want for Tyler ever! Also if you are going for Gap kids do not waste your time! They have hardly anything and what they do have is shoved in the back of the store! All in all I was very disappointed! I think after all the hype and the brand new wear off I will try them out again! Hopefully they will be stocked with actual clothes and good prices next time!





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The Christmas Village

So Yesterday we went to The Christmas Village held at the BJCC the first weekend of November every year! I have been going for many years now and always enjoy it! It is the largest indoor arts, crafts, and gift show in the South. They have over 450 vendors and we had fun visiting them all. nWe were able to find several good finds! We got Tyler several pairs of pants to wear with his appliqued and monogrammed tops. We also found Ansleigh some super cute outfits and we bought my Dad some homemade bread made out of Elijay, Ga.The bad was the crowds. Good for business bad for being there! It was horrible when we first got there but thinned out when the Alabama/LSU game came on TV. Thank goodness! All in All we did have a good time! The Good News is I am now in the Christmas Spirit! I am ready to decorate the house, bake all kinds of yummy baked goods, make candies and cookies, and celebrate our Lord and Saviors Birthday!

Cheeseburger Casserole

This is one of my new favorite recipes! I am really enjoying cooking this! Hope you enjoy it also!

Cheeseburger Casserole

Ingredients
1 Can of Oven Ready Biscuits (I use Grands Original)
1 lb lean ground beaf
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped bell pepper
3/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/4 cup Ketchup (I use a little more)
1 (10 3/4 oz) can of tomato soup
1 bag of shredded cheddar cheese

Combine beef, onion and bell pepper in skillet, cook until lightly browned. Drain and add salt and pepper. Stir in Ketchup and tomato soup. Heat thoroughly. Turn into a 8 inch square or 1 1/2 qt casserole dish. Sprinkle cheese on top of meat mixture then top with biscuits.

Bake at 425 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown. Serves 4.

I always serve it with baked sweet potato fries.

Original Recipe is from www.cooks.com, I tweaked it for my taste!

Tyler is 14 Months Old

Precious Tyler where oh where did the time go! I can not believe my baby boy is 14 months old. This time in his life is so fun and sad to me also. I wish Jon could be here to chase him and play with him. Tyler has finally started talking and actually saying several different words! Everyday is something new and fun. He can get into anything, I mean EVERYTHING!

• Tyler Weighs 24.5 pounds
• He is 29.5 inches long (Still)
• Wears size 3 diapers
• Wears 6, 9, & 12 month clothes (yes some 6 month clothes still fit)
• Size 5 Wide shoe
• Loves blankets and drags them everywhere
• Has 6 teeth on top and 3 on bottom
• Still drinks out of bottle because he refuses milk out of a sippy
• Still sleeps with his Mobile and bumpers and will NOT sleep without either
• Tyler can say: Uh Oh, Bye-Bye, Ba-Ba, Ball, Da-da, dadadada, Momma, Mommee, La-La, Pappa, G, Grr
• Can Give High Five and Wave now
• Tyler can not only walk he can run and climb
• He can climb up and down a flight of stairs all by hisself and much faster than his momma
• Fav Foods: Chicken, Ground Beef, Cheese, Toast, Green Beans, Blueberries, Bananas, Goldfish, Animal Crackers, Pizza, Breadsticks, Biscuits, French Fries, Pancakes, Macaroni and Cheese, Pasta, Zucchini, Grilled Cheese Sandwich, Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches, Oreos, ice cream

Wordless Wednesday

A Chase With Pop Pop

Tyler Turned 1

Okay so this is late but I gave you lots of hints so I wanted to give you the full update! I still 2 months later can not believe my baby turned 1. The time went so fast. He is such a cutie and has the best personality still!

Stats at age of 1

Weighed: 20 pounds

Length: 29 inches long

Words: Momma, Momee

Foods: Anything you can get your hands on! Favorite is pasta and Grilled Cheese.

I really enjoyed throwing you a party! I had so much fun, with a little stress, preparing and making a lot of the stuff! All the family helped with little things and your Lolli helped with a lot of things! We had such a great day with a huge turn out! It was so nice to spend the day with all of our family and friends! Only thing missing was your Daddy but he was there in spirit and in your heart! He wished so bad to be there with you.

Tyler's Gift from Mommy and Daddy

Tylers High Chair

The Mantle all decorated.

Tyler's Outfit and His gift from Lolli and Pop

The Dessert Table: Mickey Mouse Cupcakes, Mickey Cake Pops, and Mickey Rice Krispie Treats

The Food Table: Mickey shaped Cheeseball, French Onion Dip, Spinach Dip, Deviled Eggs, Macaroni and Cheese, Baked Beans, Hamburgers/Cheeseburgers, and Hot Dogs

Tyler Helping open gifts

Tyler making funny faces

Tyler hated his hat

Everyone scared him and he cried over his cake!

Ansleigh tried helping

They love each other!

All Tylers Gifts with Ansleigh trying one out.

Looking Forward too!

•This time next week I will have a one year old!
•Where did the year go???
•In a week we are having a big 1st Birthday Party!
•One week till college football starts! WOO HOO
•WAR EAGLE
•Next weekend is the Baby Shower I have been planning
•So excited to shower Baby Sam with all his gifts
•In two weeks we are going to see Thomas the Train in Nashville!
• I am looking forward to getting some house projects done in two weeks also!
•Thank You Lord I have wonderful in-laws that can come up to help.
•5 weeks we are going to see Disney on Ice: Toy Story 3
• Tylers first big show!!!
•Also in 5 weeks Girls trip to Gatlinburg!
• Wow my calendar is full!

What all do have coming up? Are you ready for Football season?


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Getaway

So lately this deployment has been draining! Some days are harder than others! I hate that Jon is missing out on so much! My friend Meredith is exhausted with it as well, with two kids at home who wouldn't be. So in October we are heading east to Gatlinburg, TN! We still have over a month before we get to go but I just can not wait! A get away with a friend! I love to travel, LOVE IT, and Gatlinburg is near and dear to my heart! I love going! I grew up going there and Jon and I went there on our Honeymoon. So a BIG thanks to my Aunt and Uncle who own and cabin for letting us use it for a little change of scenery!

One place I am dying to go is http://www.christmasplace.com/. I just love that place and go everytime I am up there! They have so many pretty Christmas trees and decorations and some really fun gifts. I also like going in there Vera Bradley shop. (No one would ever guess that.)

They also have just opened a new restaurant called The Partridge and Pear. Its menu looks so yummy with things like Christmas Tomatoes, Sweet Potato Ribbons, Partridge and Pear Salad, Christmas Bread Pudding and Cake from Christmas Past. They also have a Santa Blender! How cute and cool!

In 2007 they also opened The Christmas Inn! Its rooms look amazing and it is right across the street from the Christmas Shops! Take a look for your next vacation.

Another place I hope to talk Meredith into going to is The Apple Barn. It is one of our favorite places to eat in Pigeon Forge. There food is so good and I love the apple fritters with apple butter. The apple julep is to die for also! We always buy several jars of there apple butter to take home with us and normal some of the apple fritter mix. Jon really loves it.

One of my other favorite restaurants is the Old Mill. It is not only a restaurant it is still a working mill! I still order most of my flour and gravy mix from them online. We buy jellies and pancake mix and all kinds of fun things. There is a amazing pottery shop there that we have bought several peices from, a candy kitchen with yummy fudge, a cute little kids toy shop, and a ice cream and coffee shop. Such a fun place to spend a couple of hours.

Craftey Cups

So for weeks now I have been preparing for little Tylers Birthday party and I have been on the search for the perfect everything! His theme is Mickey Mouse but I did not want it to be cheezy at all. So I have been searching for the perfect plates and perfect cups. Plates I had settled on the square solo brand plates because they would be sturdy and the plates would not sag at all. Well the cups I was struggling finding what I wanted. This was getting frustrating to me, then my Mom saw a idea to use the vinyl on party punch cups. She was referring to cups for the baby shower but I decided that I would do the same for Tylers party.
So yesterday I got on my cricut and started cutting away. I cut out Mickey Mouse heads and stuck them to party tumblers! They are so cute and perfect. I also got caught up in how easy peasy it was to cut them out and stick them on stuff and added them to my red solo plates. They are so adorable!

In this process I also cut out enough sailboats to put on party punch cups and the clear party plates for the baby shower we are planning.

So the next time you are struggling with what to use you maybe you can get crafty and make up what you want to have too!

Disney on Ice

Disney on Ice:Toy Story 3

Tyler and I and also our friends Meredith, Peighton, and Henry are all getting to go see Disney on Ice: Toy Story 3 for free. Thank you FRG for getting tickets for spouses of deployed soldiers for us. We are all getting super excited! It is still a month away but I still can not wait but I am anxious to see how Tyler will do sitting still for that long! We will see!

Have you ever been to see Disney on Ice? I have not been since I was a little girl and I feel like a little girl about getting to go to this! I hope Tyler enjoys it and I am kind of sad that Jon will not be there with us to experience this! But we will get to go to more things like this when he is home and I am sure Tyler will remember it even more then!

Sneak Peaks

So I am getting so excited and a little scaried at the same time! In less than two weeks I will have a one year old! He will officially be a toddler and not a baby. How did the time go by so fast? This past Saturday it hit me like a ton of bricks that he was now a little boy. I was talking to Jon on the phone standing outside and I looked at the glass door and there stood a little boy staring out. It was my little boy, he did not look like my little baby boy anymore at all, he looked like a little boy. Tears!

My Mom and I have been spending weeks planning little man's 1st Birthday! It is going to be such a fun bash and I am getting so excited! We have already started decorating the house so next week we can do all the cooking and baking and we are also planning a baby shower for the day after! So lots to do!

Here are some sneak peaks! Lots more to come!