Wherein I Redeem My Son and A First!

Remember THIS post...

where I talked about the challenges that my son seems to face all of the time?

I have to redeem him!  LOOK AT HIS PROGRESS REPORT!

Can you say AWESOME!!!!!

He couldn't have been prouder when he brought this home :)

Brian and I have both talked to his teachers and counselor about some of the issues that we have at home and none of them seem to think that he is anywhere on the ADHD spectrum.

That makes me feel good.  He does what he is supposed to when he is in public.

It also makes it challenging to know that he is only challenging at home.

He simply knows how to work mom and dad,

and the fact that we aren't consistent enough with him.

We have made some changes and so far things seem to be going good. 

We made a big deal about his progress report!!

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Then tonight, JAMES LOST HIS FIRST TOOTH!!

The poor boy has been waiting for what seemed like eternity.  In Kindergarten and First Grade the teacher always keeps track of who loses teeth and he flew through each year without so much as a tooth that wanted to budge.

So you can imagine his excitement when about two weeks ago he knew that he was going to be losing a tooth soon!  He has been a mix of emotions though.  He has this fear that losing a tooth is going to hurt so bad but at the same time he wants is to happen now.

Tonight while I was making my {yummy} enchiladas, him and Parker were wrestling around the front room.  James comes running to me crying like you'd think he'd broke a bone.  I saw blood and almost started to freak out and then realized that it was the tooth.  It was REALLY lose this morning and I told him that when Dad got home we would probably have him pull it, but honestly I forgot about it.

Until the started wrestling and little old Parker punched it out of his mouth!  It didn't hurt a all...just shocked the heck out of him and thought that something much worse had happened when he saw all the blood.

This is bittersweet proof that my boy is entering another phase of growing up.

The tooth right next to it isn't to be far behind since it's loose; as well as the two top ones.

I better build up my lose change and dollar bills...

The poor kid may be asking for all of his teeth by Christmas instead of just his two front teeth!

I am so proud of him!!  Next time you see him, give him a "High Five"

Togetherness

Beth over at I Should Be Folding Laundry does a weekly photo challenge and this week it is all about "Togetherness". Having done a wedding this week I caught many photos defining togetherness. My all time favorite (sorry to the bride and groom) is one of my hubby and I.

Can you tell that I love this man more than the world?!?!?!  I wouldn't be who I am without him and I only feel complete when I am in his arms.

Don't get me wrong -- he does irritate me and make me angry sometimes -- but at the end of the day, my "Togetherness" always involves being wrapped in his arms with both of us smiling because of the unique love that we share!

What is your idea of "Togetherness"?

Linking up to ...

It Has All Come to Fruition!

This weekend the wedding I was planning for my step daughter came to fruition, I had a funeral for my sister-in-law's mother and then the good friends of ours had their baby boy.  It was an insanely crazy weekend and I am soooo glad that it is over.  Brian and I even let the kids skip school yesterday so that they could recoup from all of the busy-ness.

I don't know what I am going to do since I'm not going to have a wedding invading my every thought and action.  Don't get me wrong, I loved the process of planning Ashley's wedding, but I am thankful that it is over.

It was an outside wedding and all during preparations the morning of, it was beautiful outside.  The wedding was at 3:00 and at 2:00 the storms rolled in.  We did get through the ceremony with some sprinkles and then it unloaded on us at the end.  The reception too was outside and it was windy and cold.  Many of us weren't dressed for the occasion since we were in fancy dresses but I am very confident that everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves.  My husband and I never sat down, nor really even saw each other since we were so busy.   I was thankful to be able to be able to cuddle with him that evening.

This is the wedding cake that I dreaded for so long, only because it was my first attempt at fondant and anything other than a box cake with some icing slapped on.  The bride and groom were thoroughly pleased with the outcome and I couldn't have been happier.  I was very worried...

Red Velvet Cake Balls - YUMMY!

 Handsome Daddy and beautiful daughter {happy tear}...

I now pronounce you Husband and Wife!

Pastor Rob and Uncle Erick were in heaven carving the pig...

My handsome boy!

My beautiful daughter!

Total cuteness, both daddy and baby!

This is my favorite pic of all time.  I don't know what I would do without this special man in my life!!

Poor girl was so cold trying to do pictures...

Priceless!

I'm so happy that we were able to make her wedding what she wanted!

The Bridal Party trying to stay warm...

Father/Daughter Dance

Mother/Son Dance

Bride/Groom First Dance

Congratulations Ashley and Alex!!  We wish you many years of happiness!!

It's a New Day

Brian refused to let me work last night therefore I was able to get a good nights sleep.  He has to be a bully sometimes with me and make me do things.  Like sleep and eat.  He got quite mad at me yesterday since the only thing I had until 5:00 at night was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  Honestly I was just REALLY tired and busy and didn't think about it.  He thinks it's stupid that I forget to eat.  By the end of the day I had eaten and gotten good rest so today is a fresh new day.

My step-daughter's wedding is this Saturday, hence one of the reasons I have been so busy.  Throwing a wedding together in three months for about 130 people is no small task especially considering her and I have done everything with no help from *ahem* (I won't say).

Last night I spent FOUR hours shopping for a dress.  I wasn't going to buy me one simply beucase we didn't have the money but my mother-in-law insisted that I NEED a new one and offered to take me shopping.  Off we went, with kids in tow.  For the record, I must say that the Legends Shopping Center close by me does not have a large selection of dresses that a mother of the bride can wear to a wedding.  They were either to Prom-ish (if that's a word) or to business like.  I thought for sure that BCBG would have something.  I tried on a few there but with their air conditioning being out and it being 120 degrees {seriously} in the store, let's just say that trying on dresses under those circumstances kind of stiffled my mood along with every dress sticking to me because I was sweating so much.  So, I left there with empty handed.  About five stores later, along with my children begging me to go home, I had nothing...

We ended up going to JCPenney's and buying TWO dresses simply beucase we couldn't decide so the decision falls to Brian when he gets home from work tonight.  I did take some pics for you so that I could get your opinion but they didn't turn out good.  Hanging on the hanger doesn't do the dresses justice but trust me they are adorable on.  I tried to go with something that was a little lighter in color but all we could find at this time of the year was dark colors.  I don't want to look like I'm going to a funeral.

Here is the blue one.  It's not as dark navy blue but darker than royal blue.  Make sense...  Both of the dresses go right past my knees.

Here is the second.  It is an egglplant color.

What do you think?
The shoes were easy!  Even my mother in law thought the silver *blingy* ones looked the best!  I love them....I'm going to have to wear them when my hubby and I go to Vegas next year {oh yeah....I haven't told you about that yet}

On my agenda today is going to Costco to get some of the food for the wedding. 300 rolls and about 150 bottles of water is a lot.  The main meat dish is going to be a *whole* roasted pig.  I thought it was kind of redneck-ish in the beginning but I'm good with it now.  Especially since I tasted some and it is REALLY, REALLY good.

This evening Parker will be getting a haircut and I will be working on the wedding cake.  All of the layers are baked (and in the freezer) and one batch of fondant is done.  Tonight I need to put the crumb coat on the layers and lay the fondant on.  WISH ME LUCK!!  Last time this didn't work out so well.  Could be because I had a couple of glasses of wine last time so tonight I'll be doing it with my Cherry Dr. Pepper by my side.  I have also gotten some better tools so hopefully that will aid in my attempt this time.  I don't really have time for any screw up so....

Tomorrow I have a funeral to attend and then home to get everything packed up and completly ready for Saturday.  I will also put the final touches on the cake so that it is ready to go.  Then of course the rehearsal and the dinner.

Saturday is the day!  To the park at 8:00 am to start decorating and setting up 100 chairs, putting together and decorating the arch, decorating the reception area and on and on and on.  It is going to be beautiful, I just hope that I can pull it all of in time and have it turn out exactly the way the bride wants it.  We have had to cut some corners and borrow just beucase of finances but I'm hoping she will still be happy with the end results. 

I promise I'll have pics to share when it is all over.  Wish us all good luck!

Randomness - Outside My Window

James in his new outfit for Ashley's wedding this coming weekend!  He is one handsome fella!!

Parker and James snuggled together...

Beautiful clouds outside my window...

Beautiful lightening outside my window...

Flowers outside my window...

Grasshoppers procreating outside my window...

I'm hoping you are enjoying this beautiful Monday!  I'm off to do more wedding preparations...

Homecoming Pretties!

Here is my Homecoming Pretty!  Isn't she lovely....

Her with one of her friends...

Some AWESOMENESS With My Return

It has been about THREE weeks since I have been here.  Did ya miss me?!?!  {I didn't think so}  I'll just pretend that you did!

I have been SOOOOOO stinkin' busy getting this wedding stuff together that I honestly can't beleive that it is in 8 days!  We have gotten a lot done but we still have sooooo much more to do.  On the agenda tonight is actually getting a dress for Alysia and a suit for James. 
Along with my absence, I haven't been posting my Inspired Spotlights on Thursdays!  Technically, even though it's late, it is still Thursday so I thought I would kick off my return by sharing my love for Amanda over at Every Crafty Endeaver.  She has a wonderful craft to share with you all but there are many, many more over at her blog.  I'll let her take it from here.

Hello Inspired Spotlight Readers!

My name is Amanda and I am the crafty gal behind Every Crafty Endeavor.

I love crafting and being creative. I named my blog Every Crafty Endeavor because I never know what crafty thing I would like to try or share. I am married to an awesome guy named Spencer and together we have one adorable little guy named Quinn and I am pregnant with our second - a girl - due in November. I love being a wife and mom, decorating my home, cooking, baking, thrift stores, coke and chocolate.

Beth invited me over today and asked if I would share a tutorial with you - so here I am.

The craft I picked is simple, cute and cheap - just the way I love it!

FABRIC WALL DECOR!

I have been wanting to do a fabric wall hanging for about three years now and this weekend, I finally got it done!

I love the way it turned out and it was so simple, easy and cheap! Perfect!

The first thing I did was buy 1" x 2" pieces of wood at Home Depot.

Then using a table saw, I asked my husband to route out some grooves.

(Since I have a big ole' baby belly I asked my husband for help with the frame)

Then we trimmed down my pieces to the sizes I wanted.

I did a 30" x 48" frame.

Spencer cut them at 45 degree angles.

Then he assembled the pieces for me. He screwed one screw into each corner.

He would get the screws started...

... add wood glue...

... then finish them off.

Since we used wood glue we had to wait about 30 minutes for the glue to set.

Next, I layed out my fabric - Upside down -

and positioned the frame where I wanted it.

Then I simply pulled the fabric over the frame...

... and using my staple gun, stapled the fabric in the grooves.

I completed one side and then I moved to the opposite side. On the opposite side I pulled the fabric tight so I wouldn't have any sagging.

For the corners I folded the fabric into a triangle,

then pulled it really tight and stapled it in place.

It made for nice clean corners.

(sort of how you wrap a gift)

I repeated this on each corner then finished stapling my sides.

Pulling tight as I went.

And that was it!

For some reason in this picture it looks like there is a crease in the fabric - but I assure you  - there isn't. Strange.

I love it!

Next, I hung it up on this bare wall.

Sorry about the craptastic pictures. This room is dark with no real light from the sunshine so I had to use my flash. yuck.

 But here she is hung up! I love it - and it really does add a bunch of color with that blue to that room. I have been trying to add blue into my decorating and I think this works out really great.

Details:

I bought the fabric at Hobby Lobby.

They have a great selection of home decor fabrics that are so cute!

The Fabric cost me about $23 with tax.

The frame cost less than $2 -

So I am into it for about $25!

Not bad. Not bad at all!!

When you have a moment, please come over and stop by!

I would love to meet you.

Thanks so much Amanda!  I think it looks FABULOUS!  Thanks for sharing!!