It's coming...October 24th!

Okay, I'm going to admit it, I'm 30 years old and I'm a High School Musical fan. I mean come on, you combine singing, dancing, cute people, it's just catchy. We are going to be in Disney world when this movie premieres. OH BOY! We are reserving tickets ahead of time. I've attached the trailer link so you can see it and get excited too.

http://bvim-qt.vitalstream.com/HighSchoolMusical3/Trailer_1/HSM3_Tr1_High.mov

Money saving candle tip

Today I counted the candles that I burn frequently in my house. There are 8. That is really low compared to what I thought I had. I was sure I had near 20. I LOVE candles. Soft scents mostly. Again, with the whole scent thing, if it's too strong, it just gags me. I usually stick with a vanilla or unscented. Every now and then I'll put a Macintosh Apple candle from Yankee Candle in the kitchen. And for fall, it's gotta be PUMPKIN SPICE!

Chunky pillar candles are my favorite, but they seem to burn down faster than the jar candles. So last year I came up with this little idea:

I burn the candle down to almost half...maybe about 1/4 down. Then, when it has made a nice little well inside, I don't burn that wick anymore, I put a tea light candle down inside. You can't see it at all! And it saves on the mess if you have pillar candles on the wall, like mine pictured. I don't ever have to worry about scraping wax off my walls or the floor. Tea light candles run about $1.50 a pack. MUCH cheaper than the big pillar candles. Plus, I like the look of a used candle instead of a brand-spanking new one. This way, you can burn it to your desired "look" and it can stay that way!

Try it!

Ahh, Fresh Air!

Hurricane Fay hasn't affected us, except for the fact that the last couple of days have been windy. Today it is a cool 73 degrees and the wind is blowing. I've opened the back screen door and I can feel the breeze as I'm typing. AHHHHH! Oooooo, I'm getting excited for fall. I decorate my house early. Like, September 1st!

Also, windy days are the best to play with the kids to be outdoors. There's no bugs on windy days.

Well, they love each other after all.

I can't tell you how many time in the past year I have said, "stop hitting him", "I'm gonna separate you", "be nice to your brother", or "you're both in time out!". Will and Wesley fight A LOT. I've read all I can get my hands on about raising boys. I know it's normal for boys to be aggressive, but there are days, when they just beat each other up!

So, when I stumbled upon this moment the other night, I was overjoyed. Wesley had been sick all day. He said he felt like he was going to throw up and asked to go to the bathroom. I put the stool down so he could sit on it and lean on the toilet. Then, I went to go get his wet washcloth for his forehead to help his fever. I came back upstairs and Will had taken over my spot for me. He was rubbing Wesley's back and saying, "it's okay buddy, I'm here." Then, I heard Wesley say, "thanks Will.". It literally MELTED my heart.

If you're thinking, what kind of mom would get her camera while her kid is puking?, I don't blame you. It was just too sweet, in a weird sort of way, not to capture it. :)

I picked this Jonas Brothers song for my playlist because it is one of the things they can agree on. They both really like this song. Wesley is feeling much better by the way. It was just a 24 hour thing.

Wesley's you tube video

The Apple doesn't fall far from the tree

The other day, I went to get my son Will out of bed and as I got close to his door I could hear him talking. I opened the door to find this. He had lined up all his animals on the end of the bed.




Will has a quirk. Actually, it's just his personality, but he is SERIOUS about organizing. He loves order. Hmmm, wonder where he gets that from. I cleaned his room tonight, organized the star wars action figures, stuffed animals, transformers, legos, and put them in their proper buckets, then I re-organized his books and put all his sea shells (from our recent trip to the beach) in a glass container so he could see them all. When it was completely done, I yelled downstairs..."Will, come upstairs, I have a surprise for you!" He came running in his room and just squealed. After about 5 minutes of exploring the cleanliness, he said, "mom, my smile won't go away." Awh. Nothing could have made all that work more worth it.

So, I have been documenting his need for things to be lined up, organized, and in order. And here are some of my favorites:

These are Will's counting animals. He of course, put them in groups, then counted them.


My dad mails us the local paper from Lynchburg, Va. and sends special articles on animals, wildlife, anything the boys would be interested in. But, before we could look at them Will wanted to lay them all out flat.

Lucky Charms one morning for breakfast. He did this as I was getting the milk and spoon.

Counting money...

Playing Bingo, he always makes a shape with his bingo chips, this day it was his name. Please ignore my carpet. We've had them cleaned since this picture...Thanks Charlie and Kelli! :)

This was snack time. He put the graham crackers around in a circle for petals and filled in the middle with his goldfish. Yes, my son ate his snack off the kitchen floor. I didn't have the heart to make him put it back in the bowl. But now, I tell him to make his little designs on the table instead!

John Wesley Turns 3

My little baby, John Wesley, turned 3 years old yesterday. Me and the boys were in Hilton Head over the weekend with my family. We had a mini party for him at Outback Steakhouse. They put 3 candles in his ice cream and the whole family sang to him.

My family goes to Hilton Head every year for summer vacation. This year Paul couldn't make the trip with us. :( I put a recap slideshow together.

Here's some highlights from my trip:

*Going to the Hilton Head T.J. Maxx. It's AWESOME! It's the best T.J.Maxx ever. I could have spent an entire day in there.
*Riding waves with the family.
*Seeing my family, especially my gramma. :)
*I spent 2 hours at Starbucks catching up with my cousin Betsy.
*People watching at the beach. That's ALWAYS the most fun!!!

I think the BIGGEST highlight was when I came HOME. This is what I came home to...


Paul painted our entire living room and foyer, hallway, up the stairs, everywhere! I have wanted to paint it for 5 years since we moved in. I copied a friend of mine on the color. It's called Basset Hall Gold (Porter Paint). I love how it looked in her house and she told me the color. Thanks Tiff! :) Not only did he paint, but he CLEANED up afterwards and put everything back. Gotta love that!

35 Random Things About Me

1. I once caught 2 stingrays on one line while fishing with my dad.

2. I like to doodle, especially when talking on the phone.

3. I was almost named Lindy Sue.

4. I love, LOVE going to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina.

5. I laugh a lot when I'm nervous.

6. I change my sheets every 2 or 3 days.

7. Amy Grant gets on my nerves. (sorry if you're an Amy Grant fan)

8. I wish I had a basement for all the tornado warnings we get.

9. I listen to Rush Limbaugh.

10. I love old nightgowns, and aprons.

11. My favorite part of the brownie is the corners.

12. Strong perfume makes me sick and gives me headaches. If I'm sitting behind you in church and I move, it's cause your perfume is too strong! :) I mean that in the nicest of ways.

13. My favorite thing to do with my gramma is wake up in the morning and have breakfast with her...we have toast and her homemade peach jam. We watch the birds outside her kitchen window and talk.

14. I love the smell of my boys when they're all sweaty. That will change when they're teenagers, but right now, it's sweet.

15. I chew on the inside of my cheek when I'm stressed or busy. My dentist told me to stop because he could see the damage I was doing...EMBARRASSING!

16. I wash my feet EVERY night before bed. I've done this as long as I can remember.

17. I didn't see the ocean until I was 14 years old! Sheesh!

18. I color my eyebrows.

19. I always pull the extra piece of fat off of my Chic-fil-a sandwich - there's one little fat chunk that hasn't been removed and if I get it in my mouth, I'll heave.

20. It makes me laugh when people come over the loud speakers in Wal-mart, Target, etc. and they are rude. Like..."Sam, from electronics would you PUH-LEASE come to customer service?" Then you hear a huff or sigh in the microphone before they hang up. Come on people, the whole store can hear you, it's not OUR fault SAM isn't coming right away, don't take it out on the innocent.

21. I love pudding skin. You only get it with homemade pudding. The part that dries on top while it's cooling...YUM!

22. When I was little I would find earthworms that were starting to dry up and die and run inside and get water and try to save them. I couldn't stand to see them writhing around in agony. Now, my 5 year old does the same thing...making mommy proud!

23. The nightstand in my bedroom is salvaged from my neighbors (down the street) trash. I asked them if they were throwing it away and if I could have it. I painted it and it's now my nightstand. Paul wanted to die of embarrassment when I did that.

24. I like to make "to-do" lists.

25. I love a nicely wrapped present.

26. Whenever I see a homeless person - I get so sad it literally makes me sick and I can't get them off my mind.

27. I sing ALL the time. Anything can make me think of a song. I'm not a great singer, but I can carry a tune. My boys have asked me to stop singing before. That hurt, thaaaaaat hurt.

28. I like to talk in cliches for fun, for example: Well, better "hit the hay", get some "shut-eye" cause you know, "the early bird gets the worm". It makes me laugh. Old people do this a lot. I used to work for an orthodontist who would say the funniest things. Like if someone was upset he'd say..."boy, she's really got a bee in her bonnet". Ha!

29. My favorite milkshake is from Steak n Shake. Half vanilla, half chocolate, jr. size. YUM!

30. Me and my boys lay flat on our driveway and watch the sunset and stare at the sky. We pretend we're flying. I'm convinced my neighbors think I'm crazy...I go digging through their trash and lay on my driveway.

31. I have never seen ET.

32. My dad taught me everything about nature. Every kind of tree - I can tell by the leaves and the bark, animals, insects, etc...I'm pretty savvy. Now, it's fun to see him teaching my boys.

33. I try different handwritings for fun.

34. I'd secretly love to live in the north east. Connecticut, Vermont, etc. Where you get 4 TRUE seasons.

35. I've wanted to lose 10 pounds for 10 years.

The Joys of Boys

I am a boy mom. And my boys are boys to the core. We went to a wedding in Virginia this weekend. Getting my oldest to wear this pink shirt was not easy. But it made me SOOOOO happy! I love getting them all dressed up. Yes, you can enjoy dressing up boys too. Although I can't imagine how fun it would be to get a little girl all dolled up for a wedding. During the rehearsal I took my boys outside the church for a mini photo shoot.



Smile, please smile! Most of my pictures have tounges or cross-eyes. Gotta love it.

Got the boys all dressed up for the wedding. I was the guest book girl, so I was trying to keep tabs on them while tending to the guest book. I was looking everywhere for Wesley and someone said...."hey look at that little boy sprawled out on the floor, how funny!" I knew it was him. Boys will be boys.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is my nephew Sutton. He is the next Michael Phelps of the olympics. This kid is an unbelievable swimmer. I got to see his swim meet this weekend. His swim team won...of COURSE!

Check out how ripped up this kid is at 8 years old! The little girls on his team call him 6-pack! Correction...8 pack!!! :)