Bringing out the Pretties

This pic is for you Linsey!  Your getting a lot of them lately :)

We're not going to hide it.  We're excited for the big Royal Event tomorrow morning.  Not wake up at 4am excited.  But maybe wake up at 6am excited.  And maybe even cupcake making excited with these free printables.

Really - I can feel the excitement/ nerves all the way from London here to my kitchen.  But then again maybe that has something to do with the endless watching of "Inside the Royal Wedding" shows and documentaries about the royal family we've (I've) been doing (.....show us the dress already, Kate!)

Looks like we're not the only excited ones... we spotted this Royal Barbie Babe Wedding on our drive down to Savannah last week.

Weird.  And funny.

Have a Good Friday

Easter egg hunts, baskets & bunny ears are a lot more fun when you have a kid! We've already started the Easter festivities this week and are looking forward to more this weekend with the Atlanta Temple Open House. 

But among all the marshmellow peeps (if they don't make you gag first) try not to forget the real meaning of Easter here

Savannah's very first coloring piece.  Handed to me when I picked her up from the gym child care the other week. I had no idea my child could stay in the lines so well ;)

Savannah H goes to Savannah GA

A few photos from our drive down and quick overnight trip to the city of Savannah earlier this week... (and its a beautiful place but nope, our child wasn't named with any association to this city)

Strolling down River Street and watching the boats pass by.  And having a street musician break into a rendition of The Itsy Bitsy Spider on his trumpet when we passed by and he saw our baby.  Cute!

Don't let this face fool you - 90 minute trolley tours of Historic Savannah and young toddlers do not mesh well!

Getting a pep talk for her first experience with the ocean out at Tybee Island Beach... 

"Don't be afraid, I'll hold your hand..."

Atta girl!  Thought you'd like it!  Next time we'll rent a condo on the coast and bring our swimming suits!

Dang sippy cup ruined any potential of a cute family photo

Trying to get the "Don't you wish you were here" beach shot with my toes and the (far off) ocean.  Not sure if that can really be achieved with grass stalks in the way though...

Tybee Island Light House

Stopping for lunch at The Crab Shack where the "Elite Eat in Their Bare Feet" (but not to be confused with Joe's Crab Shack)

Wonder what she's looking at?  Me too.

This crab shack was crawling with these alligators

My favorite find for a little souvenir shopping - for our toddler, of course!

Rats, no toddler sizes... and the smallest size would take her about 10 years to grow into.

My souvenir?  A shirt with Mr. Pig from the local Piggly Wiggly .  True story.

The original Savannah's Candy Kitchen on River Street - they give out delicious free samples.  Remember this post?

Getting one last walk in before the four hour drive back home... the Spanish moss created great shade around town.

Fun, fun visit!  And next time we go we'll make sure to spend more than 24 hours there!

One last P.S.  picture - thought of you when we passed here, Linsey!

Clever

A local church shares this message today... please, does someone have a spare "Y" they can lend??

And in case you hadn't heard ... after a lengthy renovation, the Atlanta Temple is currently hosting an open house for the public to attend.  Didn't get reservations in time?  I have extra reservations for anyone looking to go on Saturday April 23rd...

Know what else is clever?  Some advice I picked up today from a parenting class that a friend invited me to.  But since I'm not a giver of unsolicited parenting advice (or any unsolicited advice for that matter), you'll have to go here if you want to see my notes.

A Happy Girl

...might be the result of a combination of 75 degree weather, purple Iris flowers... and an authentic dress from Grandma's recent trip to Israel. (I'm assuming that the "Women Lingerie" written on the collar is a translation error.)

Nah, she's happy like that a lot- especially when she's outside.  Or after waking up in the morning.  Or  waking from an afternoon nap.  Or riding in the car with the windows down.  Or in the bath tub.

P.S.  If you like the hair clips from this post, you'll love what Zulily is oferring right now.  Hurry- they are going fast!

Heard of Woombie?

I don't know about other little ones, but Savannah was definitely a swaddling baby when she was born.  And when I first discovered the Woombie  (on a deal a day website), I was immediately sold.   We may have gotten a few chuckles from others when they would see our baby girl zipped up in it , but we (Brant, Savannah, and I) all loved it.  It was easy to use and we liked the stretchy comfortable material that kept her swaddled, but also allowed her room to move inside of it (and no - the company didn't even pay me to say any of that!).

Anyways, what made me think about this?  I recently came across a giveaway for a lucky winner - check it out if you want!  And if you don't need if for yourself, chances are you know someone else who has a little one on the way.

I think this would fit into the category of the "Wow, I wish we had those around when my kids were babies!" comments I often hear from older parents.  You know-  like the bumbo.

P.S.  Hey all you local mama's- did you know that Jump 2 It in Peachtree City offers free admission to parents and little ones under the age of two?  We took Savannah there yesterday - a great place to go if your looking for entertainment!

Some Friday Thoughts

I'm pleasantly surprised to find that Frank's House of Prime Rib is actually a nice place to dine.  Instead of the vinyl checkered tablecloths that I have pictured in my mind for the past year and a half, they actually have nice white linens at each table and serve upscale Italian food with fancy deserts.  How very odd it is that this fine dining establishment is hooked onto a filthy gas station.   

Speaking of odd, I've never understood how this Disney Monorail and dragon found its way to the parking lot of a local consignment shop in the small town of Tyrone, GA.  But who really cares when you can find gems like a brand name beige wool sweater for $1 at the Red Door Consignment shop on their Friday dollar day?

But no matter what piece of clothing I find at a consignment shop, it will never look as cool as anything this chick could pull off.  And I think it would be really really cool to be friends with her.   Shes down to earth and an all around good person (from what I read, anyways)....  and I wonder if we were friends if she would me borrow her sense of fashion.  Count me in the 2.5 billion viewers that will be watching on April 29...I'm a little (or a lot) awe struck.

On the other hand, I wouldn't have anywhere to wear those kind of clothes when I spend the majority of my time entertaining a toddler.  I wonder what the appropriate age is for a kid to have a sandbox.  I love the idea of this DIY sandbox, but the kids in the picture are way older than my kid, but I think she'll still like it... or will she just eat it?  Either way, it'd be fun to have Brant build this and then paint it fun colors.


....And I wonder if there is any ice cream left in the freezer?

Boys will be Boys

We've got a small crowd of out of town family visiting for a coupla days. I am in charge of food; Brant is over entertainment. And at this very moment I think all the boys are giddy in the backyard being entertained with the compound bow while us girls stay inside and visit.

On a side note, don't these touch screen fountain drink dispensers look cool? Kind of a cross between a stainless steel fridge and/or front load washing machine. Be on the look out for these at your local restaurants.  We found them when we toured the World of Coca-Cola this morning.

Some of us may still be coming down from a sugar rush from the all you can drink soda.  If you've been to the World of Coke, you know what I'm taking about.

Lock & Load 'em

Nope - that's not a high school band trombone you see.  Guess again.

Yesterday we went down to the shooting range where Brant could fire his .12 gauge and .22 riffle (that have been collecting dust) to his heart's content.

Side note: you got me on what the difference with these guns are.  Maybe guns to me can be compared with purses to men - no one can understand why you need more than just one!

First on the agenda- clay pigeons with the .12 gauge.  Don't let this guy fool ya - he has a great eye!

I may have shot a clay pigeon or two myself (...okay, maybe one).

Then shooting targets with the .22 riffle after that.  Yep, a bullseye shot by me onto my target.
For the record, Brant may have been able to hit more pigeons, but I was the one who could hit the bullseye on the target.

(love ya, hon! had fun!)

Here's a little bit of a secret

Remember this post almost three years ago when I went to the Salt Lake Farmer's market?  I'll be honest- local honey, jam, bread, and a headband weren't the only things I bought.  But when I passed a portable tent with a woman and her homemade clothes, I couldn't pass up her cute little girl pillowcase dresses.  Since Savannah wasn't even a twinkle in our eyes yet, nor did I even know anyone that was having a baby girl, I felt a little silly buying it (I even told the woman that)...but I thought it was darling and have held onto it ever since.

Its a 12 month size and has been hanging in Savannah's closet ever since she was born.  And since it seemed like forever before she would be able to wear it, the dress started to not even register to me anymore whenever I opened the closet.  I got a little anxious the other week when I realized I had yet to dress her in it and that she might have already outgrown it.  What a tragedy that would have been, right?

It was a little on the small side, but crisis averted - she wore it to church yesterday.

That was a close one.

Tots Travel Too

Now that we are moving from the infant traveling stage and into the toddler traveling stage, I'm adjusting my approach to taking off with a little one in tow as Brant and I plan our spring/summer family get aways.

And until Savannah is big enough to haul her own suitcase, I'm still limited to fitting both of our stuff into one carry one and looking for the easiest/ most efficient ways to travel.  I've read a number of articles about traveling with kids, but they all seem pretty bogus (i.e. "ask you husband to help with your kids so that you don't have to do it alone.") ....seriously?

Anyways, has anyone tried these carseat travel boosters?  Or any thoughts on these travel high chairs?  

Like Mother

Me with Grandpa Kimble on my first birthday - August 1983.

Like Daughter

Savannah on her 14th month birthday - today.

That classic red & blue toy that was given to me on my 1st birthday was also given to Savannah for her 1st Christmas, which was 3 weeks before her 1st birthday.  
Close enough.


*note of interest - I didn't know that picture of me even existed until about one week ago*

Find Tinkberbell

Your getting closer...

Ding, ding, ding!!  You found her!

Over the weekend, I was looking for a hair clip to match this St. Patty's ensemble for church (we like to root for the lesser celebrated holidays) and found this vendor at a consignment sale.

Turns out, these Disney Princess clips can be easily found on Etsy too - try here if you want to buy them or here if you want to download an ebook and learn to make them on your own.  Not a fan of the Disney princesses?  Try the Wizard of Oz clips.

And how ironic was it that I came into the living room this morning to find Brant & Savannah watching Peter Pan?

Mii Schmee

We've been having fun finding new games and such on our WiiFit that we got last Christmas.

Savannah? Her favorite is the Bubble Balance game.  Good thing we set her up with her own Mii.

Did you know that you can track your baby and your pets stats on the WiiFit too? Guess we'll have to get a dog now. Or later works for us too.

P.S. Thoughts and prayers to those in Japan. I made some dear friends from Japan while on my mission. Their families are all well and accounted for, but there's a lot more out there.

Three things I love this week

This is a new staple to the diaper bag.  No sugar added and found in the produce section. Maybe I buy them in bulk.

Consignment sales!  Tis the season for these two day sales and I had my first experience of selling at a local one over the weekend for the spring/summer season.  Loved what I bought and loved what I sold.  And this upcomming weekend I'll be consigning/ buying at this one.

Thin Mints, of course - and Peanut Butter Patties (Tagalongs?) are my favorite.  

In all honesty, Carmel DeLites (Samoas?) were never really a favorite.  Good thing I know a girl scout or two - it made it easy to track down these cookies this year.

By the way, Girl Scout cookies was kind of a big deal for us growing up.  My mom was the cookie chair of our troop and our garage would be stacked to the ceiling with cases of cookies around this time of year.  This is picture perfect of how I remember doing booth sales - with a card table outside of a hardware store (dads are suckers for cookies, you know).

Well, maybe I wasn't Asian or a brunette.  Nor did I get to wear a giant cookie.

Mini Me

Often times it will be the middle of the day and I'll look down and realize that Savannah and I are wearing unplanned coordinating outfits.

Today it was Brant's turn.  While I was getting Savannah ready this morning, Brant came out wearing the almost same long sleeved brown stripes and jeans - in a matching brand even (maybe that's why they matched so much).

They matched even down to the white shoes.

P.S.  See that stack of wood?  Brant is really into cutting his own firewood from the trees on our .8 acre lot.  I told him we wood (get it?  wood?) watch  him cut down this tree, but only if he yelled TIMBER at the top of his lungs for the neighbors to hear.  Good job honey!