G.N.O = Girls Night Out

Oh how I love a night out with the ladies…such fun. Luckily I have a mother who always lends a helping hand with Jolea and a hubby who just so happened to be getting off work a little early on this particular night so it was off to PARTAY with some girlfriends. We really intended on going to The Warehouse… Abilene’s Swanky little Martini bar, however they have recently changed locations and apparently the hours too. We thought they were open on Thursday nights…but to our disappointment they are only open on Fridays now. So we headed to Carino’s instead for some yummy Sangria and appetizers, then on to Chelsea’s for some live music and very “entertaining” people watching. In reality, people with small children such as Muah don’t typically “go-out” very often… right? So when I do go out and see the latest “barely there” fashion trends or the crazy behavior of some young men and women…I’m totally amused…like jaw on the floor…thinking to myself…”What?…Really?” I swear I could go and find a comfy little place in the corner and just watch all night long…it’s the best part about going out. Besides the fact that I got to spend the entire evening with these ladies…laughing…telling stories…and talking about EVERY juicy and girly thing you could imagine! It was a lot of fun…and we must do this again :-)

Stephanie...Anna...Johanna...and Muah

Smile Girls...

Sweet Johanna...and myself

~ I just LOVE these girls and I LOVE the time we got to spend together ~

Cupcake Cutie...

Its Saturday…the last “relaxing” day of Spring Break…and then comes Monday…all over again! Why is it that the time flies when you are on a break and it drags by during the typical work week? I have never been able to figure that out? Daddy went to the Ruff Rider football game so I got to spend the last night of this wonderful little break with my Jolea Dru. We played with puzzles, watched Monsters Inc., took a bath and baked cupcakes! She has been obsessed with cupcakes lately…so we had a date in the kitchen to make a batch of our own.

Me and My Girl...

Dressed in her best little apron (Thanks to Mema)...

Im ready Mommy...got the big bowl...

Got the yummy cake mix Mommy...

Pouring in the water...very carefully...

Got the butter...but we better soften in first Mommy...

Alright...the butter is ready to go...

and Mommy took care of the eggs...just to be on the "safe side"...

Now it's time to stir...

Mommy lets Jolea take a break and enjoy licking the beaters...

(by the way is this still an "okay" thing to do? I kinda freak out about the eggs but I grew up doing this and I turned out okay!)

Now, Jolea puts the cupcake liners in the pan...she was even working on her counting too...

Mommy filled all the cups and put them in the oven to bake. Jolea wasnt thrilled about this part. She wanted to "watch" and to "help" them cook, but after some convincing I talked her into taking a bath instead! What a sweet moment to share with this little dumpling. After bath it was...a yummy cupcake for the both of us!

Mommy loves you sweet girl...Thank You for your help in the kitchen :)

Spring Break Zoo Day...

Yesterday, we joined the rest of the City of Abilene and made a trip to the Zoo and Fort. Imagination. We could not have asked for a more beautiful day for some fun in the sun with family and friends. It started off a wee bit cool in the morning, but by the time we were headed to the park for a picnic lunch...it was PERFECT. I have lived in Abilene Texas all of my life and other than the Boo at the Zoo event, I have never seen a line to get into the zoo. Boy-o-Boy there was a line a mile long yesterday and there were what seemed like hundreds hanging out at the park or near the pond. I guess when it’s Spring Break and the sun decides to shine, the whole town wants to get outside and enjoy the weather. We had some family friends come in from Artesia New Mexico (which is where my parents did a lot of their growing up)...and they have a daughter Brandi, my age (28) who also has a daughter Tatum, that is one month older than Jolea (2). We did our best to show them a good time in Abilene. We took them to Perini's on Wednesday night for a good ole' fashioned Texas steak dinner and then we played at the park and the zoo with the girls yesterday. They are just "passing" thru on a road trip across Texas, and we are so glad we got to see them and catch up.

Brandi and I at Perini's...

Mom and Diana at Perini's

Tatum and Jolea at the Zoo...

The Animals...

Grammy and Jolea Dru...

Momma's Cool Girl...

Jolea and Mommy...

Kissy Faces...Muah

Jolea...Grammy...Mommy...LOVE these girls...

Jolea and Jilly...

While we were at the zoo we got to see a rather interesting "natural" event taking place over at the Giraffe bridge. Let's just say there was a girl giraffe and a boy giraffe... feeling really Lovey Dovey...you do the math. I couldn’t believe we were witnessing this...and it was HILARIOUS to hear all those parents trying their very best to explain what was going on. I just listened and chuckled and thought to myself...Thank Goodness Jolea is only 2...and didn't have a clue!

Introducing the Night Night Fairy...

I knew it would eventually happen...and it has! My 2 year old is insisting on sleeping in the bed with Mommy and Daddy. Ugh! For those of you who know me "well" you know that this has been my number one rule, the "Im Never" scenario. Well..Well..."Im Never" has turned into "Whatever Works!" I have no idea why this started but it has, and its been HARD on her and us. When we put her to bed she usually goes down without any problems. We say our prayers...give our kisses...talk about going to Grammy's house or going to school in the morning when she wakes...then Voila...its lights out. Hmm...not so much anymore. She goes down okay (sometimes) and then in the middle of the night...sometimes midnight...sometimes 3:00...sometimes 1:00...she wakes up screaming and insisting that we come to her rescue. She is usually satisfied if one of us crawl into bed with her but of course her ideal situation is ending up nestled right between her daddy and me in our bed. I know that allowing this to continue will only make it a very hard habit to break. Allow me to introduce you to The Night Night Fairy.

If  there can be a Fairy that goes around collecting little teeth...there can be a Fairy that goes around rewarding little 2 year old girls who sleep through the whole night...in their own bed. This Momma headed straight to the Dollar Tree and she bought up enough crap to supply a small army...some of it was even educational...so we are both winners in that department.

Night Night Fairy Loot

Then this Momma wrapped them individually to be handed out EACH night her small child sleeps through the night in her own bed. Yes this could become an expensive game to play…but when the price is being paid by a sleep deprived Momma…money is NO ISSUE.

Night Night Fairy Loot in pretty packages...

The Night Night Fairy made her debut on Wednesday…and so far we have had 2 successful nights. Jolea loves waking up to a present in her basket...and hey...WHATEVER WORKS...sounds good to me. I did find it rather humorous when she woke up from her nap yesterday, walked over to her basket...looked inside...saw nothing...and threw up her hands with a puzzled look on her face, wondering why the fairy didn’t come after nap time? Silly Kid...that's why she is called The Night Night Fairy...she can’t afford nap times too :)

Busy Day With Friends...

It has been such a fun week (a little trying) at times…but FUN for the most part. Jolea and I did so many fun things together and had some really great dates with family and friends. Earlier in the week we had a lunch date with our favorite Morrow girls…Johanna and Jillian. We went to Chic-Fil-A of course…and the girls and the Momma’s had a great time eating…laughing…and playing in the play-land. Speaking of play-land…I’m going to vent for just a moment…I am “THAT MOM” that gets super irritated when people who have 5 and 6 year olds that allow them to rambunctiously play in the play area that is specifically designed for children that are 3 years and younger. I mean REALLY people…come on…READ the sign…and PLAY by the rules. I can’t stand for Jolea to be minding her own business just to get bulldozed by some 70 pound 6 year old. I am “THAT MOM” that tells kids like that they need to pipe-it-down a notch. And in reality…it’s not the kids who are at fault…it’s their parents for not following the rules or setting good examples for their children. The Chic-Fil-A play-land was in complete chaos the day we went and it’s just a shame that people can really take the fun out of something that is intended to be enjoyed by small children. So…with all that said…I hope I haven’t offended anyone…and here are the pictures from our lunch date.

Me and my Sweet Girl before heading out...

"Best Friends"...

Jilly Girl...

Now...these 2 girls are both in the "thick" of potty training...and the best way to learn is by watching your peers right? So we have all done some hanging out in many bathrooms the last few times weve been together. These girls stick together.

We also treated this week with a SURPRISE visit from Uncle Jansen (Andy's youngest brother). He had a few days to spare so he made the trip to stay with us for a couple of nights. We loved our time with him...and I am shooting myself in the foot because I didn’t get any pictures of Jolea and him together. Oops maybe next time.


While Jan was here, we invited the Morrow Family over for jalapeno poppers, burgers and hot dogs! The Hubs did a fine job manning the grill and everything turned out GREAT. He also spoiled me to a little homemade salsa that we are still munching on this late in the week. Thanks Honey.

 The girls were so precious on this night...although my Jolea girl was having a bit of a behavior crisis. When we go to other people's houses, she is better...not necessarily good, but better about sharing and playing nice. When we have others come over to our house, she is like a Chihuahua dog protecting her turf...everything is “Mine Mine Mine” and it’s so not attractive. Sadly enough on the night we had our little burger bonanza, she spent a considerable amount of time ALONE in her room for TIMEOUT. Once she got herself together she was able to come out and join the fun.

I think this is the cutest picture EVER...

High-Five my Sista...

Big Hugs...

PomPom Head Jillian...

PomPom head Jolea...

Momma and Daddy Morrow...love these guys...

~ It was a great day spent with great friends ~

Yippie...its Spring Break

So...for some reason...the phrase Spring Break puts me into a total "nesting frenzy!" I want closets cleaned, base boards wiped, fan blades shined...it’s quite ridiculous to only feel like "deep cleaning" once year on a special holiday that was designed for taking a break, but none-the-less it happens that way every single year. So the first couple of days have been spent getting all the grunt work done...so that come Monday (today) we could enjoy the beautiful sunshine and warm weather...O WAIT...it’s like FREEZING outside today. So amidst all the hard work...we have managed to squeeze in a little bit of fun too.

My cleaning frenzy began in this Big Girl bedroom. I had mentioned re-doing Jolea's room several months ago, but never got around to updating you about it.

Sweet wall art...

Curtains...made from shower curtains...inventive huh?

This is where I spent most of the morning...cleaning out this closet! I think its safe to say the kid doesn't need any more clothes :-)

After we cleaned Jolea's room...we had a tea party...fit for a princess...

Jolea's Great Grandma (my Mema) bought these princess jammies for her...she completed the look with a tiara of course...

Cheers...

Yesterday, the weather was so beautiful...we spent most of the day outside. Andy worked in the yard and on exterior projects...I cleaned the rest of the house and even did some painting (more on that later).

Jolea was ready to head outside in her new hat...She would have fit right in at the Kentucky Derby with this swanky little number...

The famous Cheese Face...and check out that sweet little button nose...

She enjoyed her lunch outside...a sweet little picnic in the shade

Such a "dainty" little thing....YEAH RIGHT

In the spirit of "changing seasons"...I decided to "change" up our bedroom just a little bit. A friend of mine had a garage sale and I bought this FABulous bed set from her. Although the chocolate brown and robins egg blue combo isnt as "all the rage" as it used to be, I still think its so chic looking. Thanks for the bargain Ashley...

The Before...

The After...

So far, its only Monday and we have a lunch date with friends tomorrow, a couple of playdates to the zoo/park, a dinner date with the Morrow's and possibly swimming at the YMCA. I love Spring Break!

Thank You Uncle Sam...

WooHoo... Thanks to this man...

We got one of these...

We paid off this bad-boy...

And bought 2 round trip tickets to here...

The Royal Haciendas Resort located in beautiful Playa Del Carmen, Mexico.

We plan on spending most of our time here...

With one of these in our hand...

And having...