PJ is...

GOING TO BE A BIG BROTHER!!!
It was a bit of a shock at first, however, we feel so blessed to be waiting on another miracle. The baby's due date is June 19th... the day after my birthday! What a great present that will be! PJ seems really excited about the new baby, and is constantly kissing my belly. If you ask him where the baby is, he sweetly responds by pointing at me and stating, " IN MY MOMMY'S BELLY!" It is melt-your-heart cute! Hopefully we will find out in January if it is going to be a boy a girl.
In other news, the Fall has been a lot of fun. PJ started at his new school in August, and we absolutely LOVE IT! They really involve the parents in things, and he is learning SO much!

We got to go down South to visit family for Halloween, and that was a BLAST! It was a super quick trip, but great to let PJ play with his cousins. As he gets older, it gets harder and harder to leave our family once we are down there.
We spent Thanksgiving here in town, and we are REALLLLLY excited about going down South for Winter Break! We will get almost 2 weeks down there to spend with the family.

Long time no Blog...

We have been super busy lately, and have also had A LOT going on... Hence the lack of blogging. Hang tight and I promise to have lots of updates soon that will be worth the wait! ;)
***Stephanie***
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

It's What We Do...

At night, after bath time, PJ has his sippy cup full of milk and we sit on the couch and watch Spongebob, or "Bob Bob" as he calls it.
It's our thing... It's just what we do.
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Homemade Bread...

Thanks to my friend Jessica, I decided to break out the bread machine, which until she said something, I completely forgot I had!!! My mom had given it to me SEVERAL years ago, back when I was still in college. So, I went out into the garage and found it sitting there, dusty and forgotten, on the shelf. As I brought it into the kitchen, I was reminded of the days when my mom used it to make us our very own homemade bread, and how that home-baked stuff was very comforting.

Luckily, I found the manual, too, hidden in between some recipes in my recipe folder. Inside of the book were several bread recipes, and after careful consideration (with input from my hubby, of course) I decided to make Peanut Butter Bread!

Making bread in an automatic bread machine is E-A-S-Y! All you do is put the liquids first, all of the other "dry" stuff second, and the yeast in last! Then you insert the pan into the bread machine.After that, you close the lid, and hit start! The entire process takes about 4 hours...And VOILA! Fresh baked peanut butter bread at the touch of a button!
Now here are the ingredients so you can go make your own!!!

Peek-a-boo...

25, originally uploaded by fsucutie03.

I SEE YOU!!!! PJ was supposed to be napping at the beach house in Charleston, but when my sister and I peeked in at him, this is what he was doing!

Charleston

SO, our vacation last weekend was the Charleston, SC for my step brothers graduation from the Citadel.

We stayed at Folly Beach in an ABSOLUTELY amazing, breath-taking, surreal 4 story house right on the beach. There were 20 of us who stayed there including 5 kids, so needless to say it was a full house, but we had a BLAST nonetheless.
James, PJ, and I got there on Thursday night around 10:30PM so we got to hang out for a bit before retiring to our room!

The next day we went to the chapel at the Citadel for Rob's Commissioning into the Marine Corps. It was a nice ceremony, and double nice to see my brother Caleb in his dress blues!

On Saturday, Rob had his graduation, which I didn't get to see much of because PJ didn't want to sit for that long... So instead, Steph and I had the little ones in the hallway running around and playing until it was Rob's turn to walk and get his diploma. Everyone went back to the house, and we spent the rest of the day out on the beach having some fun in the sun!

Sunday was Mother's Day, and there was a mistake made regarding our reservations at the beach house, so we had to pack up and move 4 houses down for the last night. Everyone pitched in and we got situated quickly. Unfortunately it rained and the power went out so we sat on the porch... But it was also nice to be able to just sit and chat with everyone. My Dad and brothers cooked shrimp, oysters, and clams on the grill (in the rain).

We ended the night by celebrating Layci's 2nd birthday and Maddie's (Rob's sister) birthday since they are a day apart!

Everyone had a GREAT time, and some awesome memories were made!

CONGRATULATIONS 2nd Lieutenant Viehmeyer, USMC!!! We are all SO PROUD OF YOU!

*** These photos are courtesy of my Sissy. All collages were made using Flickr toys***

MRSA Takedown...

So, James has been dealing with some MRSA issues for several months now. He has gotten cut open on several occasions, and endured painful treatments. Last week he went to see an infectious disease doctor, and they put BOTH OF US on a crazy regiment to see if James can't get rid of it. So for 7 days we have a "takedown" plan in place...

1. Twice daily we must use Q-tips to swab the inside of our noses with Mupirocin.
2. Use a VERY strong mouthwash once per day
3. While taking a shower, we first use Hibiclens to wash our entire body. Then, we must stand there for 15 minutes with it on.
4. While waiting the 15 minutes, we have to mix some Hibiclens with our shampoo, and again, stand around for 15 minutes...
5. After the 15 minute period is over, we have to rewash everything with moisturizing soap because the Hibiclens completely dries your skin out

What does one do in the shower for 15 minutes while waiting for the Hibiclens to do it's magic you ask?
Well, since we have a glass shower door, I often draw pictures on the foggy glass... Tonite's masterpiece included footprints going from the bottom of the glass door to the top, using my hands. I can remember in Elementary school using the side of my hand to make footprints on the chalkboard. Lame, I know.

Needless to say, it has not been fun! However, if this will help my hubby get better, than I am all for it.

CURRENTLY WORKING ON...

BACKDATED POSTS AND LOTS OF UPDATES!!!

Until then, here is a picture from our recent vacation... Can you guess where we were?

Better yet, can you guess what is written in the sand???

Some other fun characters from the parade...

Parade of Children's Book characters

IMGP3992, originally uploaded by fsucutie03.

At school, we had our annual book character parade, and I was ECSTATIC when I saw some of the Reading folks who work with kids at our school dressed up as the characters from one of my favorite movies. When we have movie days at school, I always try to be sure that at some point during the year I show it to my kids, because otherwise, it would be a movie that they wouldn't normally see!!!

10 cool points to the 1st person who can tell me the name of the movie! =)

Our 4th graders are AMAZING!

IMGP3945, originally uploaded by fsucutie03.

Is this face irresistible or what?

PJ has been playing HARD since we have been down South for Spring Break. You would think this would make him sleep a little later, right?!?! WRONG! Here he is sitting in my lap eating some cereal... At the crack of dawn!!!!!!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Best Buddies!

Brady giving PJ a little squeeze!
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A View From the Roof...

Here is my little monkey, watching his cousins play from the safety of the roof of the play castle...
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The joy of family...

This was not posed... At Hunter's lax game, the little ones were playing, and when I looked over, this is what I saw...
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My 1st quilt!

OK, so you are probably wondering where the picture of this said quilt is! Well, in case the receiver of the quilt happens to be on my blog, I don't want them to see it! I will post pictures as soon as I give it to her!

I could NOT have done this without Jessica! She is truly a great friend for many other reasons than her top of the line teaching skills! PJ and I spent Saturday night at her house and I was able to finish the backing, quilting and binding by yesterday afternoon.

This is definitely my new addiction and I am already in the process of getting ready for another project, as well as, making a few things to add to my Etsy shop!

Pictures will be up tomorrow...

My Sour Patch Kid...

Have you ever seen the commerical for Sour Patch Kids? If not, click here!

Seriously, my child is like one of those sour patch kids! One second he is trying to hit you, bite you, and throw a major temper tantrum... and then the next second he gives tons of hugs and kisses as if to say "I'm sorry". It is hard to not think it is super cute! I just hope that maybe this is the terrible two's arriving a little early. I would be glad to get them over with QUICKLY! But if this is any indication on what it is really going to be like... I'm scared! HAHAHA (In all reality, he is really NOT that bad)

Heart-Melting...

PJ's daycare pics came back today... They are so cute! I will scan a copy, but I just couldn't resist putting up a copy right away! He also brought home this picture today, too... Doesn't it melt your heart?!?!
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Papa's Ribs...

If there is one food PJ cannot resist, it is BY FAR Papa's Ribs. These ribs are mouthwatering, fall of the bone D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S! Along with this, he makes homemade BBQ sauce! The last time Papa came to visit and PJ was around 9 months, he made his ribs with his homemade BBQ sauce and gave some to PJ. He didn't do much other than gnaw on the bone with the sauce. This time, however, the mess was bigger, he ate the meat, and he had to have every rib bone that Papa finished on his tray! What a change a few months can make!

Here he is at 9 months...

Today at 14 1/2 months....

My new sewing, beading, scrapbooking, craft area...

End of February 039, originally uploaded by fsucutie03.

Here is my little craft area set-up in the guest room! I am pretty happy with the way it has turned out so far. I still have some more things I need to do to get it organized the way I want it, but for now it suits me perfectly!!! I went to JoAnns the other day and got a great deal on some coordinating pirate fabric with which I plan to make a pillowcase and a decorative border on a bag for PJ to take to daycare. (THANKS, JESS, for the great idea)! Since PJ's room is all pirate decor, I thought this fabric was just PERFECT! Now let's just hope I am able to make something nice!

End of February 040, originally uploaded by fsucutie03.

End of February 041, originally uploaded by fsucutie03.

A close-up of the coordinating pirate fabric from JoAnn's!

Some more pictures of PJ's quilt made by Jessica!

End of February 047, originally uploaded by fsucutie03.

PJ LOVES IT!

End of February 043, originally uploaded by fsucutie03.

End of February 050, originally uploaded by fsucutie03.

Quilt top

End of February 051, originally uploaded by fsucutie03.

Back of the quilt

Playing at the Park 2/22/09

Playing at the Park 2/22/09
Originally uploaded by fsucutie03

PJ and I decided to go to the park and play! He had so much fun trying to climb up the slide, and then slipping and sliding down on his belly! At first when we got there, he was really uneasy and was biting his hand, but after a bit, he was running around just like the rest of the kids!

Playing at the Park 2/22/09
Originally uploaded by fsucutie03

Going down the slide...

Playing at the Park 2/22/09
Originally uploaded by fsucutie03

Swinging, and checking out the other kids playing

Playing at the Park 2/22/09
Originally uploaded by fsucutie03

Getting kisses from the puppy

Playing at the Park 2/22/09
Originally uploaded by fsucutie03

NO MORE KISSES PLEASE!

Playing at the Park 2/22/09
Originally uploaded by fsucutie03

Playing at the Park 2/22/09
Originally uploaded by fsucutie03