HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAMANTHA!!!!

Yesterday was Samantha's 4th birthday. It has been a busy weekend, hence the reason I'm late posting. She went to IHOP yesterday morning, and had a great breakfast with orange juice and ice cream. YEAH, ice cream at 9:30 in the morning.

While Cayce and Sammy were at breakfast, I was at home with Ariana and Adalyn. We watched cooking shows and cooked Sammy's birthday lunch/party food. I made honey mustard chicken salad, cheddar bay biscuits, and strawberry cake.

This was a strawberry cake with strawberry shortcake icing, strawberries and white chocolate chips on top and chocolate chips in the middle. That was the best part because the chocolate chips melted. YUMMM!

My friend Britany came by and we call her Aunt Britany Jo. We also had another friend and her daughter come by.

Looking at her gift from aunt britany jo

We didnt have any birthday candles, so we had to improvise. lol.

Addy and Cayce's friend Budd. The girls uncle Budd

Playing hide and go seek. It was fun, they were laughing and screaming.

Sammy was wearing her Georgia Bulldog pillow case dress that her granny had made for her. She got the barbie back in February from me and Cayce and the pony came from Uncle Budd.

I liked becca's present the most. It was a disney princess greenhouse. This pic was taken today as we were planting the flowers.

We Have A Homeschool Name

Cayce and I have came up with a name for our homeschool. The name is (drum roll) Fox Forest Homeschool Academy. We came up with it last night after thinking all day. It is really hard to name things...lol. We also came up with our school colors. They are going to be gray and hot pink. Gray because foxes can be gray and hot pink for the girls. Our mascot is a fox (of course). When they start their athletics, and extracurricular activities, they are going to be called the Barden Foxes.

I'm going to be working on the creed and all that other stuff later on this week. I got Samantha's letter of the week curriculum started and going to be planning next week on tomorrow or Friday. I'm so excited that we came up with all this information. But I need more people in our support system. We have some family members that think the girls need routine and standardized testing, and then we have some people that say me homeschooling them is a good idea and they will be safer with me.

I don't care about the negative comments, if they don't want to support me and me teaching my children, they can hit the road. I know whats best for my kids, not them.

Top 10 Things That Make Me Hapy

First off, I'm going to start by sending more prayers and thoughts towards the Boston marathon runners and attendees yesterday. It was heartbreaking to see how such a happy event could be turned into tragedy by someone so evil.

Now, onto the TOP 10 THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY!!

1. My kids
      I wouldn't be who I am today without my girls. They teach me something new everyday and they make me laugh and smile constantly.

2. My Hubby
    I have been with this man since 2007 and he is my rock. We have an amazing relationship, and we have our problems, but what happy couple doesn't. He is the best father to the kids, and he is a great husband.

3. Ghost Adventures                                                                                                                                
     This is my all time favorite show and these 3 guys are the best at what they do. They answer my curiosity and give me places to travel to. I never miss an episode and I have to watch it or I will have panic attacks.

4. My bed
     Ever since I gave birth to Samantha, I have LOVED my bed. Being sleep deprived with 3 kids, there is no better place to lay down and have a comfortable nap. Sometimes when I'm really tired and haven't slept for hours, I will look at my bed and talk to it. I know crazy, but I have been doing that since 2009.

5. My Computer
    If I didn't have my computer, I would probably go crazy. It's how I keep in contact with my high school classmates and homeschool affiliates. My computer is everything to me.

6. My Pictures
    Pictures will always be a memory and I have plenty of trips that I've been on. School trips, me and Cayce, the kids, family outings and dinners. I have no idea how people went without having pictures back in the old days.

7.  My books
      I am a book junkie. I love to read, and have tons of books in boxes. I want to pass my books down to the girls someday and my books make me happy.

8. Cooking
    I LOVE to cook. Making homemade meals for my family is the best. Cooking with the girls and teaching them is fun and it makes me happy to see the smiles on their faces when they mix somethings or pour.

9. Zumba
    I love the music and the pace. It makes me smile every time and I couldn't live without it. It also makes me happy that I have it as part of my workout plan and that it is helping me lose weight.

AND FINALLY
10. Traveling
       Since I was little, my parents would always take trips to the beach or baseball games. When I was in 8th grade, I got to go on the annual 8th grade field trip to Kennedy Space Center and Disney World. My first trip out of state without my parents and I LOVED IT. I would be happy to go to more states and explore and possibly go to different countries and give the girls that traveling experience that I had.

Lose the Weight Challenge: Week 6

I did good this week, losing more this week. I have the same amount of motivation and by writing this, I am gaining more. Sammy has her birthday party on Saturday, so I need to look better than today.

*Exercise: Change up workouts
                  Run or jog instead of walk
                  Pump up cardio intensity
*Diet: Plan and prepare snacks ahead of time
*Attitude: Check the scale

**EXTRA CREDIT** Plan week's breakfasts, lunch, and snacks.
                                      Make ahead of time and store for the week

Previous Weight: 265.8
Current Weight: 260.8
Pounds Lost: -5

I have lost 10 pounds so far. It's not alot but it's a big difference to me. I'm loving how i see myself in the mirror and Cayce told me I look a little slimmer. That put a huge smile on my face and I love making him and myself happy. Can't wait to see how much I lose this week

Home Day= NO STRESS

I woke up a happy camper this morning. It was a new day, and I was ready to spend time with my wonderful hunny. The only thing I wasn't happy about was that I fell asleep during my shows last night. I never fall asleep, but I was beyond tired. Maybe because I didn't have any coffee yesterday.

This morning, Cayce and I made ourselves an omelet while the girls had their cereal. The omelet was so delicious. It had green onions, turkey, ham, and cheese. I know soo bad but soo DANG TASTY!!
We watched The 5 Year Engagement today and it was funny and so much like our engagement...lol.

Ariana didn't have a nap today and she lasted all the way to 7:15. She had just got through eating her dinner, and sat down in her purple Tinker Bell chair, and was out. Samantha came into my room and say Airy sleepin...haha. Cayce and I had just come back inside from watering our flowers, and started to watch Think Like a Man.

After that movie went off, Cayce decided to cook me a special dinner. He cooked an italian flank steak with homemade mashed potatoes and brown sugar carrots. It was sooo delicious. I was going to take a picture, but it was devoured. Maybe next time, I will contain myself and take a pic.

Now, I'm enjoying my weekend Ghost Adventures to end my Saturday night. I never go a weekend without my 3 favorite men, if so, I would probably have a panic attack.

1 week until Samantha turns 4. YAY!!!!!

Last 2 Days

The last 2 days have went by too fast. On Wednesday, Cayce went to school, and the girls helped me clean up their room and living room and by the time I looked p, it was time for me to make lunch and Cayce walked through the door. It went by so quick. The rest of the day went to researching homeschool associations for our 3rd option homeschooling. The SC homeschool law gives you three options and the 3rd option that I chose, is everybody's favorite it seems like. There are no district distractions, no standardized testing from the district we live in. Cayce and I had a long talk on Wednesday after he got home from work. We talked more about homeschooling and what extracurricular activities WE wanted to put the girls in now until they are old enough to choose what they want to do. I would like to get Sammy started in soccer and/or softball or cheerleading or gymnastics/dance. I know I want her to have singing lessons when she gets older, because she loves to sing now. Cayce wants to teach the girls how to draw and drive, and I'll teach them to cook, and journalism skills.

Yesterday, we went grocery shopping before Cayce headed to work, and it was soooo hot outside. All of our freezer food that we got was sweating by the time we got it in the house. I still have to get a big bag of grilled chicken strips and tomatoes for Samantha's party.The menu is going to be simple and healthy. We are having a Honey Mustard Chicken Salad, with strawberry cake and strawberry shortcake icing, and water. With the weather being so hot now, I don't know how it is going to be next Saturday, so light menu it is.

We had a horrible storm last night, hence why it was TOO DANG HOT OUTSIDE. And they are calling for more rain today. It's too muddy and nasty to take the girls outside to play, so it's tea party time. Gonna go make some tea and probably some brownies to have after lunch.

Sunday Family Day

We had a family day on Sunday. We woke up, and we did some cleaning and watched a movie. While the kids were playing, Cayce and I started making homemade onion rings. They didn't turn out that great, but were still delicious. Cayce grilled a family pack of hotdogs, about 24. I packed some grapes, and got everything into the car. Before we left, I made a strawberry watermelon slushy, and it was so yummy. We left around 2pm and stopped by family dollar to get some paper plates and we headed to Guignard Park in Cayce. It was a very pretty day.

The 4 most important people to my heart. My Addy baby is so gorgeous!!

Enjoying their lunch and wanting to go play on the slides.

She had just finished her cup of milk, and started eyeballing mommy's plate.

They were having so much fun. I was holding Addy while Cayce was watching Sammy and Airy. Airy flew down those slides so fast that she got a big scrape down the middle of her back and Sammy scraped her knees, and has a big bruise in her back. After, they played for a while, we left and headed to the Cayce Riverwalk Park.

 Looking out at the river. The girls loved looking out at the water.

 Great picture of me. This was before I started my walking workout, so I wasn't sweaty at all yet.

 At the park after we got there. She was a happy baby and loved lounging in the sun.

Adalyn being a lazy baby and drinking her strawberry watermelon slushy.
After we left the riverwalk, we went to K-Mart for a potty break and got some groceries. On the way home, I snapped this pic of Airy and Addy.

My babies were so wore out. Sammy was still awake and she kept trying to give Addy her bottle while she was asleep. When we got home, the girls were up for an hour, before they went to bed.

It was a great day, and I can't wait to have another family day.