First Week Back

Well, I think we can count it as a success! The girl's first week back has been great! They have gone to bed on time every night, gotten up easily every morning, and come home telling me the best stories about their day! As said in my previous posts, they LOVE their teachers and it has made it that much easier to transition back into our routine. I forget what prep work goes into their school days. At night, I go ahead and lay out their clothes and pack their lunch/ snack, and get their backpacks ready, so when I get off work and rush home in the mornings I can focus my time on making sure they are ready to go! Brandon is such a big help! He gets them up and makes their breakfast, and the girls do great at dressing themselves and brushing their teeth, so all that's left for me to do is fix their hair, and put on the finishing touches! Bless his heart, I just don't think Brandon could tackle the chore of ponytails and hairbows! :)
One thing different about this year is that the girls started going to racetrac after school instead of riding the bus to Kid's World. I just thought they were getting a little old for "daycare", and several of their friends were going to racetrac, so we decided to give it a try. They like it so far! They get a snack as soon as they get there, and then they go for homework help...(my fave part!), then they can play outside on the playground, or they have various inside activities set up also. They haven't really had any homework yet, but I can already tell this is gonna be a great help. When they get home in the evenings, I can just look over what they have done and sign papers or whatever. We don't have to spend what little time we have in the evenings doing so much school work, and we'll have more time to enjoy together.
As their first week back comes to a close, we don't have much planned for the weekend. A birthday party on Saturday afternoon will probably be the highlight! LOL! So, hoping for some rest and relaxation before we start again on Monday! Here are some pictures from our week!

Yummy muffins for breakfast!

Found this idea on Pinterest...of course...It's their teachers' gifts. They are filled with thoes instant Peach-Tea packets, and the tag says "Have a Tea-rriffic year!"

 Their shirts say 2nd Grade Rocks and 1st Grade Rocks

3rd day...just as excited as the first!!!

 TGIF!!!

Hope your week was as great as ours!!! Enjoy the weekend!

Back to School Weekend

After our full day Thursday, I had to work Thursday night, which made our Friday morning plans a little more difficult. But being the stubborn hard-headed momma I am, we kept all things on schedule! As soon as I got home, I got the girls up and ready, loaded the car and we headed for the beach! What started off as a plan to relax for a few days, quickly turned into a busy busy weekend. We wanted to finish up some back to school shopping, and shopping is what we did!!! We hit Ft. Walton first with a little Kohl's action. Now, I love Kohl's as much as the next girl, I can ALWAYS find stuff in there whether it be clothes, home decor or just little nick nacks, but I never realized they had such cute children's clothes. Maddie racked up! Then we drove on into Destin and wound up at the Commons. The girls and I had been wanting to see the movie "The Odd Life of Timothy Green", so we decided to see if it was playing at the Rave. It was! We had a little time to kill before the movie started, so we had some yummy pizza from the Red Brick Pizza place that is "conviently" right next door. After the movie, I was pooped! So, we headed back to the beach house for some R&R.

Saturday we slept in and drug around getting ready, but by mid-morning, we were ready to start our day! Saturday morning was overcast and yucky so we decided to forgo the beach and see what the outlets had to offer. They had some great deals, so we ALL hit our favorites...We shopped til we dropped! Whenever we are down there we always stop for lunch across the street @

sooooo (even though it was like 3pm) why should today be any different right? LOL! We rejuvinated and refueled, then went to finish our shopping.



Our last stop of the day...

Preggo had to have some ice cream!

We were ready to see Daddy, and I think he was missing us some too! So we decided to come on home.

When we finally got home, we decided to go again! We were off to Enterprise for some dinner and bowling.



We had a really good time. It was fun to implement some family time before getting back into a strict routine that school days bring.



Now, after alllllllllllllll that, I'm pumped about our LAZY Sunday we have planned!!! :)

Meet/ Greet...Back to School Prep!

Well, what an exciting few days it has been! We planned several fun things for the girls and I to do in preparation for starting school Monday. Starting Thursday, we had meet and greet with the girls' teachers. Maddie is starting 2nd grade (sniff sniff) and she has Mrs. Dauphin. We have heard such great things about her and we are both very excited to have her! I was very impressed when we went to meet her and see her class room. I can't wait for all the great things Maddie will learn with her this year. Maddie has also been worried, that none of her friends would be in her class, but when we got there, she knew several of them, so she feels better now! Little priss Abi is starting 1st grade, and all summer all I've heard about is how much she loooooooooves Mrs. Taylor, well low and behold, that's who we got! We couldn't be happier!!! We went to see her class and drop off her supplies, and Abi saw that Heidi would be in her class too,  and let me tell you, Abi loves her some Heidi!
After meet and greet, we had to run to Andalusia, so we took the opportunity to get mani/pedis! Every girl needs to look good on the first day right? It was a fun girls afternoon! Then, when we got back home, we decided to head to Enterprise for dinner @ our fave...Miyoris! It was sooooo yummy, a great ending to a great day! Here are some pics from today.

 Abi @ her new desk!

 Their theme for meet/greet was 1st grade rocks.

 So everyone had on their rockstar glasses!

 Abi and Mrs. Taylor

 Maddie and Mrs. Dauphin

Maddie and her sweet friend Brooke.

 Abi getting her toes did! She loved it!

Maddie's turn!

Patiently waiting @ Miyoris!

We had an overall fantastic day! The girls don't know it yet, but we have a surprise trip planned for them this weekend. Just a quick girls trip to the beach...to help them get a few more relaxing days before school starts, or that's momma's excuse anyway! :) I can't wait!

Great Saturday!!!

Well, the last few days have been great! Nothing but rest, rest, rest and relaxation. The girls and I have really taken it easy this week in preps for school starting back soon. Only piddling around the house and doing some daily chores! We also l-o-v-e to get in the kitchen and cook supper together too. Mostly Abi and me, but sometimes Maddie joins in. We did cut loose on Tuesday and go to Enterprise to buy school supplies! :)
 At work we swap every other weekend, so on my weekends to work, we try and stay pretty low key too, but today, was Maddie's back-to-school swimming party...and Abi's 6th Birthday!!! Soooo, once I got off work this morning, I came in for some snuggle time, and a little nap! This afternoon, we all got ready and headed off to the party! They had such a great time. With Maddie and Abi being so close in age, they have alot of the same friends, so it is easy for them to go places together, and each have someone to play with.

Here are a few pictures from the party.

 Maddie-Kaleigh

 Sweet friends, Maddie-Brooke-Merritt

 Maddie taking a turn!

 Little Ab-ner on the big ol slide.

 The second graders in attendance!

Thanks to several great moms who put these get togethers- together! They try and have a couple each year. Such great memories!!!


After wrapping up the party, we ran home to pick up Daddy, and head back to Opp for Abi's birthday dinner! I'm surprised she didn't pick the hibachi place in Enterprise...she loves it there! But instead, she opted for "Mexico", as she calls it! She wanted to wear the "big hat"! They actually let her keep it too! She was soooo excited! I love my mini-me! We met up with Meme, Mr. Tyler, grandmother and Carrie and JB for dinner too. So glad we have such sweet friends and family to help us celebrate.

After dinner, we stopped over to see our favorite set of twins...Abbe and Gracen! Some of Ryan's family from out of town had flown in for a visit, so they had the grill and music going! Haven't gotten to see the Gwaltney's much lately, so it was nice to catch up, and the girls enjoyed playing.
After our visit, it was home for bedtime, and off to work for me! Sweet lazy Sunday is tomorrow, I think we'll lay out by the pool and cook a yummy lunch!!


Abi: this part of my blog is just for you!...Today is your 6th birthday. (I choke up as I see myself type the words.) You are such a sweet and loving little girl. Your temperament, though is alot like mine haha! You tend to let your sassy side show! :) This last year of your life has been a blast for me! Your sense of humor is out of this world, and you always keep everyone around you smiling! You finished your first year of school. You loved your kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Phillps. We also found out that you wouldn't be the baby of the family anymore. That's right, your having a baby sister. You are so cute and caring about her. You will get up in the chair with me and just talk to my belly and rub it. We picked out the name Kallie Pearl and you'll say..."I love you Pearlie, I can't wait to meet you and give you kisses." It just melts my heart. This year you were also diagnosed with epilepsy. It was such a scary time for me and you daddy, but you have been such a big girl during all your trips to the neurologist, tests and medication trial and error. You are doing much better with the regimen we now have in place. You are overall a happy, healthy and carefree 6 year old. You love to ride your Powerweels Jeep, jump on the trampoline, listen to your MP3 player, swim and eat PB&J! I can't wait for all the many more years I get to share with you! I love you my Abi Grace!!!

Our Weekend Getaway

Well, the last several days have been BUSY!!! I came down with a terrible cold on Thursday, and since I can't really take anything, I've had to suffer through it! I worked Thurs. and Fri. nights, but when I got off Saturday morning, we surprised the girls with a trip to the beach. When I got home, we woke them up, loaded the car, and headed to Destin. Brandon's mom has a place in Freeport, on the bay, so it's nice to be able to just throw together some clothes and go!

***Let me interject here, did anyone know about this 30 mile yard sale from Hwy 52-Defuniak Springs? I had NO idea it was like an annual event! It was not only homeowners, but the community volunteer fire departments were set up as well as churches and businesses. Now, I love a yard sale as much as the next girl, and had I been prepared for it, I would have been in heaven, BUT I was unaware of this! Soooo, for 30 miles it was stop and go traffic! Crazy redneck pickers swerving from one yard to the next. It was an awful stretch of our drive to our much anticipated destination! As for next year, I will be ready and prepared, and I'm sure I will LOVE that 30 miles of yard sales!!!***

We got down there a little before lunch, and staked out our place on the sand. The weather was beautiful. It was sunny, but not too hot. Since I had worked all night, and had a stuffy head, I opted for a cool spot under the umbrella. I laid out on the blanket and eventually got a short nap! We all had a blast.

See how clear and pretty the water was!

My silly Ab-ner!

Me and the hubbs

Abi begged and begged someone to let her bury them...Poor Maddie finally gave in!

Then she buried herself

Maddie sunnin'

After a few hours, we headed in for showers and rest time!

Then we got ready and met some friends for dinner at Bayou Bill's...our fave!!!

My beautiful Maddie-moo!

We love the Wiggins girls! (Carrie and JB were there too! We love them too!) ;)

Sunday, we took advantage of the tax free shopping and battled the crowds at the outlets. Battled is an understatement! I have NEVER seen so many folks there. We got their tennis shoes and they both picked out a pair of cheetah print Sperry's. They are SOOOOO cute!! That was all I could stand though! We grabbed some lunch and headed home! They made us promise them we could come back before school starts. (I think I can handle that! hehe!)

When we got back, they still had not had enough "fun in the sun". So, they got back in their bathing suits, and drug Brandon out by the pool. They, thank goodness, let me rest inside. I'm still battling this vicious head cold/ cough for now, but hopefully I have seen the worst of it!