On Vacation

I'm on vacation, rather staycation this week, so I'll be back next week.  Have a great week all!

The Zoo

Two weekends ago, we took Cooper to the zoo.  It was his first trip.  It was great.  The weather was good, it wasn’t too hot and I think Cooper had a good time.

Stephanie and Ryan went with us, and I’m so glad they did.

We got to see the lions, tigers, cheetahs, monkeys, and many more animals.
 
They have a nice playground at the zoo too, so we had to make sure Cooper got to play a little bit there.  Ryan played with him there.

Cooper really seemed to love the sharks too, he tried sticking his hands in to pet them, but no luck, and this Mama is thankful for that.

When it was time to go home, we had one happy, yet sleepy boy.

I think we’ll make a few more trips to the zoo in the next few years.  I think Cooper being the animal lover that he is just won’t stop.  I know his sissy won’t let it if she can help it.  Sissy still loves the zoo.
I hope you all have a wonderful day!

Thankful on a Thursday

Linking up again today with Black Tage Diaries and Our Family of four!



Today, I am thankful for Dr. Neely, who is Cooper's ophthalmologist.  He will be performing the surgery Cooper is having tomorrow.  I pray that he has steady hands and that Coop's surgery is successful tomorrow.

I am also thankful, for a wonderful family who will be there with us tomorrow as Cooper is going through his surgery.  My Mom her husband, Ryan & Steph and Tim will all be there with us to show their support and love for Cooper during this time.

Thankful for my niece Beth who is coming to visit us on Saturday, and staying for a week.  It will be so good to have her around!  We are looking forward to it for sure!

I am so blessed and have so many things to be thankful for this week. How about you, what are you thankful for this Thursday?

Hump Day!

Here we are - in the middle of another week.  Time to link up for WILW!  Join in on the fun over at Jamie's Blog and tell us what you're loving this Wednesday.

I'm loving the OLD NAVY Groupon that I purchased earlier this month.  I went on Monday night and spent all three of those bad boys, I got some new tank tops and some shorts for Cooper, love, love love cheap clothing! :)  All I had to pay was the tax on $10 of each transaction.  YES!

I'm loving that today is my THURSDAY.  Starting on Friday, we're on VACATION STAYCATION.  We're not going anywhere special, but we will visit with some family, go to the Louisville Zoo, and our niece is coming in from Ohio to spend the week with us.  I'm hoping to get a few projects done around the house too.  We'll see how it all pans out.

I'm loving that Cooper is going in for his eye surgery on Friday morning.  I pray that this surgery will heal his eyes and that they will be normal again.  I also pray for NO MORE PATCH!  He is such a trooper, been wearing that patch for 6 hours a day for 8 months now.  I really dislike that he has to have this surgery at all, but I am thankful that it is available to help make my little guy see normally again.  I know seeing him get anesthesia will be difficult, but we've done this a couple of other times and it'll just be good to have this healed and over with!

  

I'm loving that I've finally decided to get off my butt and start walking again.  It's about time to get healtier, lose some weight and be a better me.  I really hope I can keep this motivation going.  Every time I read Mama Laughlin's blog she makes me want to do better, and with an old friend giving me encouragement, I'm going to be like The Little Enginge that Could!

What are you loving today?



Father’s Day

On Father’s Day, Cooper slept in until 8:15, it was a good morning, we had gone to bed early Saturday night, so being able to sleep until we woke up on our own was nice.  Thanks Cooper!
Before we all got ready, Cooper had a special treat for his daddy. One of the very special cards we had custom made from Shutterfly.  Cooper signed it himself. 

Two things to note in the picture below.  One, yes, it’s the Wiggles on the tv, Cooper and Daddy love the Wiggles.  And Two, if you look closely you’ll see how cute the card is, with pictures of Cooper on the front. 

We all got ready to go and we headed south to visit with family.  We stopped by my Mom’s house for an hour or so, then headed to my brother, Craig’s house.  We all ate and had a good time.  My grandpa was able to make it over too, so I had 4 awesome father’s around me.  I was able to capture lots of pictures that day, mostly of my niece, Larissa, nephew, Layne and Cooper, but there is one special picture that I just had to have.  It is below.

Craig and I gave our Dad a framed picture of our families that we took earlier this spring.  I think he liked it. 
Now, onto the kids.  Here are some pictures of my little cuties.  I hope you enjoy.
My nephew, Layne, who is 2, 6 months older than Cooper.
Larissa, my sweetie niece.  Love her to pieces.  She is getting so big!
Last, but not least, my baby boy!
When the rain finally stopped, they were able to go outside and play on the trampoline.  Good times, a slide show of pictures below.

Trampoline Fun! VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

I hope you all have a great week!

Misc Monday

link up with Carissa for more Misc Monday fun!

 

This weekend was fun.  I tried new recipes, made some of the old, celebrated Father’s Day with some great people and got some much needed relaxation in.

Pictures below, and more on Father’s Day tomorrow.

Granola.

For snacks at home…. I made this homemade granola.  I don’t add all of the extras that this recipe calls for, but instead, I added pecans, dried cranberries and chocolate chips.

Cookies.

Then I made these chocolate chip cookies.  For our Father’s Day gathering. 

Cheesecake. 

 

I then made this cheesecake for the Father’s Day gathering.

Then we had some grilled chicken pizza for dinner Saturday, YUM.

Father’s Day was great!  My hubby and son.  Love these guys.

Praying.

This coming Friday, the 24th, Cooper will have surgery on his eyes.  I will be continuing to pray for my little guy, hoping that his eye can be fixed by his great doctor!

Talk about a Miscellany Monday.  Happy Monday Folks, hope your day is filled with more than the Monday blues!

Quote.....

Source: 3.bp.blogspot.com via Emily on Pinterest

Another Thursday to be Thankful

Link up to participate in Thankful Thursday!

Today, I am thankful for..........

.......my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ



{via}

 ..........my family

........and great friends. 

What are you thankful for today???

Engagement Party!

We threw Stephanie and Ryan an engagement party a couple of weeks ago.  It was quite a bit of work getting ready for it, but everything looked great and the house has been pretty clean ever since, so I consider it all worth it!

Before the party, Tim and I worked a lot around the house on all of our projects.  I spread a record 55 bags of mulch, Tim worked hard on our bannister, the outside of our house, the upstairs kids bath and much much more!  An added bonus, we also had a painter come in and paint our stairwell and ceiling.  There is only one 1/2 bath in our entire house that hasn’t been painted in the last 3 years, ever other wall has been repainted.

Party Prep! VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Then the party prep – Stephanie and I were very busy the Saturday before the party getting things ready.  We made about 100 fruit kabobs.  Andrew blew up nearly 25 balloons, Stephanie put up lots of decorations and made a collage of her and Ryan’s wedding party.  I made 48 cupcakes, and a 3 layered “wedding” cake.

Sunday we had most of everything done, but there was still a bit to do with making sure the rest of the food was ready and finalizing decorations.  We had a good turn out.  We had planned on people using both the inside of the house along with the back deck, but since it rained that day, people were all stuck inside and crammed in.  It was ok in the end!  Tim made a short but simple speech about his “Pooky” growing up and getting married, then he had the happy couple cut their cake.  They had fun.  Steph wanted pictures with her entire bridal party, and she was lucky, 6 out of 7 bridesmaids made it to the party.  Check out a few photos!

The Party VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

The happy couple:

Overall, we had a good time, but we were glad when it was over and we got to finally relax!

Already Monday again?

link up and be random

Cooper this morning:

source

Yeah, that's right, he was an angry bear.  We have no idea why, no fever, he went to bed plenty early last night and he wasn't hungry this morning and he chose not to eat anything we put in front of him.  So, he got some apple juice and hopefully he'll be in a better mood when we pick him up this afternoon.

Speaking of bears.....

source

We went to the zoo yesterday, it was a great day weather wise, and it must have been everyone's "great idea" for the day, because it was packed.  Cooper's first visit turned out pretty well though, I think he had a good time, he sure took a good nap when we got home!

Lack of sleep:

source

I haven't been sleeping well the last few nights, and last night was the worst, I doubt I even got 3 hours of sleep.  The clock and I have a good relationship at this point, I think it probably thinks I have a crush on it seeing how much I've been staring lately.........  I'm hoping to go to bed around 8 tonight when Cooper goes to bed.  We'll see.

That's it for me today, I'm so exhausted I'm lucky I came up with that much.

Happy Monday everyone!

A Recipe for the Weekend: Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate chip cookies are a huge favorite around my house.  I try new cookie recipes all of the time, but my family tends to favor my redition of chocolate chip cookies better than all of the rest that I make.

I honestly do not have my own recipe, I just take the Original Nestle Toll House Cookie Recipe, and make a couple of slight alterations....

Not my cookies....  but they look close!

What you'll need:

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (use more flour for crunchier cookies up to 2 3/4 cup sifted flour) (sometimes I use some oats up to 1 cup and then I add about 1 1/2 cups flour also)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened (sometimes I replace 1 stick with 1/2 cup peanut butter)
• 1 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (sometimes I use 2 teaspoons, but usually 1 1/2 at least)
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels (I often mix this up and use different kinds of chips)
• 1 cup chopped nuts

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 350° F.

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

PAN COOKIE VARIATION: Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan. Prepare dough as above. Spread into prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack. Makes 4 dozen bars.

Have a great weekend everyone!

What I’m Lovin’ Wednesday!

Happy Hump Day!  We’re at that point again in the week where we only go downhill from here!  2 more days until the weekend, YIPPIE!

Here are a few things that I’m showin some love for this Wednesday.

I’m loving my digital cameras.  I carry a point and shoot in my purse at all times, and I'm especially loving my DSLR! 
 
I’m loving my new necklace from The Vintage Pearl.  It just arrived last Friday, and I’ve been wearing it daily.  It’s beautiful.



I’m loving fresh produce and farmer’s markets.  Visiting them and getting local produce along with awesome tomatoes makes me happy!




Last, but certainly not least, I’m loving, these two guys.




I am linking up with Jamie again this week for WILW.  Link up and tell us what you’re loving this Wednesday!