My Ten Facts

Thank you, Heather (The Stockett Family), for nominating me to give all my blog readers ten facts about myself. This was actually kind of hard for me to do since I have started giving facts on “Take 5 Tuesday.” I came up with 10 new things that most people might not know about me. Enjoy!!!

TEN FACTS

1. I sleep with 4 pillows, a noise maker, and a stuffed animal. Yes, you read that right. I sleep with a purple dinosaur… it’s great. Oh and the closet doors must all be closed before I can go to sleep.
2. I have gone to the big house before. My junior year in high school a big group of us were rolling (toilet papering for you northerners) someone’s yard and the cops drove by. We all had to ride to the county jail caravan style and call our parents. No charges thank goodness!
3. I never watched my mom cooking growing up. When Trey and I first started dating we were going to cook at his house in Oxford. He left the kitchen and I was supposed to cook some green beans… ahhhh I can’t believe I am about to say this. I got a pot and put hot water in it to start boiling water for the beans. Then it hit me... DUH… you just dump the can in the pot. No water is needed. Trey doesn’t even know this happened. I guess he does now. I have come a long way with cooking.
4. This one is embarrassing too, BUT this could be life changing for someone. Women do a lot to improve their looks... I try to do what I can including dying my arm hairs!!!!! Speaking of... I need to do mine now. They make some great bleach that will make your hairs blonder and less visible. Trey thinks it stupid and I don’t need to do it, but it makes me feel better. See me if you need further details!
5. I really wish I had a talent. I have a hidden one that hasn’t come out yet. I can’t sing, dance, act, draw, read music, sew, decorate, etc. I can flip my tongue over and pick up things with my toes. Does that count??? Those are just plain weird!
6. I have always been attracted to guys with 4 letter names, brown hair, and that are under 6 feet tall. They say you are attracted to guys that look like your dad. My dad is a short brown headed fella. Trey hits the nail on the head... Trey = 4 letters… real first name is John. Brown hair... check. Under 6 feet… check! Ford is fitting that criteria right now as well.
7. I can’t imagine living anywhere other than Mississippi. However, I absolutely regret not living someone neat one summer during college.
8. I secretly wish I was an investigator. I like watching Cold Case Files and Forensic Files on TV. That kind of stuff is so interesting to me.
9. I don’t drink milk. I do love cheese and ice cream.
10. I was tested for allergies in the summer of 2006. They pricked my back 40 times with anything from dust mite, pollen, grasses, to roaches. I was ALLERGIC to 34 of the 40 things. I thought my life was OVER. I took allergy shots for a year and am much better.

Here are the rules:

1. Say thanks and give a link to the one who gave you the award.
2. Share 10 honest things about yourself.
3. Present this award to 3 other fantastically brilliant blogs of content or design, or peeps that have encouraged you.
4. Tell those 3 people they've been awarded and make sure they're informed of these guidelines.

I now would like to nominate 4 people. I know it says 3 in the guidelines but I feel like these 4 people would enjoy this activity. Katie, Ashley, Janice, and Jessica are the chosen ones participate in this fun exercise.

I want to help too

Ford and I bought some pumpkins last week and Trey decided that we should carve them tonight. I said it was too cold to do outside so we should stay in the kitchen. Trey set up his workplace on the floor and began cutting the top off. I was sitting across from him making sure he did not cut himself and that he was doing it correctly. My little man, who can now crawl, decided to join us. I thought he deserved a spoon as well. After Trey cut the top off he said I needed to dig the slime and seeds out of the middle. I had a plastic/rubber soup spoon which did not work too well so Trey got to use his hands. Ford mostly chewed on his spoon. No one ever told me that teething was such a difficult process. After the inside was clean I drew a face and then Trey cut it out. It’s kind of a goofy looking pumpkin, but we are not professionals. The idea was to have some good Lamar Family Fun!

I am not a creative or craftsy person, but I just know there has to be something you can do with baby food containers. Ford eats about 14 to 18 things of baby food a week. I am just throwing these things away that could be a treasure to someone else. This could possibly be the teacher coming out in me?????!!!!! Does anyone have an idea as to what one could use these for?


This is Tuesday so I must add my “Take 5 Tuesday” list. Remember these are 5 random facts about me.

1. I have NEVER been to Disney World.
2. The first time I flew in a plane was on my honeymoon.
3. I never had a dog growing up. Delta is my first dog. Trey and I got her the weekend of Hurricane Katrina.
4. I have a drawer full of “crazy socks” (meaning not white…decorative socks).
5. I have killed 3 deer in my professional hunting career!!! (HA HA!!)

I thought you might like to see my little guy after his bath. Sadly enough, we are still bathing him in the sink. His feet hang over the edge. It’s my fault… I just don’t want to bend over the bath tub. I personally like standing and using the squirter is so easy.

Okay… I have to add a recipe. It’s sinfully delicious and I think I could eat the entire thing. I got this recipe from a teacher and I don’t know what it’s called… it’s a chocolate layered dessert. Let’s just call it chocolate sin for the fun of it. I would attach a picture but there is only one piece left and I just can’t post that!

CHOCOLATE SIN

Crust: 1 stick butter
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup flour
Mix with mixer and press to bottom of a 9x13 pan. Bake 15 minutes at 350.

First layer: 1 8 oz. cool whip
1 cup sugar. 1 8 oz. cream cheese. Beat with mixer until thoroughly blended (about 5 minutes). Spread over cooled crust.

Middle layer: 3 cups milk
2 large OR 3 small chocolate instant pudding mixes. Follow the directions on the box. Spread over cream cheese layer. *** You ONLY need 3 cups of milk.

Top Layer: 8 oz cool whip
Optional: add more pecans (I don’t)

Refrigerate. You can also freeze it. Ohhhhhhhhhhhh it’s so delicious!!!

Orange Nose

“Simple Snack Sundays”

I called my friend, Taylor, and asked her for a simple appetizer I could fix that did not require an oven. See this weekend our church had Baby Dedication Sunday and we had a lot of family coming in town. I knew the ovens would be used cooking lunch so I tried to plan accordingly. I called Taylor because she loves a good cooking show and I knew she would have the answers to all my cooking questions. If you want easy here you go…

ROTEL CORN DIP

1 can of rotel tomatoes drained
1 can of shoepeg corn drained
1 8 oz. cream cheese softened

Mix together and serve with Fritos. It’s yummy!

As I just said, we had Baby Dedication Sunday at our church. Ford did so well sitting in big church for 10 minutes before it was time for the families to come forward. As one would expect, he checked out the ceilings, jumped in my lap, and flirted with those around him. It was a nice service and I hope all the parents felt as blessed as Trey and I did to be given the wonderful gift of a child. After church we went to eat lunch at Puddin and Pop’s house. They cooked a great big lunch. We had a big crowd: Puddin, Pop, Gran, Boompa, Bobba, Grandmother, Granddaddy, Uncle Ken, Aunt Ashley, Molly Cate, Caroline, Uncle Vance, Trey, Ford, and myself.

Apparently I have been feeding Ford too many orange foods… such as sweet potatoes, carrots, and squash. When I was looking at the pictures from his big day I noticed that his little nose looked orange. I guess we will eat peas and green beans the next few days in an effort to fix this problem.

HALLOWEEN is right around the corner!!!!! Aunt Jessica (Meet the Pressgroves) bought Ford a cute trick-or-treat bag that he will be sure to use next Saturday. I can’t wait!!!!!

Pumpkin Photo Shoot

I feel like I have not blogged in so long… it’s only been 6 days. Ford got a little cold so we have been inside since Thursday. He is feeling better now thank goodness.

I decided yesterday that we needed some pumpkins. So Ford and I went to Wal-Mart and got a few. After I bought the pumpkins I started thinking about making a pumpkin pie and I expressed this to my mother in-law. Well that sweat dear picked me up some ingredients at the grocery store last night and I went to baking. I am not real sure that I have had pumpkin pie that many times or that I even really like it but the idea sounded good. It took forever to bake… cook at 425 for 15 minutes and then reduce heat to 350 and cook another 40-50 minutes. That is pure torture to a hungry pie wanting woman. At one point Trey asked me why I was standing next to the stove watching the pie bake!!! It wouldn’t hurry up and I tried to busy myself while it cooked, but it didn’t work that well. The pie came out and I only let it cool about 10 minutes before we cut into it. I was slightly disappointed in the pumpkin pie. Not disappointed enough not to eat the whole piece though. I ate it all. I am thinking I should have used a different kind of crust. After lunch today I decided to give it another try and got the same results… just okay. It’s just not chocolate!

Ford took a cat nap while I was at Bible study this morning and wouldn’t sleep again when we got home. GO FIGURE! So I decided to have a pumpkin photo shoot in the yard. Ford can sit up fairly well so I thought it was a good idea. He fell over a few times and grabbed a chunk of grass to eat but I quickly got it out of his mouth. Trey pulled up during the photo shoot laughing and wanting to know what was going on. He helped me get a few good pictures of my little man.



My sister in-law was creative with her blog title last week, “Flashback Friday” so I have made one up for part of my blog today… “Take 5 Tuesday”. I am going to list 5 random facts about myself.

1. I got pink glasses at age 4. (Sorry… no photos!!!)
2. I own a yellow shower cap that I wear every night when I shower before bed. (I do wash my hair in the mornings!)
3. I am afraid of big black dogs.
4. I do not eat anything that swims (except catfish) and I do not like many vegetables.
5. I lived in 7 houses growing up and since going to college have lived in 8 different places.

Now wasn’t that fun!!! I plan to do something creative on different days of the week from now on.

You need to see this...

Please check out my sister in-law's blog. It's an "action shot" of my brother and me.
Click on Sugar and Spice Mommy on the side where my friends are listed!!!!!!

Too Much For a Title

The Cousins


This has been a busy week and it’s only Wednesday night. On Monday Ford had his first official play date with Cooper. Summer and I took the boys for a stroll around town and then came back to our house to let them play on the floor. It was so neat watching Ford interact with another baby. He really seemed to enjoy having someone his own size down on the floor with him. We plan to get together more often for play dates.


You would think Trey would have learned not to ask me to fix his cereal after I put it in Ford’s little bowl and gave him a baby spoon. Well, he did ask for some cereal and once again I prepared it extra special. This time he got Fruity Pebbles in a piece of McCarty pottery with a big spoon. I was able to capture the moment when I handed him the bowl. It was great. And yes, we like to eat little kid cereal around here.

Being a stay at home mom is great. Sometimes, however, Ford and I get cabin fever and feel the need to get out of the house. When I taught school we would take the students on a field trip each semester to a fun, yet educational place. I decided Ford and I needed to go on a field trip. I talked to my sister in law and we decided on the zoo. Since it has been raining nonstop here and I have considered building an ark, the zoo was out. Instead we chose the Children’s Museum. She wanted me to be in Memphis bright and early and that is no small task with a baby, so Ford and I loaded up the day before for a spend the night party with Boompa and Gran (my parents). On the way to my parents’ house I was able to capture a special moment. I am so glad I have my camera handy when I am in the car. So, I took an exit ramp and noticed this trailer sitting in the middle of the left lane not hooked to a car. I guess if you get tired of pulling something it is perfectly acceptable to drop it off in the middle of the road!!!! Anyways…. It was a lot of fun having a change of scenery and I think Ford enjoyed seeing his Gran and Boompa.

Ford and I made it to the Children’s Museum on time and without getting lost. That place is so neat. I would have absolutely loved it as a child. It’s a kid friendly environment with different areas where children can pretend to be adults. I didn’t get to see the whole place but they have a little grocery store, dentist office, car repair shop, pizza parlor, news station and so much more where the kiddos could play and learn at the same time. I can’t wait until Ford can walk and he and I will go back so he can enjoy it as much as my nieces did.

I heard on some radio station that they do a “Confession Wednesday.” Since it’s Wednesday I have a confession… I am 27 years old and I like a Miley Cyrus song. It’s very teenie bopper, but “Party in the USA” has such a fun beat that I can’t help but turn it up when it comes on the radio. Okay, I feel better!

We bought Ford a new toy… an EXERSAUCER!!!! He loves it by the way. See below…

Rebels, Coffee Cake, and Saggy Pants

Ford made his first debut in the Grove on Saturday. It was cold, muddy, and rainy but we still managed to see a few people. The little man and I didn’t make it to the game. We let Trey go to the game and we came home to our warm house. I hope he can go to a few more games before it gets too cold.


Tired on the way home from the game

Yesterday we went to church and it was breakfast Sunday. No, I didn’t make my caramel French toast. Instead, I made sour cream coffee cake.

SOUR CREAM COFFEE CAKE

Cake:

½ cup butter, softened
½ cup margarine softened
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
2 eggs
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
½ cup chopped pecans

Glaze:

2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla
2-3 tablespoons evaporated milk

Preheat oven to 325. Cream butter, margarine, and 2 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, beating well. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking power and salt. Add flour mixture to egg mixture alternating with sour cream. Pour half of batter into a greased and floured Bundt pan. Mix cinnamon with 2 tablespoons sugar and sprinkle half over batter in the pan. Top with pecans. Top with remaining batter and sprinkle with remaining sugar mixture. Bake 40 to 55 minutes. Cool in the pan 10 minutes. Invert onto wire rack to cool completely.

For glaze, mix butter, sugar and vanilla adding enough milk until proper consistency is achieved. Pour over cooled cake.

This recipe also comes from the Prime Meridian cookbook. It sounds like a lot to make this lovely little cake but it’s not that bad. The thing that takes the longest is the sifting. When you get your sifter out you know its big time. I think my forearm got the best work out of its life. It was yummy and there was none left to bring home. I am including a picture!!!!!! I am such a nerd. Trey asked why I took a picture of the coffee cake and I said I was going to put it on the blog. I sprayed my Bundt pan really good, but some of it still stuck to the bottom.

RANDOM THOUGHTS:

Okay lately when I go out around town to run errands I have been seeing something that really bothers me. I am not sure if it is because I am a teacher and we enforced dress codes or because it is just plain inappropriate (my opinion). When I went to Wal-Mart (forgot coupons AGAIN) yesterday I was walking in the door behind this young man who thought it was cool to sag his pants. WHY do these boys think people want to see their boxers?????? I for one do not care to see anyone’s underpants and wish they would buy clothes that fit or get a belt. I just had to get that off my chest…

Moving right along…



I think it is important to make goals for yourself. You know small achievable goals. Nothing extreme that will never happen. In high school my best friend, Jamie, and I used to say EVERY summer that we would go on diets to look like Victoria Secret models. That still hasn’t happened!!!! Don’t worry though, we talked about it this summer and laughed. I would not say that is a small, achievable goal. My goal 2 weeks ago was to clean out my closet and get rid of AT LEAST 20 things. I said 20 things is doable. I didn’t count as I was taking things off the racks and the shelves, but it ended up being much more than 20 things. I have an entire bag full of hangers. After I cleaned out what I didn’t want I tidied up my closet, color coordinated my clothes, and made sure everything was in its proper place. You can actually walk in there now. I feel so much better about my closet.

A good starchy recipe

Rebecca’s Potatoes

4 cans sliced potatoes drained/mashed
1 stick butter
1 cup sour cream
Parsley flakes
Black pepper
Salad supreme seasoning
Bacon bits (3/4 of a bag)
Green onions, 2 stems chopped
2 cups grated cheese

Combine all ingredients (I use an electric mixer) and bake at 350 until bubbly. Do not add salt.


We went to eat with some friends a while back and they served us these potatoes. I thought they were delicious, but figured anything that good must be hard to make. When I found out the potatoes were from a can I thought I can so do this. I know the recipe is kind of vague, but this is how it was given to me. It makes quite a bit so you may want to half the recipe.




While we are on the topic of food, let’s discuss my husband. I really don’t think I know anyone who loves food more than Trey. He gets so excited about food and pretty much loves everything but coconut. I even like coconut. Regardless of what he has for supper he always seems to need a bowl of cereal around 8:30 at night. He says it helps him go to sleep better. The other night I decided I wanted a bowl of Lucky Charms. So I went into the kitchen and started making myself a bowl. Trey turns around and asked if I were making him a bowl of cereal. I said no I was making it for me. He said “If you don’t make me a bowl of cereal I will scream and wake Ford up.” I told him that was just mean and I started fixing him some Lucky Charms. He did not specify how he would like his cereal prepared so he got it in one of Ford’s bowls with one of Ford’s spoons!!!!!!!! Needless to say, he was not impressed. I, myself, thought it was funny.


We are planning to take Ford to the Ole Miss vs. Alabama game this weekend. He and I won’t actually go to the game, but we will socialize before hand in the Grove. I am excited that he will be making his first début to a place Trey and I love so much.

I am absolutely loving this weather. It isn’t too hot or too cold. It’s perfect. It has been raining here a lot so when I made my weekly Wal-Mart trip this weekend I did have to put on a jacket. And will you know that I found a tube of chap stick in the pocket! I was so excited. I am constantly losing my chap stick and it really pumped me up that I stuck my hand in my pocket and found a perfectly good stick. And for anyone who is wondering, YES, I forgot my coupons AGAIN!


If you haven't gotten your Halloween costumes (for the kids) yet Pottery Barn Kids has some really cute ones. Free Shipping too! I can't wait to post pictures of my little man on here all dressed up for his first Halloween. Trey asked why I was dressing him up since he can't eat candy and I tried to explain that I have been waiting to dress him up since I found out I was pregnant. He is going to be as cute as a button!

Tomorrow is my mom’s birthday and she will be 37. That would make her about 10 when she had me!!! She is coming down to Toby Town along with Aunt Ashley, Molly Cate, and Caroline. Should be a fun day! Happy Birthday Gran!!!!!

One last thing…. I am LOVING finding out that people actually read my blog.

Driving with the Garmin to the nose bleed section

Okay, so I did not mention it in an earlier blog post because it was too painful of a topic to discuss, but it has happened. Trey and I LEFT our precious baby at home and went to the football game in Nashville. This was something I had to get mentally prepared for…I mean days of preparation. Friday got here and I tried to avoid thinking about 12:00 when Trey would come home and say we had to leave. Well, the time came to load up in the car, without Ford, and head to the Ole Miss vs. Vandy game. We packed the car and started pulling out of the driveway. Trey was not looking at me, but was admiring our new shrubbery and his freshly laid sod. He decided he should ask me how pretty I thought our yard looked. When I did not answer he looked over at me and saw that I was crying (we were still in the driveway people!!!). He said “Oh, I guess you don’t want to talk about the yard.” I only cried until we got in the interstate which is not that far from our house. Trey would probably say I squalled all the way to Nashville. Once I got over the initial shock of leaving my child I was okay and we were en route to see our Rebels play.
We got to Nashville and to our place which happened to be really nice. We managed to junk it up within seconds because I do not know the meaning of packing lightly. I feel that it is better to be safe than sorry. My parents took us out to eat Friday night and then we met up with some friends at a place called Rippy’s. I stayed out much later than I would have liked to. I kept telling Trey that I was a mom and that mom stands for..
M = married
O = old
M = mother

Saturday we went to see one of my good friends from high school. Thank goodness for the Garmin navigation system or we would have NEVER found our way around Nashville. When we got to Rebecca’s house I went to knock on the door while Trey looked for his sunglasses. At first I thought I was at the wrong house because no one answered the door. Then all of a sudden this HUGE cartoon looking dog greets me on the other side of the glass door. I thought “holy cow” Trey has got to see this. I told him to come see this dog. I do not think he understood how big he was. Finally Rebecca opened the door but Trey and I were too fascinated with her dog to say hello. She was cooking breakfast and the dog’s nose could sit up on the counter top. He made Delta look like a bug!
After our visit with Rebecca we went back to the room and changed for the game. Then we proceeded to go to 4 tailgates, all of which included food, but Obama attended one party. After socializing for several hours we left for the game. When we get up to the gate at the stadium the security guards said that they needed to check all ladies purses AND that your purse had to fit inside a box. Well, when you think box you may think of something big, but this was a small box about the size of a rectangular Kleenex box. My purse is as big as the state of Texas and it was not going in that box no matter what way the lady turned it. I felt panic come over my body, because my purse is like my oxygen source and I need EVERYTHING in there. I started pulling stuff out of it like Trey’s coat, some sunglasses, my wallet… it was NOT going in that box. Fortunately she told me to go on in the game and not to bring such a big one next time. HA… like I go to Vandy games a lot.
Trey was hungry when we got inside the stadium (imagine that) so we got some food and headed to our seats. We were on row 72… there were only 75 in the stadium. I could have touched a bird we were up so high and not to mention the workout my legs got walking to our seats. We won the game and headed back to the room. I straight up refused to go out again. I had ONE thing on my mind and that was getting home to see my baby. I woke up when it was still dark outside, and we got ready and left. We were home by lunch and I think Ford was glad to see us. He had grown!!!!!!!! I don’t think I will leave him again for a very long time even though Puddin and Pop said he did great. Thanks for taking such good care of my baby Puddin!!! Trey and I had a lot of fun though!