two firsts

Last week, Eric decided it was time for Levi to learn how to shoot. A gun. A real gun. Now, granted, it is just a pellet gun, but it is still real. You know "You'll shoot your eye out..."!!! Levi has always liked to play guns {what little boy doesn't??} and he has such an interest in, how should I say, things of that nature? Bad guys, guns, police work, saving people...he loves all that stuff! I guess since Uncle Daniel and Papa Bobby are police officers, it comes natural. :-) {On my Dad's computer, there is a picture of the SWAT team and he is holding his machine gun. Levi almost always comments "I like your gun, Papa."} Boys and their toys!!

Eric set up a little target range out back and they shot from the deck.

On Eric's first shot, he shot the can over!!

I was all giggly like a high schooler..."Good job, Honey!" He just stared at me. I guess it was an easy shot. Hmmm. Whatever.

Then Levi got to shoot by himself. Let's just say he needs to practice. ;)

I don't think I've said anything on the blog about this, but I had a first, too. A root canal. Not nearly as fun as shooting a gun. Blah. I had it several weeks ago and had to go back today to be fitted for a crown. I'm telling you, my life is pretty exciting these days! ;) I dropped Maggie off at Eric's office where she got to write, type, spin in his spinny chair, throw his business cards all over the place, play with his phone and flirt with his co-workers!! Fun for a little one year old!!

And I headed to the dreaded dentist chair. I pretended like I was going for a pedicure. :/ I don't know what has possessed me to put this picture on my blog, especially after posting the beautiful one that my brother took on Thanksgiving! But, I know how you guys enjoy a laugh!

Don't be jealous! Yes, it looks like I have had a stroke on the left side of my face. Yes, the lighting is horrible and my makeup looks less than desirable. Yes, they make you remove any signs of lipstick. Gag. Yes, it looks like I am wearing dog tags, when in reality it is the pretty napkin cover holder. But, hey, at least I have cute earrings on!!! Winning! And another bonus...I am no longer in extreme pain! YAY!! ;)

That is all.

happy reading!

While the boys were playing {more on that below!},

Maggie and I headed out to church, lunch with the fam and then home for a big ol' honkin' 2 hour nap!! I love days like this! :-) I also got caught up on some much needed blog time!!

I blogged a lot, ya'll!! :-) Happy reading...

boys day out

Today was a big day in our home. Big. It was Levi's first Colts game. And he.was.excited.
Eric had been looking for a few weeks for some cheap tickets so that they could go. My uncle's company in Indy was sweet enough to send us 4 tickets!! Thank you, thank you, thank you, Uncle Kevin!!! You made one little boy very happy today. :-) As much as I wanted to go back to another game, I thought this would be a good opportunity for my brother to go and take Griffin. I'm really glad it worked out for them all to go together. The boys had a blast!

Let me tell you...their seats were SWEET! They were so close!! I was tre jealous! Eric got some really great pictures for me, but I won't post all 40 of them. Just the highlights. ;) Two of my favorite players: Dallas Clark & Peyton...

Dallas, Jim Irsay {Owner/CEO Colts} & Peyton - Now that's a convo I would have liked to hear!

And, look at these two little fans!! I'm seriously crazy jealous about their seats!!

Two happy little boys!

And a blast from the past for all you fans...Marvin Harrison!! Woot! He was inducted into the Ring of Honors tonight. Remember the good ol' days?!! Sigh...

And, Peyton "coaching" from the sidelines. Go for 2!! ;)

When I asked Levi what his favorite part of the day was, he said "Mom, I got to see Reggie Wayne make a touchdown right in front of me!" I love it!!

Future Colts player??! Maybe...

blessed and thankful

I have the most amazing families and I am so truly thankful. Several years ago, we started a tradition with Eric's family of going to Cracker Barrel for lunch. There is something about going out, not having to cook, not having to clean up and still having a wonderful Thanksgiving meal that is just awesome!!! :-) Eric's parents just adore the kids and it was a really nice afternoon! I love this picture of Papa playing checkers with Levi. Believe it or not, it had been so long since any of us had played that I actually had to Google the rules!!! Hilarious! Papa won, but only by a couple of plays!


After Maggie's nap, we headed over to my parents house for their Thanksgiving dinner. Mmmm. {I had breakfast food at Cracker Barrel so I could pig out at Mom's!!}

My Mom's meal was wonderful...as usual! Turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, cracker dumplings, green beans, corn, dressing {sooo good!}, rolls, and about a gazillion types of dessert! This year, my dad's sister and her family were all there! It was so nice to have them join us. Levi LOVES my cousin's boys! When they are around, Levi is in heaven!

So, let me fill you in on my brother. He is annoying. Super annoying. But, hilariously annoying. Usually, when we are together, his mission is to find my phone and update my facebook status. Or, he will steal my camera and take AWESOME pictures of me. This year, he did both. Oy. So, on my Thanksgiving post, I leave you with the super awesome photography of Travis...

edward

My Thanksgiving weekend started off with a date night!! A date with my other TwiCrazy girls!! :-) We met at Puerto and were all gabby and excited about going to see Breaking Dawn!! Jami, Jaime and Gretchen - Jami and Jaime started the craze last year with Eclipse and this year, G & I intruded on the party!!!

Two of Jami's friends also met us. We had a lot of fun and ate some great food! Ahhh Mexican!

When we got to the theater, there was a row of girls already there. Um, I felt like an old woman!! They were probably half our age and I'm sure "team Jacob"! ;)

I had such a fun night, only it went way.too.fast. :( I got to sit by Jaime Mac and we kind of gabbed throughout the movie about what did and didn't happen in the book. She is a riot!! Love you Jaime!!

And, I love these girls, too!!! So much.

L.O.V.E.D. the movie! In my opinion, it was most like the book than the other movies. Edward was incredible, as always. Swoon.

she's 19, so i'm old

Last night, we celebrated our niece's birthday. Her 19!!!!!th birthday. Really? I remember the first time I met Emilee...Eric and I had just started dating and I went to a play at HER PRESCHOOL. She was so little! She sang a solo part in Away in a Manger. Now, she's a big ol' 19 year old. Sigh...

Before we left to eat, I was looking around for Mags. I found her looking all guilty. She found, and was trying to play, her brother's DS. Hilarious!

So, here she is.....the big ol' 19 year old and her over-protective uncle Eric! Happy Birthday, Em!! We love you!!!!

We ate at Rooster's. I'd never been there before. It was pretty good! :) Thank goodness for our family having lots of cousins who like to keep Maggie entertained!! Sweet Megan...

My sweet little boy :-) {Notice how he isn't looking at the camera, rather the big screen above our heads that was showing a Monster Truck Jam... OY!

And, I love this picture of my FIL and Maggie!!! She adores him. :) Phil has been told on many occasions that he resembles Sean Connery! I think he really does kind of look like him in this picture. Ha!

Such a fun night out! I was so thankful that Easy E wasn't djing or studying and got to join us. Yay!! Thanks for having a birthday, Em!! Great reason to get together and stuff our faces. :)

god made grandparents so we don't lose our minds

We had a low key night at home last night, which was very nice!! Eric said his parents were coming to visit the kids, so I decided to make pancakes and sausage for everyone. Levi had a grand idea to make a cake for Daddy. :) Heck, any reason to make a cake is a good one!!

Maggie saying "Cheeeese!" and Levi being Vanna White!

Show of hands, please...
How many of you out there remember the story where I cleaned out the fridge and my flour was from like 1894?? I am notorious for letting things expire. Sigh. I pulled out two cartons of eggs. One had ONE egg, but my recipe called for 3 eggs. The other carton expired in, gasp, August. August, September, October, Novem....let's just say I don't use eggs that often!
I called a neighbor and tada...she saved the cake!!! Strawberry on strawberry...Eric's favorite!

Best part of baking?? Licking the batter, of course!

My children love this tradition, too!!! :-)

Cake was finished in time for my inlaws arrival. Then, a knock at the door....my parents had stopped by for a visit, too! The kids were in Grandparent Heaven!!! I sat back and let them work their magic and just chilled. It was so.nice. My Father-in-law and my Dad threw Maggie up in the air about a hundred times and they listened to Levi say "Watch this!" about 850 times and then they left. The kids fell fast asleep and it was Mommy's time to reeeelax! ;)

hilarious

I saw this today on Pinterest. My mom needs this! :-)

a stroll down memory lane

My baby girl is 18 months old. I cannot believe how fast the time has gone. My pregnancy seemed to go on for what seemed like forever and then all of a sudden, I had this little blob to love.

There are so many details that remain bright and vivid in my mind, but the one that stands out the most is that I remember being so thankful that God had now given me two little kids, perfect in my eyes, and was entrusting me with raising them.


Maggie, you fit into our little family perfectly from day one! Your brother adored you and wanted to help you with everything. He was the first one that got you to smile and if you were fussing, the sound of his voice would calm you immediately.

Your personality developed quickly and you.were.a.ham!

It took Mommy a long time to bounce back after you were born. ;) You gave me a run for my money!!! You didn't like to sleep a whole lot and you threw up all.the.time. But, when you would throw me a smile, somehow I knew it would all work out. :)
Once you started sitting on your own and eating some real food, you quickly became an even happier baby and I loved it!! You squealed with delight at each new thing you discovered.
Before we knew it, you turned ONE year old!! The first year of your life flew by way too fast!

So many things had changed. Somewhere along the way, you became a GREAT sleeper. You became a picky eater!! Now, instead of calming down when your brother is near, you chase him, terrorize him, wrestle with him and make him giggle out loud!

You love shoes and bows and your momma is thankful!! :) You love your baby doll and want to sleep with her at nap and night time. You have all of your grandparents wrapped around your little pinky. You love your cousins. You get so excited when it is time to get Levi off the bus and if I linger too long, you say "Come'on Momma!" You are attached to my leg most of the day except when your Daddy walks in and then you have no clue who I am.

You have crazy wild hair. I want to remember that!! It takes a while to make it tame. You take after your Mommy. :)

Maggie May, I hope that you will always remember how much you are loved. You are our precious little angel.

the colts lost {again...sigh!} but, man, we ate good!

{Disclaimer: the pics are from my phone, so excuse some of the blurriness!}

Eric and I got to head to Indy to see my boyfriend for the Colts game yesterday!! I was sooooo excited! My niece came over to watch the kids for the WHOLE day. There is just something about walking into the stadium. It is, as Eric described it, electrifying!

Oh how we miss you!!! :(

Even though we lost, yet again, it will always be fun to root for my Colts!

While we were there, I texted my Aunt Gail. They are usually at all of the home games {they have a suite at the stadium}, and some of the away games. They invited us back to the suite, but since we were guests of one of Eric's vendors, we had to decline. ;) Isn't she perty???!!! Just love her!!!!!

Okay, peeps, so here is the deal...I love food. So, yesterday was pretty much an A+ day for me! The Colts game would have been enough, but since we were guests with Eric's vendor, they also fed us the entire day. On the way to the game, we hit Cracker Barrel. {Oh my word, I think I've been there half a dozen times in the last week!} It was so yummy! While at the game, we had nachos and diet coke - heaven! And then on the way home, we stopped at a great little place in Columbus. Anyone heard of this place??

It's called Zaharakos and it.is.wonderful. It is a restored ice cream parlor and was just absolutely adorable!! It was decorated for Christmas and I wanted to hide away there for hours! We ordered some burgers and they were scrumptious! I got a caramel sundae for dessert and Eric had homemade apple pie. Delish!!

Antique soda fountains...

the bar

And it even had two antique pipe organs that played. I'm tellin you....adorable!

They will host all kinds of things...it would be a great place for a girls day out or birthday party! Check them out!

Such a great day!! I am so thankful for a day where Eric and I got to just be together and enjoy ourselves. :-)