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Showing posts with label My family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label My family. Show all posts

First Month of School Pictures!

Our daughter is in 3rd and our son has started Kindergarten! So exciting and scary at the same time. Kaylei is always ready for school to start and to make new friends. Little Gerry(Jerry), well he was a bit nervous and he was so excited. I wanted to share with ya'll our photos for the beginning of school. I see really creative back to school photos all of the time and I wanted to try my hand at a cute back to school pic. 

Inspiration: Blank Scrapbooking Page
 
  
My hubby couldn't see him go to school for the first day because he was working. So we did the daddy walk on one of our trips to the school. He does a great job reassuring our kids and making them feel safe when they are going into a new situation. 

 
He sticks his hands in his pockets when he gets nervous. My mom gave me a fantastic idea to help him out on his first day. I will share that with you soon. 

 
  

He wanted to ride the bus the very first day. Since I am bit of a helicopter parent and he has been with me 24/7 for at least 3 years it was hard for me to let go. He rode the bus the 2nd week of school and he has done well. Luckily, I got to walk him to class the first few days of school and then I let his big sister take the reigns. Right now they are okay with being seen touching. <3 my little kiddos. 

How are your kids doing in school? Are they liking it so far? Are they looking forward to school if they are not in school yet?

This is the book we read right before school and the little song got stuck in our heads.

*Butterscotch Pineapple Upside Down Cake via Central Foothills Mommies....check it out.
  

So Many Fun Uses for Glow Sticks

I snagged glow sticks last year for .25 a pack after Fourth of July at one of the sales.  I love a great deal and am almost always suckered into the little after holiday sales.  I try to wait until the 90% off but often hit it at the 75% off too because most of the time there is hardly anything left by time 90% comes.  After I bought them, they were put in a box and pulled back out this year unbroken.  The little tubes they come in are pretty sturdy. 

What did we do for fun with the kids on the Fourth?  We went to a firework show and dinner the night before at my moms church; the kids shot a few fireworks with my sister and brother; we went for a walk with the kids after we shot fireworks; cooked out and enjoyed family time.  By the way, I have 3 sisters and 1 brother.  My sister Brandy is 2 years under me and my brother David is 2 years under her; then we have a 18 year old sister and a 7 year old sister. 

Glow jars are just so neat.  Glow stick are bendable and easy to shove into different containers.  LIKE-  empty baby food jars and lids to other jars.  Repurposing at its finest. :) The lids below came from the square glass jars with the hollow glass bubble lids. They had the plastic seal, but they were aged and came undone easily.  My first idea was to cut open large glow sticks and pour it into jars, but then I found that it was bracelets instead of a large glow stick in each package.  I plan on trying the larger ones later on.

Put your glow sticks in your jars and fill it with water for that extra glow factor.
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My first holiday without my hubs and boy did I miss him.  Even though we were not together, he is always on my mind and in my heart.  So, I decided to create a sweet little nothing for him.  I used a expo marker and did my I <3 U message on there so it would be easy to read.  Then, I went back over the letters and heart with a circular motion to make it stand out more.  Bold it if you will.  Expo marker wipes right off and you can go on about your business. So sweet!  I snapped a picture on my phone and sent it to my hubs in NC.

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 My sister Brandy and brother David decided that they were going to go swimming in the pool later and I thought it would be really cool to have the jars as underwater lanterns to add a cool factor.  I took them out because the kids were ready to play with them.
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Glow sticks provide endless hours of entertainment, especially for little kids.  These glow sticks originally came as a set of 3 bracelets with the little plastic connectors per pack.  I pulled them out of the jars and gave them to the kids.  We had 5 kids ages 4-7 to entertain with glow sticks.

What did they do with them?  

1. The boys played like they were Ninja Turtles and Power Rangers fighting with swords.
2. The girls pretended they were little angels and put them on top their heads.
3. The boys wore theirs as a glow necklace at first because they each had 2
4. The girls wore them as bracelets
5. They put them on the animals
6. My mom and I got decorated with necklaces and such for the kids amusement.
 {the kids did the decorating}
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7. They were sitting and spinning them and I thought it was so neat how they looked, so I snapped a pic. 
8. We put the jars out in the yard in a circle to make a designated 1 person firework safety area. 
9. They can easily make bath time more fun too, just throw 'em in there. 
10. Glow sticks are easily turned into night lights for bed time. 

{Eventually they were all undone and turned into all of the above back and forth.}

So you have had entire day and night of fun with glow sticks.  
Want your glow sticks to last longer?  Put them in the freezer and it will last some the following night.  

Husband Freezer Meals



So what is in there??

Chicken, Black Bean and Green Chili Enchiladas
Chicken, Black Bean and Green Chili Mix for Burritoes

Homemade Chili for Hot Dogs
Meaty Chili (stay tuned)

Trio Meat Lasagna (Italian sausage, ground chicken and ground turkey blend)

Grilled Chicken Breasts

Chicken Teriyaki Meatloaf (add teriyaki glaze to the top instead of the usual sauce)
Sausage, Onion and Peppers

Shepherds Pie (just with hamburger meat instead of bbq pulled pork)
Chicken Salad-Sandwiches
Spaghetti Meat Sauce
Cupcake Pan Sausage Patties

Italian Sausage, Ground Turkey and Ground Chicken Patties


I made a small container of each enough for 2 meals at a minimum for him.  Why would you need meals for just your husband?  I couldn't leave and go to spend time in MS with my mom without preparing meals for him to have.  I felt better to know he had food if he wanted it and I wouldn't have to feel bad when he said "I miss your cooking!"  It took me a day and a half to make all of his food.  I made all of these recipes spicy or added cayenne or crushed red peppers, just how he likes it. The only things he would have to make is noodles or other things that are just better fresh.  I would say if you are going out of town or state and your hubby or significant other is staying home make the recipes to his liking.

Also, I stocked up a few more convenient items for him to have for breakfast, lunch and snacks.
*Granola bars, individual bags of chips, snack cakes, pop-tarts ...etc.
He is up at 3am for work, so easy breakfast!
 I normally make him a sausage and egg sandwich.


















In the fridge I left him:
*Boiled eggs
*Potato salad
*Baked beans
*Individually wrapped chicken, black bean and green chili wraps.

Drink wise:
A pitcher of Kool-aid
A pitcher of Black and Pink Tea
A 1/2 gallon of cherry limeade drink in the freezer.

He was all set to not starve to death on nights he gets home late from work or live on fast food!  He wanted to make sure to tell me he didn't need me to do that because he can take care of himself, but oh well is what I said.  He is a really great cook, so when it runs out he can make his own and be fine.  It is just one of those things to be better prepared.

Homemade Italian Creme Cake


Have you ever had the pleasure of tasting an Italian Creme Cake?  In this area they are only seasonally made at the local grocery store during the Fall.  This is my husbands number 2 favorite cake under pineapple upside down cake.  When your hubby says he loves something that much and is so disappointed when he couldn't find it in the store.  I got to work researching different recipes so I could make it for him.  I always look at the reviews for any recipes I am looking up to find out what worked and didn't.
  
     

Italian Cream Cake (old family recipe)
Sponsored by: http://adimages.scrippsnetworks.com/1x1.gif
Bottom of FormServings:  14   Servings Size
Update

CAKE

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
*If too thin, you can add a little more powdered sugar and if too thick you can just add a little splash of milk or buttermilk the mix.  

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  For cake: Cream butter, shortening and sugar.  Add egg yolk one at a time, beating after each addition (this is an important step!) Stir in baking soda and buttermilk.   Add sifted flour into batter, alternating with the buttermilk mixture.  Add vanilla, coconut and chopped pecans.   Beat egg whites and fold into batter.

Pour into a greased and floured round cake pan.   I like the way round cakes look better, so I went with a round cake pan.  My go to cake pan is the little $1 cake pans so I can just throw them out when I am done.  Bake for 45 minutes, or until cake tests done.  Remove from oven, cool completely before frosting.

For frosting: Beat cream cheese and butter.  Add vanilla, powdered sugar, and pecans.  Continue to beat until you get a spreading consistency.

*This cake was the most delicious and moist cake I have ever made.  I did change a few simple little things like almonds; I added a little more vanilla than was called for and I added almond extract as well.  It was absolutely divine and arguably better than any store made cake.  Someone else's old family recipe has become our new old family recipe with a few changes of course.  I actually made this cake for his birthday hence the football themed napkins and plastic "TOUCHDOWN" table decor.  I was super happy with all of the results.   There is nothing like a delicious cake to celebrate with.

Sometimes it Takes a Few Days....or a week.

It actually took me a few days okay a week for it to sink in that my son is 5 now.  This years birthday was much harder for me to cope with.  He will be starting school this year and leaving from under my wing.  His time with Imagination Library is over because he is 5; his Tad Pole play at Foothills Gymnastics is over and plus all the other perks of being a 4 year old has.  I have been a stay at home mom for most of his little life.   It has been just been us for so long.  When my hubby is at work and when Kaylei was in school....he has been my little buddy pretty much 24/7.  His birthday was last Monday and I even went through his birth photos and scanned through the years of his little life reminiscing the time that has passed.  I thank all of you that has stuck in there with me on my repeated Birthday posts and given repeated wishes.   I decided I best stop being in denial, because it won't make him any younger...or me for that matter.

I really just had a crazy pregnancy with this little one.  Who am I kidding.....a big one!  He was 12 pounds and 5 ounces born on Tuesday, June 3!  He was induced via cesarean 2 weeks earlier than his due date around the June 17 because he was getting big so fast.  I had a perfectly healthy pregnancy for the most part.  When he was born and I had went in to be induced I was so ready!   I could barely walk and I was definitely waddling.  Around month 6 1/2 I lost the feeling in my upper right leg.  I had previously had a pinched sciatica off and on and the pressure caused my nerve to pinch which caused the numbness in my leg.  I was really worried that the feeling wouldn't return, but a month after he was born it did.

  After everything was all set up for the cesarean to begin, I couldn't get the thought of not being able to move my toes out my head.  I even had to ask for the nurse to move my foot because it was driving me nuts.  As the doctors pulled him out, I remember hearing them betting with each other on how much he weighed!  It was really a shocker to them in his size and in my doctors years of birthing, he has stated that our baby was the largest baby he had ever delivered!   My husband was able to be in there with me and he really was in shock on the process and how much he actually got to experience.  The sounds of the spillage on the floor after the cesarean had started really got him the most.....he got to cut the cord and he was so happy to finally have his son.  I really thought he would pass out, but he didn't.   I was watching his face as they did their work and his eyes were huge.  He did an awesome job and I am so glad he was able to be there with me.  He was not able to be with me in the room when Kaylei was born due to a few health issues I was having.

What happens when you are pregnant with a double digit baby?  Let me show you. 
See that beautiful little beaming big sister....she was so happy to have a little brother.  Within 2 weeks I blew up like a balloon!  He was around 8 pounds when I went for my ultrasound in the beginning of May.  I think back and wonder if I would have went the next 2 weeks just how big would he have gotten. We skipped right to the 3-6 month old clothes when he was born, because he didn't fit in 0-3 month old clothes.  I mean we are talking like 15 pounder here!  Gheez....scary thought.  I was absolutely miserable with the Carolina heat and was getting grouchier by the day.  I am just glad he was happy and healthy!   


I would like to add that although I gained around 40 pounds with him, I lost all of my pregnancy weight by time I left the hospital on day 5.  I have always heard that you gain more with girls and it doesn't just go away when they are born and it does when you have a boy.   I really didn't believe that, but that really was the case with me.  Awesome!  Oh, for those of you who do not know.....Gregoireperdew is not my last name.  It is Gregoire-Perdew, but I just go with Perdew.  Gregoire(Grig wa or Greg wa) is my maiden name and since my father died when I was a week old, I kept it.  My children however just have the Perdew portion....that would have just been mean to pass the double name down.


Happy Monday Ya'll!
Have you found any way to make it easier to cope to your littles getting bigger and being their own little person?

7 Years of Marriage and Counting......

I am so happy to say that my husband and I have just passed our 7 year milestone of marriage.   It truly is a blessing to be with someone that loves you back the way you love them.  We met October of 2003 and got married in 2006. Almost together for 10 years and married for 7.  We had a little rough patch at first due to outside sources, but we got through it and all the ones to follow.  Our relationship was really put through the ringer.  My husband and I agree that all of the hard times we went through together in the beginning of our relationship helped us be even stronger today.  We have lots of fun and know each other.  He is the sweetest man ever and I am so lucky to have him.  

Gerry(Jerry) makes me laugh and keeps me safe. He will cook for me, let me sleep late and then make me coffee, climb down hills after driving almost 2 hours just to get me pine cones and do anything he can if he thinks it will make me happy.  I am spoiled to say the least, but he requires a lot as well and I am happy to provide what I can for him.  That's marriage!  Simple things make me happy and just having him by my side does just that.  Shoot I would have never thought in a million years I would be able to be a stay at home mom.  I have been fortunate enough to stay home with each of my kids until they turned 1.  I have been home with little Gerry for almost 3 years.  We have lots in common, but then we have our differences as well which is perfect.  He is my happily ever after.  I am blessed to have him as a husband and that he is such a great father.  He is the fun one out of the two of us. 


This is the beautiful ring he got me for our anniversary.  I was so happy it looked like my smile was eating my face.   Victorian and vintage type anything in jewelry is my favorite.  This is SUCH a gorgeous ring.  
I will share with you on another post the story of the plans my husband put together for our special day. 
He makes me a better person.   I am no good at making interesting stories...it just isn't my niche, but I am happy to fill you in.  :)   So that is a little more about us.   Thanks for stopping by, it means a lot!

Cake Off

When baking sweets for the other:

Gerry- Bakes with his heart in it; the bigger the better and the most elaborate the name the better.
Me- Bakes while trying not to overcook it so it is moist verses the chewing and swallowing AT LEAST 10 times for one small bite to get down without choking! I know you know what I am talking about. :)  When I bake I am seriously focused on display and the prettiness of it all!  I LOVE baking.

* I say- "Aww, it is so pretty!"  According to my husband "IT"S NOT PRETTY, IT LOOKS GOOD!"  Man lingo...haha.

* You hungry? I will make you something to eat.  According to my husband- "You can tell how much someone loves you by the way they make your food"-I think sometimes he may wonder how much I actually love him.....haha!

We started doing this cake off thing in a good nature.  My husband started it after I made him a awesome cake and he said "Yeah, wait until your birthday and see the bomb cake I am going to make you!"  It was history after that.   For about 3 years it went strong with only homemade cakes.  Over the last few years it has been a spotting homemade and store bought kind of thing.

Okay, have a seat and check out some of these super thoughtful desserts and other bday giving.

Poor photo quality only because the original was a little blurry, but it was delicious.

This was by far the most thoughtful and creative cake my husband has made to date.   He smashed up a whole box of banana twins and mixed it with the frosting.   He added it all together on a strawberry cake and you can see how awesome the decorations is.   This one has been the best cake of his and mine was the homemade Italian Cream Cake I made for him.....so he has had the win for years.  SHHH!  Don't tell him that, I will never hear the end of it. 

Turtle Cheesecake from Tripps.

2009- We made brownie sundaes at home.
2010-  He had me some cannolis made at the bakery.
2011- Grabbed some blizzards at DQ! 

They all made me breakfast in bed, we went and had chair massages at the mall and my hubby and I broke in my SPOILED ROTTEN BIRTHDAY GOBLET.  They really do spoil me. 


Oh my goodness....I love this photo.   This will last me AT LEAST until the end of the week.  Chocolate always makes me feel better.  The Olive Garden Moscato is my favorite wine to drink, but we get it for at least 8 bucks cheaper at the grocery store.   My husband got me that beautiful rose you see and I loved it all.   My day actually started off great.   You are going to laugh at me, but I am completely addicted to the Bingo Blitz game and I actually win here and there, but today I won SO MANY 1, 2, 3rd spots plus others and it made me so excited and started my day out right.  My son said "Your computer must know it is your birthday today mama!"  Thanks as always ya'll!

How was your last birthday?

30 Years Ago.....


I was born May 20, 1983 at 3 pounds and 3 ounces in Bay Saint Louis, MS.  I stayed in icu for a long time due to my being so premature and the technology was not even a quarter advanced as it is today.  
Here are a few photos of my mom and dad as well as a few other family members.  

Striped shirt is my maw maw from my moms side.  I look just like my dad if you can't tell.  :)  The lower photo is my Uncle Errol and Jennifer holding Shanika, my Aunt Rita all the way in the back, my mom up front holding me, my maw maw and my Peran(Godfather).

So the story is that my mom and Jennifer was pregnant at the same time and my dad called to say we were headed to the hospital because my mom was in labor and my Uncle Errol said that they were on their way to the hospital too because Jennifer was going into labor.   Needless to say Shanika was born first.  Pretty interesting little story.  I don't have any photos of my dad holding me; he died on May 28, 1983.  I thought I had ran across 1 of him holding me with all the tubes and such but I haven't seen it in years and my mom said that she hasn't seen it.   My mom tells me all the time that I was so small when I was a baby I actually could fit into baby doll clothes.  I love birthdays!  I love decorating the most for everyone else and baking.  Have a great day ya'll.


Birthdays!

Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday!  So today is my birthday and 20's is in my rear view mirror.  Some great years!  Recovered from a Hurricane and rebuilt our lives, rode on an airplane for the 1st and probably only time, married my husband, had Kaylei, had Gerry, I ran my first 5k, my husband got his own truck and is a lead driver now...those are a few of the highlights.   My 20's was full of adventure with best times and worst times and I appreciate them all.  When I was 24 and fixing to turn 25, I got all down because I felt like I was going over the hill; I know I am nuts.  I felt like after 25 then that made me that much closer to my 30's so I mine as well say I am old.  Bring on the wrinkles.....NOT!    I don't feel old at all and I love my age...right now.   Luckily, I have have lots of gracefully aging genes on my mothers and fathers side.(SO RANDOM)  They say that women experience the best years of their life in their 40's. I will cross that bridge when I get to it.  As for my 30's I am excited and ready for this next little decade chapter in my life.  I hope for many things in the next 10 years.  You know until I get the the best years. ;)

Birthdays in our house!   3 right behind each other.
Me- May 
Son- June
Daughter- July 
Hubby- November

A few years into our relationship we started a tradition with trying to beat each other in making the best cake for one another for our birthdays each year.  I am not really a competitive person....most of the time.  My husband on the other hand lives for being the best!  He has come to understand the importance of birthdays to me over the years.  When we first met he could care less about a birthday.

He slacked last year and bought me a dessert and a little mini already made cake.  He cheated and I won by default last year!  I love him dearly and love it all regardless of how it comes to me because it is the thought that counts after all.

I am excited to see what he is making me today.  :)  I will let you know tomorrow.  I hope you all have a wonderful day and thanks for stopping by today.
I have a more personal birthday like post shortly.


Tooth Fairy

Everyone is starting to feel better around the house and I FINALLY got a chance to get my posts back up.  New Year ~ New plan!  I have never missed so many days of not posting.  Kaylei has been on Christmas break so we have been pretty busy around here. I hope everyone had a great New Years.   I packed up all the Christmas stuff yesterday.  I know some people think it is bad luck to put it all up before the New Year, but I got to thinking why go into the New Year with last years stuff.  A tradition growing up was to have black eyes on the first day of the new year and put a dime under our plate for good luck for the upcoming year & I carried it over into my family.  Do you do any kind of traditional things?

Kaylei lost a tooth the other day & was so excited.   She couldn't find her tooth fairy pocket bag my mom made for her on her birthday.  My little crafting diva instantly got to work creating something for her special tooth.

She cut up a bunch of squares & taped them all up. It took her quite a while because everything was individual.  I was pretty impressed with her creation.  Something to put in her memory book.

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She wrote a little note for the Tooth Fairy to find.  It made me smile so much when I saw her creation.   I just love that she accidentally spells her words wrong still, it lets me know she is still my little girl.  One day she will be a little miss know it all & she won't write these cute little notes.

She wanted to make sure the Tooth Fairy found her tooth.  She recently got her very own bunk bed....well it is a bunk system with a desk & book shelf on the bottom.  Pretty impossible to get up there & search for a tooth....my butt would have never found it; woke her up; fallen or had a disappointed little girl in the morning.  So I am glad she made the little box...she even put tape on the bottom to make sure it didn't fall off in the middle of the night.  
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How do you Tooth Fairy?


12 Days of Christmas in our house

Ever have posts you just can't wait to post? Yesterday I wanted to post what I posted today, and completely forgot about the 12 days of Christmas post I wanted to put together.  I tell you some days I am so behind on my content and other days I am just so excited and wanting to post multiple posts.  What a crazy date...12/12/12!

I wanted to share with you guys one of my most favorite and cherisable holiday keepsakes.  My 12 days of Christmas glasses that I scored at an awesome deal last year on ebay due to the eleventh day having a chip in the glass.  However, that is not why they are SO special to me.  They are so special to me because my grandmother had these in the China cabinet every year.  They were in the back for the whole year and in the front during Christmas.  They were there as long as I could remember.  She passed in the early 2000's and Hurricane Katrina ruined the entire house and everything in it so they were lost.  They mean a lot to me.  I may be weird, but I like to have things that my grandmother or mom had when we were growing up, so when I run across things like that I try to get them if I can or just wait and hope for it to come along again.

This is how we do 12 days of Christmas in our house:

My husband has made this a traditional song for us.  This song really could be our family in it.  The song will make you laugh, so press play.

12 Pains of Christmas

And of course 12 Days of Redneck Christmas for laughs.

Traditional 12 Days of Christmas which I think I know the words to finally due to my 7 year old singing it constantly. 

Now on to my glasses- Front/backs

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Happy Holidays!


Make a Daily Gratitude Bottle


In order to make a point to be grateful for each & every day, I created something to help.

Attitude of Gratitude bottle

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Print out your favorite font and cut around the words. 

Tape it to the bottle.

Trace over each letter over and over with a permanent maker until it has got a dark enough letter to see.  

Lift up the paper to trace each letter with the permanent marker on the bottle.

After all of the letters are all traced then you can go over it with some puff paint.

Let dry and it is done. 

*If you made any error or smears then you can use a x-acto tool to remove the extras.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

We started our Attitude of Gratitude bottle today. 

This morning before my daughter went to school, we each said something we were grateful for and we wrote it on a small piece of paper.  We then dropped it into the bottle. 

Each day we will do this and when it gets all full we can either empty it or start a new one.




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