Yes, I'm "That" Mom!!

Ok, so look. I'm gonna just step out on a limb here and say that I think child beauty pageants are rediculous! Sure, if you can keep it at a "just for fun" level, that's one thing. But for all these "Toddlers and Tiaras" moms, I just don't get it. All the money, the self-esteem issues, and everything else that comes along with it, I just don't see the point.

However, I did put Wyatt in a modeling contest. Oh yes, I'm one of "those" moms! haha. It was totally innocent and he has no idea what it's all about, but we had a blast! A local photog in our area had posted a sign in a business that I frequent about a child modeling contest for Strasburg. The winner gets a poster hung in our local Strasbug store, and lots of other great prizes. Being that I LOVE their clothes and have the CUTEST child ever (uh hum, I'm partial, I know), I thought it was perfect! Where do we sign up?!? So, Tuesday I took him to do his session. These are a couple that the photographer released for our use! 

He was HAMMING it up!! Let me tell you. He really loved Mrs. Jennifer, and she was so great with him (you can tell she's done this a time or two)! We had such a good time, and he even got a cookie afterwards.......talk about the way to a child's heart!
We won't know if he won for a couple of weeks, but even if he doesn't we had a great time! Plus, some pretty stinkin' cute pictures that I will be purchasing (of course).

Applique Take 1/Fall Decorations :)

So, as most of you know, life here on the farm is pretty busy this time of year. Crops are ready to get out, which means many evenings without the hubby. I've been wanting to take up applique for a long time, but it just hasn't worked out. Well, tonight was my chance! I had already purchased all the supplies, so I had no excuse. I watched a tutorial online (I'll try to post the site later). It seemed easy enough. Well, let me tell you, it isn't that easy! To all you ladies who sew, I give you props for sure! It was pretty darn tough. However, I didn't think I did too bad for my first time. The stitching leaves a lot to be desired, but I'm blaming that on my machine! haha.

*The bird pattern was a freebie on another blog! Isn't it super cute?!

Another thing I've tackled the past few days is our Fall Decor. I just LOVE to decorate this time of year, and I finally got my porch finished. I was pretty pleased with the results!

I found this Give Thanks sign at an antique store for $7, it's not really old but I love it anyway!

I think the mums this year are some of the prettiest I've ever seen. We have a local roadside stand here that has the best flowers and produce ever!

These cornstalks on the posts are courtesy of Ellis Farms! I talked the hubby into cutting them down for me yesterday. He wasn't sure about the idea, but I like it.

My sweet tricycle planter, I just love it!

Ready for the trick or treaters (although I shouldn't have bought my candy so early, I've already been into it.....ugh!)

One of my favorite touches, a fall wreath from Big Lots!! Love cheap finds!

It's Fall Ya'll

Friday morning I headed up to Tennessee to do a little guy's 1 year pics. I've known his mom's family for some time, and we just had the best time! I'm telling you, I just have the best "non-job" ever! The mother kept telling me about her aunt's house that would be really great for pictures, so we loaded up and headed to her house. This is what I saw when we pulled up! I was in heaven. Fall is my absolute favorite time of the year, and I just LOVE all the decorations and the colors. These were some of my favorite ever! I mean, check out those scarecrows, are they not awesome?!? I took a picture so I could try to duplicate them next year.

We got some really great pictures of the little guy too. Those will be posted on my photography blog in a couple of days (when I finish putting my "touches" on them)!

So sad....

Yesterday I had 40 followers.

Today I have 39.

I hope I didn't offend anyone.

I was so excited to have 40 (pitiful, I know).

I will try to be a better blogger.

I promise.

Giveaway!!!

Ok ladies!! Go over to visit Mimi Charmante's blog for a free wrap giveaway!!

They are beautiful, and look very comfy for the cold weather that's coming :)

Check her out!

She has the most beautiful things!

Wordless Wednesday

Gulf Shores Trip

This weekend was a blast!

My two guys and I headed down to Gulf Shores for one of my best friend's bro's wedding. We had such a great time, and I just LOVE their family. Although, I think they just invite us along so we will bring Wyatt! They absolutely LOVE him to pieces. They live just down the street, so we have become more like family than friends. 

Wyatt had a great time playing on the beach! He loved the ocean and the sand, but he didn't like it too much when he realized the sand stuck to him.....hehe. He made me a little nervous being so fearless in the water! I'm glad he wasn't scared though. I think he will enjoy beach trips for many more years!

I couldn't resist taking a BAZILLION pictures! He just looked so cute in his little trunks. He is getting so big :(

I don't know what I ever did before him. He's my life!

And, so is this guy! My husband is such a hottie :)

Saturday night and Sunday night, my friend's mom stayed in with Wyatt while we went out to eat. Of course, LuLu's is one of my FAVS , so we had to go there!

This picture was taken the day of Jacob's wedding. I LOVE it! I am so printing a big one to hang in my house.  There is not a daddy on this earth that loves their boy as much as this one does. It makes my heart happy!

This was the main event!!! The big wedding. I was so glad they asked me to come down and take pictures so I could share in their day. It was so simple and beautiful! I hope one day Morgan and I can go down to the beach and renew our vows (Although he gets so nervous, I don't know if I should make him go through that again!).

My "other" family!

Jeff, Whit (one of the best friends a girl could ask for), Jimmy, Renea (Wyatt's Aunt Nae), Ashley, Jacob, MeMaw Carolyn, Grandaddy Letus

We LOVE them!

Me and Whit!!

It was such a wonderful trip, but I must admit I'm so glad to be home! Between Baltimore last weekend, and the beach this weekend, I'm ready to put up the suitcases for a while! Tomorrow starts my "Fall on the Farm" photography sessions, so I'm sure that will keep me busy editing the next few weeks. 

I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have a million things going on!!

Proverbs 31:30

"Charm is deceptive, and beauty fleeting; 

but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."

This scripture could not better describe Stephanie Nielson. Although I don't know her personally, I have been following her blog (the Nie Nie Dialogues) for sometime and I feel that it could not be more suiting for her. I was so moved by her piece on Oprah today, it caused me to re-examine my life. So many times we take small things for granted. I thank God that he used her to be a great example of a Godly woman. If you weren't able to view the episode today, it can be found at Oprah.com.

Dresses and Costumes and Crafts, oh my!!

Today I had planned on staying at home and getting ready for our next excursion this weekend, but being the "Goer" that I am, I decided I needed out of the house! 

I had a couple of things to return to Target, so Wyatt and I headed out to H'ville to run some errands. I also wanted to see if I could find him a Halloween costume there. I had looked online, but nothing really appealed to me except $50 boutique costumes that I just can't justify! Morgan had really wanted him to be a monkey this year (since we call him that all the time), but all the monkey costumes just looked so cheesy. Anyway, today must have been my day because I found the CUTEST monkey costume! I had seen it online before, but pictures just don't do it justice. It is adorable. And, they only had 1 left. And, it was just his size. And, it was $20!!! So, I bought it!! haha.

While we were there, I ran across this dress! It was so cute, and I thought it would be great paired with a simple cardigan for this weekends beach wedding. Of course, it is a mile too long so I'll be spending tomorrow hemming up the bottom, but for $17 I couldn't turn it down.

After a few more odd and end things at Target, I left there spending exactly $55! I LOVE that place. All that for what 1 costume would've cost me if I ordered it from an online boutique!! With all the money I saved, I can get Wyatt the banana goodie bag from Pottery Barn :)

When we left Target, we decided to run and grab some lunch and go see Nonni (my Mama). I mean, we hadn't seen her since Sunday! I was having withdrawals. We talk numerous times a day, but if I don't see her a couple of times a week something's wrong!

When we finally made it back home around 1. Wyatt was passed out in the carseat. He was so exhausted! I brought him in, and he took a 2 1/2 hour nap (I squeezed in a couple of minutes of shut-eye myself). After nap-time, I decided to try this cute craft I had seen on the Martha Stewart website. I thought it turned out really cute! We did ours on black construction paper with the background in white. I only had a brown 5x7 frame, so I need to get a white one and I think it will look really cute in his room. I'm trying to do better about doing little things like this to remember his childhood. I hope to one day be able to get it out and show his kids!

Tomorrow I really have to get some things done, but it sure was a great day today!

Wild Weekend!

*WARNING- Lots of pics!!

Thursday we left for Baltimore for my brother's wedding. I was a little concerned about taking Wyatt on a plane, and away from his routine in general. Well, let me tell you, I could not have asked for a better child this entire weekend. He was PERFECT! I don't believe the kid cried one time. What a great little traveler he is (which is good because I LOVE to go!).

He loved his first plane ride. He kept saying, "Plane, Plane"! He was so excited.

When he wasn't driving his trucks on the seats, he like to look out the window and see what was going on. Of course, Nonni's lap is one of his favorite spots!

After getting up at 5, when we arrived in Baltimore he was pooped! He fell asleep in Uncle Justin's truck as soon as he picked us up at the airport.

This handsome fella is my older brother! He was the man of the hour :)

After naps, Justin took us into Ellicott City and showed us around. It was BEAUTIFUL! For all my antiqueing buddies, it doesn't get much better than this. They had the most gorgeous things I've ever seen. Such a neat place! I must go back.

*Please note: The bag in my hand is the only purchase I made the entire trip! This cute little shop had these great beach towels on sale for $7!!! Of course, I couldn't turn that down since we are heading to Gulf Shores next weekend!!

At this point, Justin was tired of being our tour guide. Mama and I wore the wrong shoes, and we made it pretty known!! I thought we were troopers though, we hung in there :)

Gorgeous historic cemetery in Ellicott City. Some of markers dated back to the 1800s.

Thursday night we ate at the Crab Shanty. Oh heavenly day, it was WONDERFUL!!! Pretty hard to beat East Coast crab. You won't taste anything like that in Alabama. I wish I could've put those crab cakes in my purse...hehe

Friday morning, we were up and at it ready to head to Washington D.C. Not before a little Waffle House of course!! I had to have my cup of coffee (or 2)!!

We took the Metro into town, which was quite an experience. I had never taken any form of public transportation (besides a plane), so it was quite interesting! We did pretty well though, and Wyatt LOVED it. He loves anything where there are lots of people to watch.

We weren't able to take a guided tour, since time was an issue, but we were able to see lots of the city. Here we are at the U.S. Navy Memorial.

The Capitol building was so neat. I didn't realize it was that large, and the landscaping around it was GORGEOUS!!

Wyatt did great in the stroller, but Morgan decided to take him out and let him ride on his shoulders for a while. He thought he was so big!

In front of the Washington Monument.

Ok. Let me fill you in on a little secret. My husband is addicted. Not to alcohol, or cigarettes, or drugs. He's addicted to hotdogs. Yes, you heard me right. I am not kidding. Every week we go through 1-2 packs of hotdogs at our house. He LOVES them. So of course, his only request was that we get a hotdog from a street vendor in D.C.. So, I supported his habit and that's just what we did! Here's Wyatt waiting patiently on his hotdog!!

After the hotdog, we had to rush back to our hotel and get ready for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner Friday night. 

Saturday morning, we all got up and hung around the hotel for a while. Notice Wyatt's poor little crib he had to sleep in :( It was kind of pitiful, but he didn't seem to mind. We asked the hotel for a portable crib, and they bring us this thing which more resembles a orphan crib. So sad!

We decided we had plenty of time before the wedding, so we headed to Gettysburg, PA. It was really interesting! I wish we could've taken a tour there because there was so much to look at, but we didn't have time. We did see some people portraying Civil War life. It was really neat.

Once again, Mama chooses cuteness over comfort! haha. I at least wore flats that day!

My little family.

After Gettysburg, we headed back to the hotel and got ready for the big wedding! I took a few pics at the ceremony, but the church didn't allow flash so my pictures are pretty blurry. Here's one of the bride and groom!

Us at the reception

The Mr. and Mrs.!!!

This boy hammed it up! He would NOT get off the dance floor :) Oh wait, he's mine. No wonder!!

Morgan, Me, Parsons and Amy

(My bro's best friend since elementary, and his g/f)

Justin, Me, Brian "Boochie", and Parsons

This little girl was so cute! She loved Wyatt, and played with him the entire night. We had so much fun. He was passed out before we even made it back to our hotel room!

This morning, we woke up at 6. Plane left at 9:25 ET, and we were back in Nashville by 10:30 CT. It's been quite a whirlwind trip, but we had a great time!

Tomorrow will be full of laundry, and cleaning so we can get ready to leave for the beach on Friday. Go, Go, Go..... as Wyatt would say :)