Another favorite....

Going anywhere these days takes major preparation on my part and there never seems to be a bag big enough to contain all of our stuff. The biggest challenge has been the beach/pool bag. By the time you pack the towels, pool toys, sunscreen, and snacks, there is no room for adding anything extra and good luck finding anything once it's so tightly jammed in there. My solution? The Land's End Extra Large Classic Tote Bag. Used my 40% off coupon and free shipping and got this great tote bag that has more than enough room for everything we would want to take to the beach or pool. I love the key holder so I don't lose my keys and the inside, divided pockets are a God-send. Don't get me started on the zippered-top.......

It's even big enough for Hayes!

One of our favorite annual events was this weekend, the St. Jude golf tournament at Southwind, and we had a great time hanging out with old friends. Watching all the kids play together is such fun and it makes it hard to remember a time when they weren't around. Whatever did we do when they weren't there to entertain us? Oh right....relax, have a drink, talk about non-kiddy things. I'm starting to recall....Here are some pics of the fun.

It was so hot, as always, but Hayes and Campbell found a good way to cool off. At least for a second, they were both happy....

Then she moved on to her other man, Cole, who's only 3 days older than her. She seemed a little uninterested in him, but maybe she's just playing hard to get. That's my girl!

Meanwhile, Gray and Lewis caught up on old times. I imagine they had a very meaningful and fulfilling conversation based on the looks on their faces. 

Later, they shared insights into their favorite book featuring the always mysterious character, "Thomas the Train". A good time was had by all.

New favorite thing....

I love finding things that I quickly realize I can't live without. Here's the latest.....

These are made by Crocs and are the comfiest, lightest shoes I have ever worn! I love that they are so bright and cheery. They also come in yellow, green, purple, blue, orange, and other fun colors and patterns too! Adam got me hooked on them after he bought a pair. Don't worry, his are much "manlier" than these and are a tan color (although don't think for two seconds he didn't want the sky blue ones, but I thankfully was able to talk him out of them!).  Now if only I could find them in the kids' sizes!

Veggie lasagna

I HAVE to share this recipe for vegetable lasagna because normally, I would not think this was nearly as yummy as it is. I found it in some parents magazine a couple of months ago and thought I'd give it a whirl. Since it doesn't contain meat, I just knew Adam would make a comment about it "missing something". To my surprise, he loved it! Even Hayes gobbled it up and we've made it several times since! I made it just yesterday for my sweet friend Elise who just had a baby girl (adorable Adele) last week. Hope they enjoy it as much as we have!


Ingredients:
- 1 zucchini, chopped
- 1 red, orange, or yellow pepper, chopped
- 1/2 cup shredded carrots
- 3 cups baby spinach
- 1 jar pasta sauce
- 8 lasagna noodles (we use whole wheat and you can't tell)
- 1 carton ricotta or cottage cheese (depending on preference)
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:
1.  Prepare zucchini, pepper, and carrots and put them all in one big bowl. Add 2 tbl water, cover, and microwave for 2 minutes, then drain.Add the spinach and set aside.
2.  In a 9x13 dish, layer 1/2 cup sauce, 4 noodles, half the veggies, half the ricotta, 1 cup sauce, then 1/3 cup mozzarella cheese. Repeat with 4 more noodles, remaining veggies, remaining ricotta, 1/3 cup mozzarella, and the rest of the sauce. Top it with the remaining 1/3 of the mozzarella and cover with foil.
3.  Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Let sit for 15 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

So, I know I mentioned in my earlier post that we had recently had our laundry room redone, but I wanted to elaborate on the process. For those of you who haven't seen it before we made the improvements, I've added some "before" pictures to help you appreciate the "after" ones a little more.

As you can see, it was about as bad as a room can get and an eyesore from the moment we saw it. From a popcorn ceiling with a patched up crawl space entry to flimsy wood paneling, this was clearly a do-it-yourself kind of renovation on the cheap. The vinyl flooring had been literally eaten by something (long before we moved in thankfully) and the wire shelving was ridiculously ugly and ineffective. The light fixtures were shiny brass and faux crystal, yet were probably the nicest thing in the room. Nearly five years ago when we bought the house, I assumed it would be the first room we tackled. But somehow, other rooms gained priority and the laundry room sat untouched for all of this time. Part of the rationale was that no one ever saw the laundry room. I mean, when you visit someone's house, how many times do you see their laundry room? The other argument was that for so long, it was the dog's room. Sadly, it contains dogs no longer and there was finally no legitimate excuse for its pitifully outdated state.

Now that we're on one income, renovations are pretty much a luxury, if not a far-off dream these days. So, I began scouring the internet and ended up entering three different laundry room makeover sweepstakes. Adam kindly humored me by videoing my pleas to "pimp my laundry room", but alas, they went unanswered. Fortunately, my hubby knew just the thing to make this gal feel loved on Mother's Day and that's how we ended up with this.....

It's nothing fancy, but it sure feels luxurious to me! I never thought I would enjoy doing laundry as much as I have over the last couple of weeks, but I swear I find myself making up excuses to go in there. I jump at the opportunity to iron a pair of moderately wrinkled shorts! I run to the dryer when it buzzes to begin folding the clothes. Strange, I know, but very, very satisfying. We should have done this years ago......

We're so excited that summer is finally here and hoping to squeeze in lots of fun, friends, and family in the next few months! So far, we're off to a great start....

Mothers Day this year was extra special now that our little family is finally complete. We spent the day at Lovie and Papa's house with Aunt Lala, Uncle Andrew, and cousin Greer. There is nothing better than watching the little ones play together, even as young as they are. Adam and I both have such fond memories of playing with our own cousins as children and know that they'll enjoy it as much as we did in the years to come.

 My Mother's Day present was the best ever.....not diamonds, not a spa treatment, or a shopping spree either.....a new laundry room! Who'd have guessed that something so unglamorous could make a girl feel so special? If you've seen it pre-renovation, you know what I mean. No more dog-eaten vinyl floors, paneled walls, or wire shelving. I'm completely in love! Thanks Adam, Gray, and Hayes for the best Mother's Day gift ever!

It definitely overshadowed the 8" of water we found in the den the weekend before, which ruined our wool rug and left permanent water marks on our leather couch. Not a fun thing to wake up to in the morning, but we know so many others had it so much worse in other parts of the region.

Last Friday, we had a great time at Zoo Brew with our good friends, the Higdons, and enjoyed what was probably the nicest night (weatherwise) that we'll have all summer. If you've never been, it's a great event, especially if you like beer. I was a little underwhelmed by the food, but the people watching and music were great. Unfortunately, we had to head home at an earlier hour than we wanted so we could leave early the next morning for our first family vacation. Trust me, we were glad we went home when we did....a 9+ hour car ride with 2 little ones would not have been a great combo with a hangover. Even after getting a DVD player installed in the car and filling a bag with Dollar Tree treats and munchies, Hayes still fussed the majority of the way. Gray, on the other hand, couldn't have been easier and stayed glued to the movies, furiously shoving Scooby Snacks into his mouth the whole way there. As it turns out, poor Hazey had an ear infection, which we learned only after visiting the Destin Urgent Care facility a few days after our arrival. But after a day on a Z-Pack, she was back to her old self for the most part and we were glad to have our sweet bird back. Hayes had an otherwise wonderful time in Florida and loved the sand, the pool, and having her Lovie, Papa, and P there to love on her. We are convinced that she was waiting for an audience because while we were there she started walking! She's been standing for a few weeks on her own and even taking a step or two at a time. But, now she's officially a walker and we can already see we've got our hands full with her!

In typical Gray fashion, he threw us for a loop and hated the beach from the instant he saw it. He cried when his feet touched the sand, screamed when he went into the seaweed-filled water, and begged to go back to "Mempis" on a regular basis. We were convinced that over time his fears would vanish and he would learn to love the beach that his Mommy and Daddy grew up visiting, but no such luck. All I can say is thank goodness for the pool. We went at least once a day and he adored every second we were there. He loved his puddle jumper and how independent he could be with it on and had so much fun jumping into our arms from the side. I'm still not giving up on the beach with him, but I know now that we always have to have a pool wherever we stay just in case. We had so much fun watching the ships and fish come in at the docks at the end of the day, getting ice cream at the famous Kilwin's, breakfast at the Donut Hole, and seafood almost every night. But most of all, we loved reminiscing about the things we did when were kids at the beach and knowing that one day our kids will look back and do the same. Here's to reliving old memories and making new ones!

The Pattersons

Time flies....

Once again I'm sitting here in disbelief about how much time has passed since I last posted and how much more has happened! Now that Staxtacular is completely wrapped up, I have been enjoying the extra time with the kids and trying to make the most of Spring before Summer arrives and it's too darn hot to do anything. We've been to the zoo several times, and My Big Backyard, and have had a great time playing with our neighbors too. I love High Point and all of the little families here. Just the other day when we were outside in the yard, our neighbors asked us over for dinner along with some other neighbors. It's things like this that make it hard to imagine living anywhere else.

Adam is really settling into his new job and LOVING the fact that he's no longer traveling. I had forgotten how nice things could be with him around all the time. I'm getting spoiled! Just yesterday we met at a park near his work for lunch so that the kids could play and we could spend some time together. What a perfect day!

Hayes is into everything these days and so much fun. She is crawling (if that's what you want to call it) and can get anywhere she wants to get with a little effort. She pulls up, cruises, and can even balance on her two feet for a couple of minutes before plopping back down. She is clapping, waving bye-bye, spinning around, and saying "uh oh", "bubba", and of course "momma" and "dada". She tries to mimic the sounds she hears us make and remains in awe of her big brother, or "bubba", as she calls him. She has 4 teeth and is busting out of her 12 months clothing already, even though she's only 10 months old. She has been refusing baby food all together for a couple of months now and has very little interest in her bottles. Thankfully, she'll pretty much eat whatever we eat, especially if she sees Gray eating it. Thank goodness for peer pressure and copycat syndrome! We have started to think about her 1 year party and even though I thought I'd be sad about it, since this is my last baby, I couldn't be more excited. Having seen Gray go through the stages and ages that she is about to enter, I am filled with anticipation more than anything else. She is such a sweet, funny, crazy little girl and I can't wait to see what type of a toddler she becomes!

Gray is, as always, a mess and I love every second of it. He is talking in full-blown sentences, repeating everything he hears, and learning to push my buttons. He loves to interact with Hayes, but is still very against sharing anything with her, which we are working constantly on.  I know that we have some big challenges ahead with potty training, putting him in a big boy bed, and taking the paci away, but for the next little while we are just going to let things be as they are and when he's ready, we'll take the plunge. Yikes!

We've had some bad luck here over the last couple of weeks with the microwave going out (or being blown up by Adam, I should say), the den flooding, etc. but overall, I can't complain. It saddens me to hear about all of the people who are suffering as a result of the oil spill and the recent weather and my heart goes out to them as they begin to pick up the pieces. Until next time.....

The Pattersons