Two Sweet Boys

The Easiest Chili You'll Ever Make

This is a recipe that I stole from Mom, who received it from someone at her work. 

It is so easy and good (and what we ate tonight)!!! I serve it with cheese, sour cream, and saltines or tortilla chips. 

EASY Chili

2-2.5 pounds ground beef

1- 24 oz thick and chunky salsa (I like medium)

1 package chili seasoning

1 can black beans (rinse if you like, but I just dump it in straight)

1 can chili beans (get HOT if you want a little kick)

1. Brown ground beef

2. Add other ingredients

3. Simmer for just a few minutes and it is ready

Ya'll.... this new is camera is the stuff....

One of the things I've been really wanting lately is a DSLR camera. Up until my last post, almost all of the pictures on my blog came from this camera:

Yes.. that is right. This pitiful-looking, juice on the lens (Grayson's juice), lens cover doesn't even close, dropped 1000 times (800 x by me, 200 x by Grayson) camera is mine..... I'm going to do better with this next one, I promise!!

Mom and Dad decided I needed a hobby, and they surprised me on my birthday!!
Now I have a Canon EOS Rebel t2i:

Obviously, I haven't taken a picture of my actual camera yet.

I barely know how to operate this thing, but today I tried a few things:

Pictures of Grayson

Pictures of pretty fall leaves

Flowers

YAY for new cool things!!! 

Christmas is Here!!!

Cute puppy.... just because...

Crayons, already?!?!

A few weeks ago, Grayson discovered crayons. Ever since then, one of his favorite things to do is to draw and color things with them.

Cuteness at its best! 

Coloring Away!!!

 The only problem with this crayon thing is that if you're not careful, sometimes you'll find crayon in places it should not be.

Example #1

Honestly... I really liked this basket-like thing... :(

Example #2

Will we ever be able to sell this house when the time comes?!?! I think not!

However, any Mama would be proud to display her 14-month old's artwork when it is on paper and sweet like this:

Grayson and Santa

Grayson met Santa a week ago!! Today I went to look at the photos from that day and I was so happy with  the results!!

This is one of the proof photos (actually a reject) that I looked at and then photographed... so the original copy is much nicer quality. There is probably something highly illegal about taking a picture of a picture, but I figure maybe the government will let it slide just this once. Here is our boy:

The Engagement Party!!

We had a great weekend preparing for Stephanie's party!! Here are some photos of the big event:

Our Afternoon in Pictures

Our afternoon in pictures:

Looking at the computer with Mommy

What? :) 

Love my boys!

What a sweet baby!

Playing with Daddy!!

Running around the house

Happy Baby

Centerpiece Party :)

Tonight, Mel, Stefanie and I got together to put together some centerpieces for a sweet friend's engagement party that is this weekend.

Actually the story went like this:

1. Melissa and Stefanie Worked:

2. I played with Melissa's puppy, Dallas. 

3. Presto!!! Centerpieces! 

This Boy Likes to Flip

One of Grayson's new favorite things to do is to flip. This is how it works:

STEP 1: Get ready to flip!!!!

STEP 2: Get Mommy or Daddy to flip your feet over your head!

(I had to put the camera down to complete this step.)

STEP 3: SMILE!!!!!!! Then do it again!!

Now I have no excuses!!

I found my camera charger!!! Here are some pictures from the last few days:

Enjoying the SC/FL game on Saturday Night

Playing with Play-Doh (Yes, I know I'm crazy)

Giving me a little piece of Play-Doh

A Good Kind of Pain

My thighs hurt.

Haha... really, they do.

I couldn't figure out exactly why my legs were so sore today until it hit me... I sure have had more time to pick up my Grayson and play with him this week!

Still working on finding my camera charger...

This Is What Playing From Your Heart Looks Like...

This weekend the Rebel Regiment competed at our State Contest. Yall... our kids were so good!!! Unfortunately, we weren't very happy with our placement. We really expected to come in 3rd place (based on where everyone stood from previous competitions this year), and we were shocked when we were announced as fifth.

I've heard people in our community talking for years about how the band is not as good as it used to be. I take their opinions with a grain of salt (even though it does hurt my feelings a little)... I just believe that you can't watch this and really believe that this band can't be labeled as one of Byrnes High School's best bands.

Anyway-- without further discussion... here are my band babies!! :)

Cool Baby

Some things I've learned

One day (maybe when marching season is officially over) I'm going to find my camera charger so I can charge the thing. Until then, we're stuck with my cell phone photos. 

Some things I've learned:

1. Just when you think your child is REALLY sick, you'll get permission from the on-call nurse to give him a touch of Benadryl. In turn, he'll sleep twelve hours and wake up laughing. 

2. Don't ever take your almost 14 month old with you to vote. He'll scream "I GET DOWN!" (which sounds like "AhGehDow") the entire time... you'll make it all the way through one of the amendments and then decide that they can't be more important than leaving so that you don't embarrass yourself more than you already have... 

Jason showing off his tower and Grayson showing off his!

He REALLY did make the one he is holding! 

 

Sick Day Turned Fun Day

Today I took a sick day.

Grayson had a bug this weekend in Columbia, and we thought it could have been an ear infection. When I took him to the pediatrician today, he was as happy as he could be and I felt silly when the pediatrician said that he looked great to him!

However, this sick day turned out to be wonderful! Grayson and I played all day long, went on a walk, and laughed and laughed. I really think he may have forgotten how cool his Mama could be!! I don't think I've smiled so much in a month!

My eyes teared up when we were walking around the block this afternoon and I realized just how lucky I am to be his Mommy. God has given me such an incredible gift and I am so blessed to be able to call Grayson my son.

As it turns out... this sick day actually did make me feel better. :)