American Idol

Lee - "Still the One" - Awesome, awesome, awesome! I liked it even more than the original, if that is possible, though I thought it was kind of rocky at the end. I would totally would buy this song! LOVED it.

Big Mike - "It Only Hurts When I'm Breathing" - It was okay... it was a fine job, but it was not memorable to me.

Casey - "Don't" - This was definitely a song I could hear on the radio. I think he brought himself up a few notches in my book and is fighting to win it! Great job.

Crystal - "No One Needs to Know" - I love how she makes these songs to fit her style and personality every week. She is so good at doing that. Another song I can hear playing on the country radio station! She is just so naturally good and it seems effortless for her. Also loved how she had a genuine personal connection to the song, with wanting her boyfriend to propose! :)

Aaron - "You've Got A Way" - Maybe it's just me, but I really am not into Aaron. I kind of can't believe he is still on the show, and fully believe the end of the road for him is coming soon. I guess he did a decent job on the song, but I have a hard time seeing the connection between him and the songs since he has so little life experience. I mean, he is good, really good for 17, but I just don't really enjoy him.

Siobhan - "Any Man of Mine" - Did not like this... she is not a country singer and I do not think this was a good song choice for her at all. The screeching was too much! Bleh. That's about all I have to say about this.


Best of the night: Lee
Worst of the night: Siobhan
Going home: Aaron or Siobhan

16 Months

Here is our Bailey, one year ago today.



At four months old, she was just learning to sit up on her own and had her first taste of rice cereal. Sure glad she has more hair now than she did back then!

What a difference a year makes. :)

Meal Plan Monday

Well, my meal planning was pretty easy for the week since some of our plans got changed last week. I also wanted to use ingredients I already have because I'm most likely not making grocery trips this week except for bread/milk and Harris Teeter triples (starting Wednesday). So I pretty much have all the ingredients to make my meals for the week already. I need to make more of an effort to do that more often!

Here you go...


Monday
Foil-Pack Bruschetta Chicken Bake

Tuesday
Vegetable Chipotle Chili (ended up not having this last week)

Wednesday
Scrambled Eggs (also ended up not having this last week)
Sausage
Toast

Thursday
Spaghetti w/ Smoked Sausage or Meatballs

Friday
Smothered Chicken

Saturday
Eggplant Parmesan (ALSO ended up not having THIS last week, ha!)

A Random Thursday Thirteen I Found

Outside My Window... is my street, which is a cul-de-sac and only has 11 houses on it. I was just thinking today, that even though I'd like to be closer to "town", church, family, etc. I really do love where we live. Next door to me is a family with a little boy who is 2 and 1/2, and a girl who is 3 months younger that Bailey. Diagonal from me is a family with a girl who is 5 months younger than Bailey. Hello playmates! I'm trying to be more "social" and jump into being friends with my neighbors. Any suggestions on this?

I am thankful for… everything! Recently, more than ever before, I have loved being at home with Bailey. Of course I have always loved it, but maybe it's the fact that spring is here, or just renewed inspiration from a book I am reading, but I am finding satisfaction in just being at home with Bailey, and not needing to "do" something every day. I'm very thankful for this. And so is our bank account (gas money)! :)

From the kitchen… is coming the smell of the wheelbarrow tire that my husband needs to put on our wheelbarrow! Getting a bolt tomorrow so he can do that. It took me a couple days this week to figure out what the smell was. It almost has a "gassy" (as in the gas that powers your burners gas, not the other kind, ha!) smell to it, but we are an "all electric" household so I knew it wasn't that. I was glad when I finally figured it out.

I am wearing… pink flowered PJ pants and a Red Sox t-shirt.

I am creating... more organization and simplicity in our home... working on it anyways. Simplicity makes me happy.

I am going… to Mom's house tomorrow (what was that about staying home more often?) to put 2 tubs of outgrown clothes and the "baby" toys in the shed (there's that organization and simplicity I was talking about!). Saturday I'm going to Roanoke to help my baby sister choose a wedding dress! And in two weeks I'm going to Boston!!!

I am reading… "A Wife After God's Own Heart" by Elizabeth George and the May issue of All You magazine (thanks for the subscription, Chris & Laura, I LOVE this magazine!).

I am hoping... to lose some weight. I have exercised every day this week and I'm trying to watch my portion sizes.

I am hearing… the hum of the baby monitor and the dialogue on Flash Forward. Trying to write this and pay attention at the same time!

Around the house… there is more clutter than I would like there to be. It's a never ending battle with a 15 month old and two adults who don't always put things where they belong! :)

One of my favorite things… is the 9-cube unit that we store Bailey's toys and books in. It makes me happy to see everything in its correct place. :)

Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week… going to Mom's tomorrow morning. Spending tomorrow evening at home and having BLT's for dinner, since the sweet man at the produce/plant place down the road gave me 3 tomatoes for free today! Saturday, Vicky is coming to visit, and then we are going to Roanoke with Ashley to look at wedding dresses. Really excited to spend time with Vicky. Sunday morning is church, then Sunday afternoon I have wedding shower and a baby shower to go to. Busy couple of days for sure!

And a picture to leave you with...

Cheese!

Choo-Choo Train

Bailey has recently learned that a train says "choo-choo!" and will now say it when I point out a train to her. There is a train track less than a mile from us, so we can hear the whistle blow when it goes by. It's always fun to stop and say "Do you hear that, Bailey? What is that?" and for her to say "Choo-choo!".

This reminds me of my earliest memory. It was the night that my parents went to the hospital for my baby sister to be born. My grandparents came to stay with me at our house. I believe I woke up in the middle of the night and was scared. My grandma came in my room and cuddled up very close to me. I still remember where my bed was in the room, even. Interesting, the details we are able to recall.

It was quiet enough, that with her head pressed against mine, she could hear my heart beating. She said something to the effect that it sounded like a train was coming through my ears. Sounds funny to see it written down. But there it is, my first memory.

My grandma has been in heaven for over a decade now, but I sure do miss her still. I have a jar of lotion that belonged to her, and every now and then I pull it out and take a whiff, just so I don't forget her scent. More than once, I have thought to myself that I wish she had gotten a chance to know her great-grandbabies, Zoe & Bailey. She would just eat them up. I guess a heavenly meeting will have to do one day. :)

What's your earliest memory?

American Idol... well kind of

I am watching our DVR'd American Idol right now, but I'm not doing a post about it like last week because today was kind of crazy. I didn't get home till after 7:00 and was still running around putting groceries away and cleaning up from dinner after American Idol started.

Bailey didn't get to sleep for her nap until about 12:30 and she slept until 3:00! I had a big day of grocery shopping planned, so we didn't get started until after 3. First, Ashley & Zoe went with us to Harris Teeter. I picked up some great deals there... 6 packs of Huggies diapers for $2.99 a pack, 2 packs of Ballpark franks for 25 cents a pack, an 8 pound bag of oranges for $3.99, and 9 pounds of chicken for $1.44/lb.!

After we dropped Ashley & Zoe off, we went to Walmart. I hate our Walmart right now because they are renovating, so I don't know where everything is at. I'll be so glad when they are done! Anyways, it was 5 something when I was in there and I thought, just by chance, maybe Anthony would be at school still. So I called him and he was still there! So I asked him if he would come get Bailey from me, so I could have an easier, quicker time getting my shopping done. And being the wonderful husband and father that he is, he came and rescued Bailey from the shopping cart and took her home for some daddy/daughter time. I am SO appreciative that Anthony did that for me. It's so much easier to shop without Bailey! :)

So then I finished up at Walmart, and then ran into Kroger for a few things. There I got a tube of Colgate toothpaste, Carefree pantiliners, two packs of bologna, and a Rotisserie chicken for dinner, all for $1.27!

Then my last stop was Sharp Shopper, our local grocery discounter. I got a ton of stuff there, some really great deals. They are having customer appreciation week, so I'm hoping to win something from the drawing. :)

Well, now I am home, all the groceries are put away, the house is relatively clean, and it's time for me to relax and watch Lost. :) Hope everyone is having a great week.

Meal Plan Monday

Monday
Poppyseed Chicken


Tuesday
Scrambled Eggs
Bacon


Wednesday
Pizza Pockets


Thursday
Hamburgers
Baked Beans


Friday
Vegetable Chopotle Chili


Saturday
Eggplant Parmesan
Pasta
(Vicky visiting!)