New Used Clothes

I hit up the local, seasonal, consignment sale here this past Friday night. Todd happened to fly in town around 5:30pm that evening. We took to Lauren to Captain D's for dinner. We are fancy ya'll :) I personally love Captain Ds. That place brings back some great memories of spending time in Charleston when I was little. My grandparents always took us there to eat. Lauren really likes their fried okra and I love the shrimp and broccoli so it's a win win.

After our low key dinner, we drove over to Jill's house. Mike and Todd had a guy's night/playdate and let us girls shop to our heart's content. That was Todd's first playdate. He loved it :)

So here is what I bought for $56....

First up: Adorable blue smocked romper. It's a size 2 but peanut can't wear it yet. I tried it on her and it fell off her shoulders. She'll be sporting it next summer.

I loved this little dainty pink smocked romper. I happened to migrate down the 18 months aisle and this was waiting for me to snatch up.

Super cute Kelly's Kids romper. 

A Dora chair. Lauren loves it. For $5, I couldn't pass it up.

I just love this little white and blue outfit. It was only $4 for the entire outfit. It's an 18 months and looked a little small. I tired it on her when we got home and it fits perfect. I'm so excited!!

A shirt and khacki shorts set. The whole set was only $2. Talk about a bargain. Lauren loves animals and the shorts are perfect. I was excited about this find.

Stride Rite sandals. $2, seriously. Better than the price is the size. 7 WIDE. It's so hard to find wide shoes at consignment sales. Lauren has her daddy's feet and has to wear a wide in sandals. They look great. I just need to add some white polish and they'll be brand new.

I thought these sweet baby Gap overalls would be so perfect for playing outside. Love them!

Not pictured: Cute booster seat to keep at Todd's mom's house for $7. It's in the garage and Im way too lazy to go get it, take a picture, and then upload it. It's cute though.

When I was taking pictures, this is what Lauren and Belle were doing. Snoozing on the couch, on the back, shirt up, silkie blankets galore. That's my girl (s).

Lauren's Valentines Day Par-Tay MDO Style

Lauren had her Valentines Day party at her MDO program on the 15th. She was super excited to give her "Pesents" to her friends and teachers. She was so excited that she smiled with her eyes closed :) That was her thing last week. Anytime I asked for her to say cheese, I got the cheese with the eyes closed. Gosh I love that girl.

She was saying cheese in the picture below. She was slightly annoyed that I kept asking for smiles.

This would be the "Mom, STOP taking pictures, here's your smile" face.

Another annoyed smile...I love it.

That's my little sweet pea. I was totally digging her heart day outfit. I bought it over a year ago on clearance on Gymboree's website. I love buying her clothes early = super duper sale!

Now for some good food stuff. I made a big pot of vegetable beef soup the other night for dinner. I found a recipe on www.allrecipes.com that sounded yummy. I just made a couple of changes and boom, it was good! I have to share.

1 pound of beef. I use grass fed or bison.

2 cans of chopped carrots or fresh

1 bag of frozen peas or a can

1/2 of a white onion, chopped super fine

3/4 cup of bow tie pasta or your pasta of choice

2 stalks of celery, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, finely minced

 1 can of tomato sauce

4 cups of chicken broth

4 cups of water

1 can of yellow corn or frozen

2 packets of onion soup mix

1. Brown beef. Drain.

2. Add your ingredients to the pot.

I served this with a baguette. I brushed olive oil on the slices and then sprinkled with parsley before toasting.

A Little Park Action, Shopping, and Playing

My girl knows a good park when she sees one. We hit up the park where my parent live and Lauren loved it. I confess that I liked it just as much as her. It's really nice and close to their home. Im so used to driving at least 30 minutes to go anywhere so it was nice hopping in the car for a whopping 3 minutes to get to the park.

Her sweet little outfit is a size 12-18 months. I love that Im getting so much wear out of her clothes. Her closet is packed full but no one can say that she won't wear anything twice. It's great.

We make quite a few shopping trips to our grocery store of choice, Earthfare. We are a HUGE fan because they send out amazing coupons. For example, I got a FREE meal for 4 people (it was around an $18 value) for simply spending $10 in their store. Ah-mazing. The free meal was a whole chicken, fresh mashed potatoes, and a big bag of organic carrots. 

Lauren loves the mini shopping carts. We usually escape with only turning the cart over 2 times :)

There have been lots of times being silly with daddy. She enjoys sitting on his head during dinner. Nice, huh? She's a funny one.

After being silly, its time to chill out in front of the TV in the master bedroom. She prefers blankets on the floor, with Belle of course.

The Couch

So my little girl has decided that she really likes to nap on the couch. I can't blame her though. At least 3 days a week, I snooze here too. Well I used to. When Lauren was sleeping in her crib, I always took naps downstairs. They recharge me and I like my "me" time. Lauren has taken over though. I try to put her in her bed for naps but she always yells "Nooooo mama, couch." I think it's cute so we head off to the couch most days. I could care less where she sleeps during the day as long as she naps. 

Belle joined in for naptime this day...

Another day, another couch nap.

Visiting her Valentine, Mr. Chuck E. When Todd is away, the girls like the play. I like to be busy with my girl so we frequently go visit Chuck and his friends. 

Her favorite is the "Choo Choo" this month. It changes monthly, if not weekly.

Happy Valentines Day

Happy Valentines Day from my little Princess. My girl and I are lucky that Todd is home today to spend time with us. We love having him home! 

Lauren and I worked on her Valentines for her class. She loved putting together little candy bags with a princess Valentines card attached to the bag. We may or may not have sampled a few pieces of candy during the process :)

"No more mommy, I all done."

Me: "Lauren, you can sample 1 piece of candy if you finish your bags for your friends."

Lauren: "Oooookay."

This is the forced smile. It's a funny one.

The finished product. Cute heart bags with 3 pieces of candy and a Princess card attached. Lauren is excited about her Valentines Day party at MDO tomorrow morning.

My Day

I often get asked what I do all day, being a stay at home mom. I mean, really? Do people think I just sit around and chill out? My sweet friend, Angie, did a post like this today and it made me laugh so hard. We have similar days and know we will be fast buddies when we make the move to Texas. First, let me say that this is the best job in the entire world. I never want to work full time when my kiddos are little. It's just not me. If I had to, I would in a heartbeat but I love playing and staying home with my girl. 

So, without further ado, here is our day:

Lauren wakes up around 7am and I hear her screaming on the monitor. I refuse to get her. Us Rogers girls don't get up at a 7 something in the morning. Not.Happening. She goes back to sleep until 8. Todd got her this morning. I go back to sleep until 9, thank goodness. I need sleep because Todd is never home. I also have a terrible psycho mind and living on a mountain doesnt help. The boogie man just has to be lurking in the woods. I don't know how single mamas do it. I about pass out with 1 kid - hence why we only have 1 at the moment.

I emerge from a deep fog at 9am to hear Lauren screaming in the den. She is ticked because Todd put her in time out. She is obsessed with changing out DVDs in our DVD player and she isn't allowed to because she's already scratched some movies. She was POed that she had to sit in time out. So I wake up to a screaming toddler, sweet.

***Waking up at 9am is late, I know. BUT I don't go sleep until like 2 or 3 am because I just can't sleep sometimes.***

I jump in the shower to get ready for a playdate at Pump it Up. I get cleaned up super quick, run upstairs to grab Lauren some clothes so we can leave by 10:15 for an 11:00 meet up with friends. It takes us 40 minutes to get anywhere so I try to be on time. It never happens. 

I throw the clothes at Todd. He dresses her and ever does her hair for me. I run back to the bathroom to blow dry my hair. No time for straightening. I scream to the kitchen for Todd to toast her a waffle, cut up an apple, and get her some peanut butter. This would be all me if he was out of town. I love his off days. They are rare but oh how I love it.

Lauren eats, pitches a fit because she needs her diaper changed. She is dressed and ready to go and claims she needs to go tee tee. So we undress her, sit her on the big girl potty, and she just sits there. Nothing. After 10 minutes, she says "All done." Ummm no kiddo, you didn't go potty. Diaper goes back on, clothes back on, and we leave 10 minutes late. Sweet.

We leave for Pump it Up. Lauren is actually quiet in the car. Surely something is wrong. Nope. She is watching Minnie Mouse on her DVD player. Fabulous.

We pull up to Pump it Up, see our 2 friends, and they all go off to play. I start chit chatting with my friends, Amber and Jill, and realize I can't find Lauren. Yes, my child freakin walked off. Seriously. She walked right over to the other play area IN A WHOLE OTHER ROOM. Thanks Lauren. I freak out, can't find her, start sweating, walk to a room next to the one we were in, to find her trying to climb the climbing wall by herself. Dear Lord help me. She is wild.

The kids play, Lauren begs me to go thru an obstacle course with her. I do. She gets mad because I try to tell her to go to the end of the course and not to walk to the front of it. Other kids were trying to play. She has to do it her way.

All 3 kids are almost to melt down mode. We leave. In the parking lot, I meet my friend Becky to pick up a surprise Valentines Day cake for Todd. Becky arrives. Lauren is entertained with a sugary breakfast bar. 15 minutes later, she is kicking and screaming at the car door. She then starts kicking her DVD player. After a stern chat, she stops but starts up 5 minutes later. I tell Becky bye and that I need some tylenol - for my now headache. 

I really really need to stop by Wal Mart to get some Chinese sauce for a Chinese Black Sauce that Im making tonight for our salmon dinner. Do I risk taking her to Wally World? Why of course because I really could care less what the other patrons think if Lauren starts going wild. I drag her in there. 2 seconds into the shopping trip, she finds a Valentines book that makes noise. Sweet. It'll buy me time if she reads it. 5 minutes later, she throws it on the ground and screams "DOWN I WALK NOW." I give in because Wal Mart is packed and I dont need to make a huge scene. I can't take the screaming. I give her a big hug, a pep talk, and say to stay close to mommy. FAIL. She runs into someone else's cart, screams at me, throws a food sample, and refuses to get back in the cart. Whatev. I have shopping to do. 

20 minutes later, we leave. She was an angel at the end of the trip. What gives? We get back to the car. I check on Todd's cake. It still looks great despite sitting in the direct sunlight. Awesome.

Get home. Lauren sees Todd and screams "My daddy, oh my daddy." Can I get an "Amen" that daddy was home? 

Got home around 3:30 from errands. No nap. Lauren desperately needs one. We go lay in mommy and daddy's bed with some Barney. She screams like crazy for a full 20 minutes. No napping. Go upstairs to try rocking. Goes nuts. Throws her sippy cup at the wall, bangs her head, and says "Allllll DONE." 

Todd sits with her on the couch. She is asleep in 2 minutes. Say whaaaat?

Im just sitting down to watch Gangland on Spike channel. These people are wack.

This is harder than any full time job but you couldn't pay me to go back to work. I love my spunky, feisty, loving, sweet, tantrum throwing girl, way more than selling drugs like the old days - prescription ones :)

Choo Choo

Todd and I enjoy the mall train just as much as Lauren. I actually look forward to going to the mall so Lauren can ride the "choo choo mama." She gets so excited. This was the first time for Todd to ride and I think it's safe to say that he enjoyed it just as much as Little L.

She was waving her money and ready to pay. However, when the conductor came to get her cash, she didn't want to hand it over. Smart girl.

60th Wedding Anniversary

My Mema and Papa celebrated 60 years of marriage this month. A whole 60 years. That's a heck of a long time. They were very gracious and came in town with my other Mema to watch Lauren for me while I attended Kimberly's wedding shower. We made sure to celebrate with them by having a delicious Cracker Barrel dinner, followed by a delicious cake made by my friend, Becky. Their real big celebration comes this summer though when they take a big trip to Alaska. 

Lauren is very attached to Papa Lloyd. She follows him around and begs to sit in his lap. 

Their beautiful anniversary cake.

Lauren wanted to be in the picture with them. She would not get down from Papa's lap.

My other Mema and her girl.

Of course Lauren had to be in the refrigerator every .2 seconds. I don't know what it is but the girl loves the refrigerator. Maybe it has to do with that Trop50 orange juice you can see. She is slightly obsessed with "oraaaaange juice mama, please please please."

See....(she was crazy about pointing out the "babas" aka Babies on her yobaby yogurt when she was around 11 months old).

My little one loves to be tickled. She says again over and over.