GREAT SALE!!!

i just wanted to pass along this great sale that i found today!! It's at The Children's Place. it's a 40% off Spring Sale. it will pop up on the home page in red & white. you just click on your child's age and sex. for example i clicked on "baby boy". you may be thinking, why is she telling us this? i know how to use the internet!! (here is where i insert my lack of common sense) it took me forever to figure it out!! i kept trying to click on the wrong thing and nothing was happening!!

i got Jack so much cute stuff: 3 pairs of pants, a fleece hoodie for this fall, 3 onesies, 1 romper & a polo shirt. it was over a $100 value that i got for $40!! i must say, i'm a little proud of myself. i LOVE to baby shop but only when i can get good deals!! also if you enter the code SA249 you will get an additional 15% off, now who doesn't love that?!! so go check it out!!! i know you could find something you love for your kiddo! happy shopping!

and thanks to Baby Cheapskate for giving out the 15% off code. i LOVE that blog!!

26?!!!!

so my birthday was on april 4. i turned the big 26. i can NOT believe it. i mean, when i was younger, being 25 or older just seemed so far away and even a little old. now that i am here, and only 4 years from (big gulp) 30, its not so bad! in fact, this past year has been the best of my life and i'm looking forward to the next year.

i've always been a lover of all things birthday. i love my birthday. i always count down and get so excited. now that i'm married and have a little boy, i love birthdays even more! just more fun days to look forward to. this birthday was different for me. but still sweet. ben was out of town most of the day. he was running lights/sound for a band. but i had jack, which was special. it was my first birthday as a mom, which was so fun. i loved getting to just spend the day with my boy. my sister, katie, spent the day with me and then we spent the afternoon at my parents' house. that night, around 8pm when ben and the band boys got home, we all celebrated at my mom's house with burgers & cake. then that following week, ben's parents took us out to J. Alexander's for a super yummy steak dinner, can't beat that!! 26 feels great & maybe i'm crazy, but i'm looking forward to 27!
my birthday present from mom. i love it. we were shopping in jackson the day before my birthday, we saw it in this cool store, Anthropologie. they have so much neat stuff in there. you can get clothes and home decor. a lot of stuff is pricey, but some of the home decor is reasonable! to check out their stuff go HERE.

this was my bday present from my hubby. i absolutely LOVE it. i was surfing online a few weeks ago, and i came upon this lady's website. her name is Lisa Leonard and she makes all kinds of cute jewelry. and it very reasonably priced. when i saw this necklace, i knew i had to have it for my bday. you can get it customized to say anything you want. so instead of "lucky mommy" mine just says "jack" under the little feet. i was so excited that ben ordered it for me & i've worn it every day since it came in. if you are looking for cute jewelry that you can customize, check out her stuff HERE.

loving jack

so. i have a few posts in mind that i want to put on here. but my iphoto is acting crazy so it's hard to upload and edit photos right now. i'm going to do my birthday post, a few recipe posts and some other stuff, but i can't until iphoto gets fixed!! i can upload photos on to blogger but it's hard to upload new photos to iphoto. make sense?!! thank goodness i have a very techno-savvy hubby who is looking into it for me!

so i decided to just post a little bit about how much i am loving being jack's mom. every night that i put him to bed, and i see his sweet little face drift off to sleep, i am reminded of how lucky i am to just have him. i had no idea that being his mom would be so fun, exhausting, exciting, stressful, rewarding and such a blessing! he is such a joy to us. he really is such a happy boy, always smiling, laughing and playing. we never get tired of looking at him and listening to him squeal. don't get me wrong, there are definitely times that i am overwhelmed and feeling like i can barely make it through one more hour b/c i am so tired or stressed BUT none of it compares to seeing that smiling face every morning when i walk into his room and pick him up. the Lord is so good and i thank Him everyday for blessing me with such a beautiful little boy. ok, so now that i've gone and gotten all mushy on you, i'll just post the few pics that i'm able to put up here! have a blessed week!

Chicken Rotel

so i wanted to post this recipe. its one of our very faves! we eat it all the time. i got the recipe out of a southern living recipe book, but i changed it up a little bit. it's been a hit, and i've given out the recipe to a lot of friends, and they all loved it too! it's easy, quick and super yummy!!

ingredients:
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 stick of butter
1 can rotel
1 16 oz box rotini noodles (you can use the regular or garden variety)
1 32 oz block of velveeta
3-4 boneless skinless chicken breast cooked and shredded OR 2 cans chicken breast, drained.


Directions:
* preheat to 350
* boil the noodles according to package and drain.
* if you are using boneless skinless chicken breast, cook them first. allow them to cool and then shred them. i just use 2 cans of chicken breast. they work just as well, taste the same and it cuts the prep time in half!
* in a 9 x 13 pan, add rotel, soup, butter (i cut it into chunks), velveeta (cut into chunks). add chicken. once noodles are cooked, pour on top of everything else. stir to combine everything well. the pan will seem overflowing, but once it starts cooking down, it all fits in fine!
* cook for 30 minutes. this just allows the cheese and butter to melt into everything else! after 15 minutes, take out of the oven and stir well. then allow it to cook for 15 more minutes!


if you love chicken, rotel and cheese this recipe will be a big hit!! let me know if you try it. i would love some new recipes for you too!!

A Sweet Easter

we had such a wonderful first Easter as a family of 3. it was just so special to have jack this year. it made the message of Easter, that Jesus came and died for us and then rose again on the 3rd day, even sweeter. i just got so excited thinking about how Jesus has blessed me with such a sweet little boy and about how i can't wait to tell Jack all about Him! we absolutely loved experiencing Jack's first Easter with him. it was so fun to dress him up in a cute outfit, take him to church to hear about Jesus, have a wonderful lunch at ben's parents, and then spend the evening with my parents. it was a very relaxing day and we can't wait for next year when he can hunt eggs, and we can tell him, again what Easter is truly about! here are a few pics from our fun day!!

our little jack in his sweet outfit!

mommy & jack about to leave for lunch!

my 2 boys! aren't they so cute together?!!

we tried to snap some cute pics of him, but he was only interested in his feet!!

jack with mamie & granddad (ben's parents)

jack with daddy & his brother, tripp! jack just loves his trippy!

he's getting tired of our photo shoot!

jack's first easter basket!!

being sweet & sitting in his bumbo while we eat lunch!

more vacay pics!!

here's a few more from our oh so fun trip!! i'll stick mostly with pics of the little man. i mean, that's all anyone cares about seeing, right?!! plus, he's a lot cuter than us! enjoy!