Stuck in the Middle with You

I had a thought last night as I hung out with some of my best friends at supper club. We have been best friends for close to 17-20 years, which is just crazy because we are only 28 years old. We still joke around, listen to get other, and bring up the old and new times. Every time I'm with my friends, it takes me back and I don't want to leave. But Ben and I are in such different places in our life and I miss being able to hang out with my friends more. Not that Ben would mine, but we have to be there for the girls and I can't just get up and go whenever I want to anymore. Not that I dislike my lifestyle by any means, it's just hard to hear my friends talking about going out to dinner, happy hour, going shopping, reading a book, watching their favorite shows, etc. "Hard" really isn't even the right word, it's more "jealousy" that I want to be doing the same thing. I just wish we were all in the same place, and I know one day they will have kids and we will be able to all hang out again with our kids...I just have to patiently wait and enjoy the times when I do get to hang out with my friends.

Then I have my other friends that I run with who are the complete opposite. They have children that are older, they are older and have been working longer and are able to provide more for their family then we can. All week I heard them planning their trips to Disney World and other various vacations. I envy them so much and hope that one day we will be able to do all of those things. The girls are still too young to take and do stuff like that, so again I just have to wait patiently. The good news is I will have several words of wisdom for when we do go.

Needless to say, I’m stuck in the middle. Being in the middle only gives me the opportunity to enjoy my life as it is now and savor every moment with the girls and make them as happy as they can be. I look forward to sharing my words of advice with my best friends when they do have children. And I can’t wait to enjoy watching their children grow up, just like they have enjoyed watching the girls. Giving them the opportunity for a “date night” or a break and babysitting just like they have done for us. Also, seeing the girls faces when their Christmas present one year is a pair of Mickey Mouse Ears and tickets to Disney World. It’s exciting waiting and wishing all at the same time and I have a great husband, two beautiful children, and wonderful friends and family to be their with me the whole way!



Trouble

ME loves her teacher at school...Ms. Toya. When you went to pick her up the other day Ms. Toya just looked at me and said, "ME has been cracking me up all day, she just comes up with the most random stuff and she doesn't stop talking. She is to smart for her own good."

Then yesterday she sent me this cute picture of ME! You just can't help but smile at her, even if she doesn't stop asking you a million questions.

Some Day

So Ben randomly sent me some links one day to houses...just for looking purposes of course. And we came across a perfect house for us. Its 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, on 4 acres, built in 2005, etc etc... I could go on and on. Needless to say, it has everything that we are looking for in a house. The only problem is it is in Leesville, which is about 30-40 minutes away from downtown. Again we were just looking and don't want to move, but we couldn't help but drool over this house.

The next house we move in we want it to be one of the last houses. Where the girls will "grow up" and not that we don't like our house now, but we aren't looking to stay there forever. Luckily Ben and I came to our senses and knew that it would not financially be possible right now, but we would have to change our whole lifestyle around. We wouldn't be just 7 miles from work, around family and friends, and the girls would have to move schools, etc etc. The negatives outweighed the cons for sure. But a girl can hope one day we will have a huge house for our family and a horse and a place for Butter in the backyard for me some day.

Slip-n-Slide

This weekend Uncle Wes got to come home. He's home for two weeks and then has to go back but we got a chance to go to Athens to spend some time with him, Laura, and Baby Mason. They invited some of the friends to come over for a cookout Saturday afternoon. So we got there early to have some family time. Course with two children running around, there's not much sitting around and talking, especially when they see this in the backyard.

Laura rented a huge slip-n-slide for the day!!! It was awesome!!! I don't know who had more fun, the children or the adults. The girls must of gone down 100 times, if not more. ME liked to walk down and then slide, but Grayson loved flying down and me catching her at the end. The other parents and adults probably thought we were crazy, but she had a smile the whole time and kept running around and getting in position for someone to throw her again.

After we went down the slide on our 5th "last time", we finally managed to get the girls off of it. Ben and I were both sore the next day, I guess that's what happens when you get old.

Here are some pictures of ME trying to do hopscotch and Grayson going "shopping" on Sunday morning.

 A lot of driving for one weekend, but totally worth it! Already looking forward to next weekend and it's only Monday!!

Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken

So we have had chicken everyday this week...it was on sale at the grocery store. I found this really easy recipe for chicken in the crock pot. We let it cook for about 7 hours, I would recommend about half of that, since I only used 1 1/2 pounds of chicken.

Ingredients:

3 lbs raw boneless skinless chicken breats (I only used 1 1/2 pounds)
12 oz bottle of Buffalo wing sauce (I used Frank's Wing Sauce)
12 oz bottle of dry Ranch mix (Hidden Valley of course)
2 T light butter

Grandparents

This weekend we went to North Augusta to spend time with Ben's parents and go to Athens to help Laura move. We went Friday night and got up early Saturday morning. I especially got up early and did some hill repeats at 5 am with not Butter, but Charlie. I was mad at first that he followed me, but I was actually really glad he came, because I was really scared since it was still soooo dark. Anyway we ventured to Athens for the day to help Laura move everything from her storage shed back to their house. After three truck loads full and a full garage our job was done. The girls and Mason stayed with Ms. Riddle and played. The girls always enjoying spending time with Baby Mason, even though as ME would say, "Mommy why doesn't Baby Mason talk". But they still love poking him and watching him in his jumping thing.

We headed back to Ben's parents and just went straight back into playing with the girls. We were all tired, but that's what happens when you have small children running around. This weekend just really made me realize how much I love spending time with Ben's parents. They are so easy to get along with and never have a bad thing to say about anyone. They don't judge or make rude comments about anything. They actually enjoy spending time with the girls. They are very helpful, but they enjoy helping so that just makes Ben and I even happier. When we go to his parents it’s really the only time we get to spend some time together. Just Ben and I went out for a bike ride on Sunday morning, and it was a hilly hard bike ride for me, but it was just really nice to spend time with him. We came back and poor Mr. Riddle, hurt his foot really bad on Friday, was in the baby pool with both ME and Grayson just having a blast!!!! Ms. Riddle watched all three children for most of the day Saturday, while we moved, and I didn't hear her complain once. In fact, she had a great time spending time with the grandkids. It just really makes me look up to them, and know that's how I want Ben and me to be when the girls have kids of their own. I want us to be a big part of their life and for them to get excited and want to come and see us.

We trapped the girls in the dog cage when we got home from Athens!!! We at least provided popsicles.

I just had to get a picture of all of Grayson's curls!!!

 A box can provide a lot of entertainment for a 3 year old and a 1 1/2 year old!!



Zucchini Boats

I randomly check this website...skinnytaste.com. There are always really good healthy recipes. I saw this one the other day and though it looked really good if you like zucchini!!

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Here's the recipe:

• 1 1/4 cups quick marinara sauce
• 4 (31 oz total) medium zucchini
• 1 tsp oil
• 1/2 small onion, finely diced
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
• 14 oz lean Italian chicken sausage, removed from casing (Al Fresco)
• 1/2 cup part skim shredded mozzarella (Polly-O)
• 8 tsp grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to boil.

Preheat oven to 400°. Cut zucchini in half lengthwise and using a spoon or melon baller, scoop out flesh, leaving 1/4" thick. Chop the scooped out flesh of the zucchini in small pieces and set aside.

Drop zucchini halves in boiling water and cook 1 minute. Remove from water.

Place 1/4 cup of sauce in the bottom of a 9 x 12" baking dish, and place zucchini halves cut side up.

In a large saute pan, brown sausage, breaking up as it cooks into smaller pieces until browned; set aside. Heat oil and add onion, garlic and bell pepper. Cook on a medium-low heat for about 2-3 minutes, until onions are translucent. Add chopped zucchini, season with salt and pepper and cook about 2-3 minutes. Combine with sausage and cook a few more minutes.

Using a spoon, fill each hollowed zucchini with 1/3 cup cooked sausage, pressing firmly. Top each with 2 tablespoons each of sauce, 1 tablespoon each of shredded mozzarella cheese and 1 teaspoon each of parmesan cheese. Cover with foil and bake 35 min

Beach 2012

I now know what it means to want a "vacation from a vacation". We left for the beach on July 4th...me, ME, Grayson, the dogs, and my car full of everything you could think of. Ben couldn't get off work, so he came in late Thursday night. We went out on the sand bar, went on boat rides, caught a bunch of crabs, rode the jet ski, ate junk food, went shopping, and just played and played. The girls wore Ben and I out but we had lots of fun. My bothers, Amanda, my cousin and his girlfriend, and some of my parents friends came with us so it was fun to hang out with everyone. The girls and Ben of course tanned very nicely...Butter and me on the other hand...got sunburned!!! The joys of being redheaded and not liking sunscreen, someday I'll learn!