Simply Sara

Ava helped me do laundry tonight. She looks as excited about it as I was. Poor girl, she has no idea how many hundreds of piles of laundry await her when she becomes a Mommy one day. It's quite shocking, really. I can't wait until they are teenagers. Than they can clean their own dirty clothes.

Matt: "Lucas, it's time to take a nap. You need to be still in your bed, close your eyes and go to sleep." Lucas: "I can't close my eyes Daddy." Matt: "Why not?" Lucas: "Because I have to see Jesus." ******************************************************************************* Mommy: "Lucas I need you to lie still and rest." Lucas: "No Mommy, I don't want to rest. I want to sleep."

Little stinker!

I've been having sleep issues for a while now. I like to kid around and say that I've been having these issues for almost 6 years (since Matt and I got married), but the truth is, I go through phases where I'm a really light sleeper and wake up multiple (read 4-6) times a night and other (blissfully, wonderful) times when I can sleep 5-6 hours straight without waking up once. When I was a teenager with no responsibilities or reason to wake up before noon on a Saturday, I didn't have this problem. Right now I'm explaining my waking up countless times through out the night to the fact that we have a new mattress. My back and neck are not yet appreciating the fact that we have a much nicer and newer bed. And the dog, oh let me tell you about our dog. Annie. Sweet, hairy Annie. This girl has been around longer than I have. No, she isn't that old, but she wiggled into Matt's life and heart before I was in the picture. And she's been resenting me ever since I ...

This morning, I found Ava standing up in her crib for the first time. No, I didn't catch it on camera, but we both cheered (quietly, it was 6:40am) and acknowledged the monumental moment. sara, lisa, melanie My sweet boys made me a birthday cake! As you can see, I wasn't counting points that day! Looks like our girl loves the water as much as her brother does!

It's been a fun, busy and HOT summer so far. On days when the temps aren't climbing too high, the kiddos and I love to get outside and play until the mosquitos chase us in. The relationship between Ava and Lucas has been deepening a lot lately as they are playing more together. Lucas loves to crawl on the floor with A and give her big bear hugs. She naturally thinks he's the most amazing thing since Cheerios, so she doesn't mind his full-contact affection. Yeah, he loves chocolate just as much as I do! We celebrated the big 2-7 at Matty's Downtown on Tuesday, where I was serenaded by a very loud trombone and a misinformed waitress. And of course, today is Father's Day. What can I say, except I'm the luckiest woman in the world. Love you Honey!

I have a correction to my first post this morning. I certainly don't want to lead anyone astray. I wrote the post before I tried my little oatmeal "cookies". Well, I was wrong about them. After 14 minutes of baking, the oatmeal was slightly crunchy on the outside, but still sticky on the inside. Will I do this trick again? Probably Not!

Don't like the texture of oatmeal? I sure don't! So here's what I'm doing this morning: Mix together one pack of instant oatmeal with 1/2 cup of hot water. Let it sit until it gets thick. Than spoon the oatmeal onto a cookie sheet coated in cooking spray. Makes approx. 4 cookies! Bake for 10 minutes on 400 degrees! No more sticky oatmeal! And still nutritious and filling!

I'll be 27 in a few days. Our baby girl will be 1 year old in just a couple months. And I still need to lose a few more pregnancy pounds. (Actually, most of my ready to shed weight is all me - only 5 of them are baby.) So I joined Weight Watchers yesterday because I am ready to take control of my eating habits. The gym is easy for me; okay the working out is way hard, but it's become a habit in my life. It's the eating small portions and not snacking (binging) that is a challenge. As for Day 1, it's been good so far. I like keeping track of my points - I love making lists. And I've only been hungry 17 times. Just kidding. Well, not really. I have been rather hungry today. I've got to find more filling foods to eat. I made the Garden Veggie Soup (which is 0 points) and put together a couple yummy snacks, so over all, I'm hopeful. You have to try this snack - yum O! Creme Filled Grahams A fancy way of saying put 2 T. of fat free cool whip between two graham sq...

Tonight was our first family movie night with both kids! I fixed a low-key, throw together at the last minute meal so we could dine in front of the t.v. Lucas was amazed. We watched Th e Pirates Who Don't Do Anything - a delightful tale about three vegetables who step up and become heros. A very motivational show. Ava enjoyed the endless supply of graham crackers and I apparantly decided to not wear any make up today. Or fix my hair. But the one person who's opinion mattered the most was enthralled by the movie. Lucas even got to stay up late; I figured we should celebrate since it is the last day of school. Fun was had by everyone. And since then, I've been obessing over Season 2 of the Office on instant netflix. I think The Office is my all time favorite thing to watch, hands down. I've already seen it all - twice - but I can't get enough of it. I'm not kidding - I actually have it paused on the t.v. right now. Gotta go and see what's going to happen with ...

As a kid, my mom used to put together a super quick and yummy fruit salad for us. Chopped apples and bananas, a touch of mayo and marshmallows. I decided to recreate this healthy snack today (minus the mayo) , but Lucas has outsmarted me. He picked out all of the marshmallows and left the fruit.

As you know, I have been working on turning our house into a home by placing photos on the walls. For some reason that I haven't explored too deeply, this process is really difficult for me. I fear making the wrong choice and hating it after the nails are in the wall. I also want to add color to our neutral palate with window treatments and pillows, but this task too is rather daunting. So instead of retreating to a little hole and eating a snack, I'm facing my issues head on and doing some exercises in preparation for home decorating. I'm reading Home Rules by Nate Berkus, the amazingly, talented decorator loved by Oprah . Here is a little quiz I did from the book to help me get pointed in the right direction: 1. what kind of surroundings make you happy? organized, peacefully, warm , lots of natural light 2. Do you respond to neat and organized or lots of accessories? neat and organized 3. Which is your favorite room in your house? Least favorite? sadly, i don't have ...

We drove down to Eatonton GA to be a part of the wedding festivites of my dear friend Emily. Emily and I met in the 7th grade! Here we are at the rehersal dinner. (Lucas was too busy running around to stop for a photo.) Matt and Ava are listening intently (or not) to the speeches. Look closely, it's the bride and groom! Ava helped me with my toast. I was so nervous. She started sqealing and waving her arms - the crowd loved it! The wedding was beautiful! I am so happy I got to be a part of the wonderful day!

Fun in the kiddie pool (Don't you just love Ava's swimsuit?) And yes, Luacs is stitting on a basketball in the pool. Wherever Lucas is, Ava is never far behind I was inspired to clean out our fridge the other day, but my two "helpers" made it a little challenging. I finally got it done, in case you're wondering. And I only had to move Ava out of the way 228 times. Ava sending an email.

Today is one of those hot summer days when you want to be outside, but as soon as you step out you are suffocated by 92 degree sunshine sprinkled with a touch of humidity. I really want to take the kids to the park today, but I'm not sure the fun at the park will outweigh the suffering from the heat. So for now, I'm sitting at the table, watching the kids entertain themselves. Lucas has been at school all morning where apparently he had a good time because he is now content to sit and play with playdough for a while. Thank you preschool! Ava is working on her newest skill - dropping the sippy cup from the high chair and watching Mommy pick it up. Her hands are covered in her favorite snack, graham crackers - wait she just spied the last one on the table and grunted in glee. The girl loves her crackers. I'm so happy that summer is here. I'm ready for a change in season, even if that change means sweltering heat and mosquitos. But summer also means mornings at the water p...