Introducing...

My friend and I have decided to go into business together. This is it, The Sassy Giraffes. Leanna is a VERY talented friend of mine and I am SO pleased she is letting me tag along in her creativity and business ventures! I cannot wait to share lots of goodies with you all. Pictures, wine glasses, baby wipe cases, buckets, wreaths...OH MY!! We are working on the ins and outs and details...so please bare with me. However, I will put up a tab on here as soon as possible so you guys can check out the goods!

Thanks so very much for your support. We greatly appreciate it!

BOuntiful Beer Bread Pizza

OH YUM!!! Over the summer I became a Tastefully Simple consultant. I LOVE their products and oh my do they live up to their name. Tastefully (oh my goodness yummy) and Simple (most everything takes ONE or TWO ingredients)!! I have been looking over the receipe tabs and have come across some things I am itching to try. One of those things was using the Bountiful Beer Bread as a pizza crust. Let me tell you, it is AMAZING! Soooo sorry I do not have any pictures I didnt think about making a post for this until my family INHALED it! Here is what I did:

You need:

1 box Tastefully Simple Bountiful Beer Bread (regular or wheat)
1 can beer or other carbonated beverage
pizza sauce and toppings

Mix beer bread according to package directions. I did add some Tastefully Simple Onion Onion and garlic Garlic. Place on pizza pan (or your pampered Chef pizza stone) and spread out. It will be thin, or atleast mine was. I decided to do a "stuffed" crust by placing mozzerella cheese sticks around the edges and covering with batter. Place in a 350 oven for about 10 minutes. Your crust will be thick, like a Pizza Hut pan style. Place your sauce and toppings on and bake for another 15 minutes or until cheese is melty and yummy! Cut into slices and SERVE!

My 3 yr old LOVES the word pizza however, when we offer it, he turns it down....this time, he ate the heck out of it! My husband who is not so much on home made pizza but was THRILLED with the outcome. Morgan and myself, well, we were in pizza heaven! I WILL be making this again and I'll try to get pics up for you all.

And if you decide to try this yourself and need some Bountiful Beer Bread.....you can pop on over to my site and order until your heart (and stomach) are content!

http://www.tastefullysimple.com/home.aspx

My first cards

So I finally got a Cricut. Its been a long time coming and I got it in a rather round about way, but I have one! Will and Morgans birthdays are OBVIOUSLY close together and I really wanted to MAKE her cards, just never got to it. SO, I figured the next best thing would be to make their "Thank you" notes.  Here is my first attempt at using the Cricut. It took a little time to figure out exactly what I was doing/wanted and how to set it up. I like the way they turned out. Hope you do too.

Thanks for stopping by
LC

ARGH!

Good Golly, it is only Wednesday and I already want to partake in some early 20-ish behavior...something like beinge drinking! Just kidding!!! No worries! It  has just been one of "those" days.

Will took a shorter nap than normal and woke in a crazy mood. Morgan only had a half day of school and has spent the last few HOURS doing math homeowork. Granted it was interrupted by gymnastics and dinner. Subtracting large numbers is going to be the death of both of us I do believe! Sigh....this too shall pass and I know I will eventually miss both of these crazy ages/stages with my kids, but today...I am having a calgon moment!

Anyhow, I made my first ever "Thank you" cards on the cricut today. I will post pics once I upload them, so keep an eye out.

Hope you are all having an amazing week. Thanks for stopping by.
LC

Happy Birthday Morgan

Dear Morgan,

You saved me. In more ways than I could ever explain to you, you simply saved me. I was so scared when I found out that I was pregnant with you. Your daddy was getting ready to go to Korea and I was alone...again. This wasn't the first time I had been alone to carry a baby. It was the same way with your brother, Jordan.

I had the most wonderful Doctors while I was carrying you. I was so lucky to get to see pictures of you almost every single week! I watched you like a hawk! I got to see your sweet face all the time. I knew back then, even when you were growing in my belly, that you were going to talk....A LOT! You could never keep your mouth sthut! It was really sweet to watch.

You were born on October 26th 2001 by c-section at 913 in the morning.

The year 2001 was a HUGE one for our country. That September some people decided that America needed to be punished and they flew some planes into buildings in New York and Washington DC. They tried to get to some other buildings too. Thankfully, there were some men and women on that plane that refused to let that happen. They would rather take the chance of not seeing their families again in order to save a larger group of people. They were/are absolutely amazing! I had NO CLUE how this act would change my world forever!

I lay on the couch the day of September 11th rubbing my belly with my feet propped up, watching the news. Papaw was with me and I tihnk we both cried a billion tears that day. Some were sad, some were angry and some were full of joy knowing that soon, you would be blessing our entire family.

Daddy was in Korea when you were born and for the entire first year of your life. He and I had a lot of things to talk about since you were growing up so fast. I am so glad we realized how much we loved and needed each other.

Since you were born you have lived in three states and 1 European country. You could count to 10 in English, Spanish and German. You watched Jungle Book 2 like it was going out of style! You have colored all over yourself with BLUE marker. You LOVE animals!! Specifically horses and dogs.

This year, you are in 3rd grade. You have started taking gymnastics twice a week. You are such a big help around here. Your little brother adores you and everything you do! Daddy and I are SO very proud to call you our daughter. We love you Morgan.

Happy Birthday sweet pea!

Boy of many names

McGyver, Hudinni, the Boy, Wills, hey you, the Beast, Monster.....

All of these names seem to describe our youngest son to a "T"! William came into this world with furry and curiosity and I do not think he has lost a bit of it in his 3 yrs here.

Will was also a preemie like his big brother Jordan. Will was 26 weeks and 1 day gestation. I had come down with RAPID onset Pre-Eclampsia and it was litterally do or die for he and I both. I screamed when they told me what was about to happen...not because of ignorance, obviously, but because I KNEW all of the bad things that could and possibly would happen. having to walk this road again, alone again (Mike was deployed at the time) was just not what I wanted to do. However, I knew I was in the best place possible for he and I both.

I was told that Will MIGHT weight a little more than a pound, he weighed in at 2 pounds 2 ounces. I was told he would not cry, he didnt...he screamed. I was told all of the bad things that could haunt him for years, I will not list them here because if you are the mom to a preemie, you already know. He has only ONE residual effect of being a preemie, asthma.

Will and I spent 150 days in the NICU. I can count on one hand the 24 hour periods I was away from his bedside....let me assure you it was less than 3. I knew every person who had thier hands near my son. I knew every Doctor, Nurse, therapist...and they all knew me. We went home with oxygen tanks and lots of meds. Slowly and gradually, we out grew them all. Slowly and gradually seems to be the way Will likes to do things that are other peoples ideas. He works on his own time table.

In the past year alone we have been dismissed from physical and speech therapies both. He is walking and running like an avaerage 3 yr old. He still does not like the feeling of sand...but I really cannot blame him, I dont either. He has just amazed us with how much he is learning DAILY!

He is learning his colors and how to count. He has most of the animal sounds mastered! He enjoys Mickey Mouse Club House and can tell you almost every single Monster Jam monster truck! He is our 100% rough and tough little boy and we are SO very thankfull to have him in our lives.

Happy Birthday Will. We love you.

Meet Jordan

First off, let me say something, any rude, nasty, negative, harsh comments will be deleted and I might come hunt you down....so just dont do it.

Meet Jordan. I dont talk too much about my oldest son but it isnt because Im not insanely prooud, its because it hurts.

Jordan was born at 27 weeks gestation on October 23rd 1998. I was 17. He weighed in at a whopping 2 pounds 1.7 ounces and 14 inches long. Let me tell you, that is TINY!

From Jordan I learned a lot!! I learned how to fallow your gut instinct no matter what the outcome. I learned that Moms (no matter the age) are usually right when something is going on with their babies. I learned to stand my ground, never back down, and face fears I didnt even know I had! I learned its ok to cry...a lot! I learned a lot about friends...some come, most go and only a very select few stay no matter what. I learned you are never to old or to grown up to get hus from your parents.

Jordan was only on this Earth for 4 months. But in that 4 months I found passion! Passion for life I thought I had lost. Passion to help others and hold them through a crisis. And a cause. The March of Dimes is BIG in my heart. And if you have been around me for any length of time, you know this. I am also in the process of going to school to be a nurse. Not just any nurse...but a NICU nurse. I want to be the one holding the hands of those mom and dads and letting them know they are NOT alone and I myself have walked that road.

I would say that in his short life, Jordan tought me more about growing up, how life should be lived and how to fight like no one on this planet could ever teach. Thanks for letting me share my oldest son with you. Today, he would be 12.