Are you callin' me a CHICKEN?

I love chicken. Absolutely, totally love it. What's not to love? There are about a zillion different ways to cook it! So I was told by someone at work (thank you, Tracie!) that the recipe I found on
this mommy's blog was worth a try. Plus, it uses an already-cooked Rotisserie chicken and takes about 15 minutes to throw together!

So if you are willing and love chicken as much as I do, then you should definitely give it a shot and let me know what you think. I'll be cooking it up for dinner tonight and will be sure to report back this weekend about how much (or how little) Princess Poo enjoyed it!

Success!

Friday morning when I got Gracie out of her crib (before we all came down the "The Crud") I noticed how dry her diaper was. Having read a small amount of potty-training material while I was pregnant, a clear sign of a good sign to start potty-training is when the child is waking up with dry diapers.
On a whim, I asked if Gracie needed to go potty. I was answered with an "uh huh" so we took off for her bathroom and I plopped her down on the toilet. Now, we don't have your standard "potty chair" because 1) we have two bathrooms and 2) her bathroom is too small to accomodate another chair so we just bought the little cushiony attachment to go on our regular toilet. All it has really been doing since we bought is keeping her from falling in.
Anyway, I'm getting off track. So Friday I put her on the potty and went to get her clothes ready for the day. (Before you go all "Bad Mommy" on me, I could still see her on the potty from her bedroom).
Then I hear her tell me, "Mama, I pottied." Hm. This has happened before. But guess what I found out when I lifted her off the potty? It was yellow!!! (read: she really HAD used the potty).
Not wanting to make it a HUGE deal, I told her how awesome that was. Fast forward through our weekend of sheer entertainment spent lounging around the house like sick little imps. This morning she woke up around 6:45 and again, I found a dry diaper. So we did the potty routine again, only this time she was rewarded for her efforts with an M&M. When she asked for more, I explained that she gets one of those when she uses the potty. So we're going to make a really good attempt to "Officially" begin potty-training. Wish us luck!

What is the big deal?

My mother has told me on several different occasions that it is time to retire the pacifier. The dentist will tell me so, she says. Seriously? I don't see what the big deal is. We have graduated from keeping it in our mouths 24/7 to at first just having it when we were seperated, then to ONLY being allowed to have it at nap and then bed time. And she seems to be doing very well with just having it when it's time to sleep.
So if I decide she can hold on to it for a little while longer, I guess that will be up to me. Although I'm interested in getting rid of it. Very soon.

By the way, the same author who wrote this book has alot of books in a "Best Behavior" series (Hands are Not for Hitting, Words are Not for Hurting,etc.) I think I might invest in some of these cute little board books for Gracie.

A Huge (Sarcastic) thank you to the Wades

Why, you ask, am I giving thanks to the Wades?

Because thanks to the internet, they have somehow transferred their germ-infested household over to ours! Ah, the internet is a wonderful thing. (FYI: You can click on the link via their name and read about how Amy, Jeremy, and Jackson have been fighting illness for the last two weeks. Thursday, Gracie ended up at the doctor with a upper respiratory infection. Bryan complained Thursday night of a sore throat, and on Friday when he left work with a fever of 103 degrees, he went to Pri-Med and was sent home with pneumonia and some medication. My throat had been hurting Friday morning, but it wasn't until late Friday night that I really started to feel bad. I took off work early yesterday and took myself to Pri-Med, where I was told I have a severe sinus infection and a touch of strep throat.
Gracie seems to be doing better, although she's very clingy today. Bryan is no longer running a fever, but I am feeling totally down and out right now. I think I'm going to take a nap very soon.
So thanks to the Wade family :)
Next time...keep your germs on your own blog!

The Birthday

Okay, so Sunday was a bit more relaxed than Saturday's whole day was. We got up that morning and had breakfast, then off to church we went. Bryan's mom and my mom and Tina all came to church because I was singing a special song for Gracie on her birthday, and they did a slideshow of pictures for me.
We came home that afternoon for lunch (Bryan's mom got us Captain D's-yum!) and then sang Happy Birthday to Gracie, as seen in the picture below. She was a little confused about the candle and just wanted to eat the Dora face off the cupcake!


Playing with her Dora Etch-A-Sketch.

The Birthday Party (Part 2)

There are more pictures to come, including a cupcake picture from this afternoon after church, but Jessica has a ton of pictures on her dad's camera I hope to get from him sometime this week and upload!

Gracie on the horsie she fights Camden for at her Mawmaw's house.


Opening her presents outside.


Taking out the tissue paper....


Opening her little dog carrier (the dog tucked away inside) from Avery, Bailey,and Ms. Jenny.

The Birthday Party (Part 1)

Gracie's birthday party yesterday was a big success. FYI for anyone who cares, I hate daylight savings time. It's the only time of year I can go to bed at 8:30 (I was exhausted) and then be up at 5:45 this morning. BLAH!
Okay, on to the party.....Princess Poo (this affectionate nickname was given to Gracie by her "favorite aunt" Tina) racked up on clothes, and toys as well. She also got some very pretty jewelry from her Mawmaw and Miss Tasha. There were a ton of kids, so here are some shots from the party.
We did not get to sing Happy Birthday because after opening the gifts, most of our guests started to trickle out. So we brought some cupcakes home to sing Happy Birthday this afternoon since today is her official "birth" day.


Gracie & her Aunt Jessica

Mr. Preston. I asked him to smile, he refused!

Mason (L) and Gracie (R) on the swings, with Mason's mom, Brooke in the background

Noah (on the airplane) and Jackson (on the slide)

Another shot of Jackson