My brothers wedding

Shawn, my mom, and Sam

The Bride and Groom

My Grandparents and my sister Sarah

Beautiful Gracie

Well, My brother Shawn finally tied the knot. It wasn't a big surprise since they have two kids. It was very sudden, they gave us three weeks notice. They had a small ceremony at Bee Tree Park and it was so beautiful.

My brother Sam was the Best Man and her sister from New York was her Maid of Honor. The spot over looked a fountain and the Mississippi River. The bride was pretty and my nephews were in little tuxes.

The downside, it was at 10 am and already like 90 degrees out. Wouldn't have been so bad but the bride was running an hour late. Everyone was sweating their butts off. Poor Grace had sweat dripping down her back, we took off her little pantyhose and shoes to cool her off.

It was nice to see Shawn happy and that is all that counts. I wish them the best of luck!!!

Home from Vacation

Well I know it has been awhile since I last posted and I am sorry I have been slacking. Vacation was fabulous. We ended up not going to Florida. The day before we were suppose to leave we saw that they had suspected some tropical storms to head in the entire week we were going to be there.

Jamie has a timeshare that we were able to book at Table Rock Lake. We took my twin brothers. They were fun and tons of help with Grace. We went sight seeing, swimming, rode the Ducks, went boating, and relaxed.

I had a GREAT time, but there is no place like home. Every time we go on vacation we come home early and its because I hate staying at other places. I am the biggest homebody and i'm never comfortable in a hotel. Luckily, my husband doesn't kill me over my obsession to go on vacation and then come home because he is the exact same way. The only vacation that we ever took with each other that we both agreed kept our attention and was fun was our cruise. Hmmm Maybe that is a sign that one day we will be back on one.

It was a good thing that we did switch destinations because they were broadcasting on the Travel Channel on the exact beach that we were suppose to be staying, and the electricity was off, beaches closed, etc. We would have been furious if we traveled that far with Grace and the weather was that bad.

We came home and have just done a few things around the house and enjoyed being lazy. I have enclosed a few pictures of the vacation.

Ms. Judy

It's time.................. It's time that we finally find a babysitter for Grace. We have winged it and managed to keep her home with us and just stay with family so far but its becoming more and more challenging. I am being pretty much forced to work more and more hours at work and it hasn't slowed up yet, so I am needing someone to watch her the random hours that come up.

Grace will still go over to my moms every Friday, well as long as she still wants to keep her, so far so good. We are so very thankful that my mom has been able to keep her for us. She misses a day of pay every Friday to watch her. What an awesome grandmother!!!

A friend of mine from work suggested that I call Ms. Judy. Ms. Judy babysat her son for the last few years and she speaks so highly and kindly of her. She is really close to home too. I called her tonight and spoke to her. She has an opening and pretty much said, "When will she be coming over."

It's funny, I figured that when the day would come that I would have tons of questions for the lady that would watch my child and a background and reference check but there was something very comforting about her, and can't wait to meet her. Jamie, Grace, and I are going over there Friday late afternoon to meet her. So cross your fingers that everything works out with her and she takes good care of my baby. Grace is so precious and priceless to us and we only want someone that loves her to take care of her. So this will be a hard transition for us, but it will be wonderful to have a sitter on a permanent basis for her.

Wild Wendsday

Today was a great day. I enjoyed the day with Grace at the pool. We stayed longer today than we have any other time that we have went. She got a great nap prior, just had lunch, and was in such a great mood. I could have played with her forever there. I ran into some of my old friends from high school and talked with them and met their kiddos. I am coming to the realization that Grace is BRAVE!! Oh how she is not scared of the water one bit and wants to be doing everything the big kids are doing. She looks so darling and dainty but let me tell you she is a maniac!!!

We came home and Jamie and I decided to eat dinner out. We ate at Red Lobster. Jamie had a gift card to eat there from his birthday (Susan if you read this- thank you very much). I came across a four dollar off coupon in the newspaper and we used it. We had a nice dinner and enjoyed watching Grace catching everyone's attention that was sitting remotely near us.

Came home and spent the evening playing on the floor getting kisses from Grace. Now what could be a better day than that.......................

Second Hand Surprise

Today I went in Once Upon A Child, its a second hand children's clothing and toy store. I have been in there before but definitely got a new perspective on the store, I LOVE IT!!! I consider myself frugal, very rarely do I buy something for Grace in season at full price. I buy most of her clothes at Children's Place or Target but at the end of season on clearance for the next year, but its really cute stuff.

Today, I got the most amazing deals, like shock worthy deals. I got 32 items for 68 dollars. I had a 20% off coupon and a five dollars off my total coupon that I used. I got Grace tons of things for fall, coats, shoes, hats, hair bows, jeans, pajamas, long sleeved shirts, sweaters, etc. We walked out of there as winners!!! We are set for the winter. I even got her a Halloween costume. I am so mad that it didn't fit, will have to exchange for another but it was worth a try. Grace would have been the cutest bunny out there.

Chuck E Cheese

Today I took Grace to Chuck E Cheese's. I have to tell you I was pretty disgusted at what I saw there. It was nothing but a ton of kids that didn't have any type of parental supervision running around like animals. I am not going to say that I am the best mom out there but this made me feel like I am mother of the year. I hate when children don't behave and the parents just sit there and yell at them and don't get of their bums to do something about it. That is a pet peeve of mine!!

Grace did in fact have lots of fun. She actually ran around and got tons out of it and was trying to play on all the rides. Sniff Sniff it made me realize how fast she is growing up. We had lunch there and played all afternoon.

The Lake

Near the end of the week we had some babysitting issues and our plans to go to the Jamey Johnson concert fell through so last minute we decided to head to the lake. We got all packed up, picked Grace up from her Friday with her Grandma JoAnne and got on the highway.

The drive wasn't to bad. Grace only got restless near the end and we made great time. Jamie drives like a maniac so we make great time any where we go. When we got to the condo Grace was hilarious, walking around checking the place out. We quickly unpacked the car and did a quick one to over of the place to baby proof.

We spent the weekend merely relaxing........ We did a little shopping, ate some wonderful food, sat on the deck, played with Grace, and went swimming for a bit. We were sad to come home but all good things eventually come to an end!!!

It was the perfect ending to an awesome week. I think Jamie and I reconnected more this week than in the last year or so. Were definitely going to make more time to do little trips like that, life is to short to just work all the time and stay home.

My wonderful husband

Jamie turned thirty last week, and in turn we spent the most fabulous evening together. We stayed the night at the casino, and stayed in the most beautiful room. Jamie picked to go out to dinner at a wonderful restaurant in Soulard. We both got salads, steaks, and baked potatoes.

I love every minute of being a mother, but it was WONDERFUL to get an entire night off. My mom came over to my house and spent the evening with Grace and put her to bed. Which is nice because Grace was able to stay on her own routine and go to sleep in her own bed which by the way she loves so very much.

Jamie and I had a few drinks at the casino after we got done with dinner, and had the best quality time that one could ask for. It was truly the best evening of the entire summer. It definitely made me think that I should plan a night out for us like that at least once every other month or so. You can't put a price tag on spending time or money on someone that you love so much!!!