hanging with some special people

Today was a fun day for us all.  We, as a family, got to go on a very special photo shoot of Jason's.  Jason got asked to take pictures for a picnic and balloon releasing for Tupelo's support group for St.Jude kids and their families.  We had such a ball with the precious kids and their families!

This is what Ava did for the majority of our time at the park.  She is an animal lover!  She couldn't stay away from the ducks and geese.

The girls found a new friend, Mary.  She is the sister of one of the St.Jude kids.  Emma is still asking when will we see Mary again.  

The balloon releasing...

It didn't really make since to Ava why you would let a perfectly good balloon go.

Our heroes... they touched our hearts and are in our prayers.

these are a few of my favorite things...

My BF did a post today about some of her favorite things, and I thought that I would steal the idea.

First, I have fallen in love with Bare Minerals. It took a little bit before I got used to the all the steps involved, but once you get the hang of it it's a breeze to put it on fast. I love how light it feels on my face, and it still gives the best coverage of anything I have ever used. I don't need a bronzer or blush with this. Love it!

One of the perks of fall, which is my favorite season, is this little baby! I love a pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks. So yummy!

Jason and I do not agree about much on television. We rarely watch TV together. However, one love this show. "Burn Notice" has the spy drama of an "Alias" with the humor of a "Lethal Weapon" movie. Must see TV for us!

Love the beach! This is my idea of the perfect vacation, especially after kids. No running around with sightseeing, just relaxation. Well, as much as you can with children.

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Oh, and I can't forget about these people. I think they just might be my favorite thing in the whole world:)

labor day visit

Our Labor Day weekend was a busy one. Jason played for a youth revival for 3 nights, and then we had our normal busy Sunday that consisted of church in the morning and leading at Crosswind in Corinth later that night.

The highlight of our weekend was Grammy and Pop-Pop coming in town Sunday and Monday.

This pic was from a sweet moment Monday morning where Ava was getting her fill of books read to her by Pop-Pop.

*Note - We love all the Llama, Llama books! You must check them out if you have kids!

happy birthday, daddy!

Happy birthday to the best husband, daddy, worship pastor and man that I know. We love you!

shopping

Fridays for us are our run-around days. We do the shopping and run the errands on Fridays so that we don't have to deal with everyone that is off on Saturdays.

What we do have to deal with though? 2 girls who actually love shopping. After we got done with every store today Emma asked, "What store are we going to next?"

Bless her.... a child after my own heart.

Only problem is that my children love the thought of shopping and the social aspect that comes with it, but not so much the "stay with Mommy, don't touch, don't run, you have to go to the bathroom again?, no we are not getting a cookie" stuff.

The only part that is better than that of our shopping experiences are the looks from strangers. I have figured out that when we have gone into meltdown mode there really is nothing that you can do to "win" as a parent in the stranger's eyes. At one store, I took Ava away and threatened her within an inch of her life. Oops, I mean I talked sternly with her. At one point, we did the "walk away " method as she laid on the floor and screamed.

Either way I got the "look". You know what the "look" is if your are a parent. The look from a stranger that says, "My child would never like act like this", or "The reason your child acts like this is because of you" , or "When I have kids, my kids will never act this way." I know the "look" because I used to give it.

Oh, well. You just got to do the best you can sometimes.

Here's some random iphone pics for your enjoyment.

Oh, and even though I do have 2 other girls, I can not resist buying clothes for baby girl #3. I came across some good deals on some cute clothes on clearance in the size she will need for next summer. Love it!

surprise, surprise!

Well, it's official...

I know. I know. You're just as shocked as we are.

Just kidding. We are excited even if we can only produce drama queens, I mean girls. I love the thought of another little girl to play "dress-up" with. Jason's happy, too. I think the quote from today was, "Look, we're already doing the girl thing and we know we can do it. Now, we don't have to worry about turning a little boy into a sissy." I think he was really just worried about me putting a little boy in smocked clothes.

Baby girl #3...

It was sweet. She was determined to sleep during the whole ultrasound. She had her arm over her face for most of the ultrasound. It's funny, because this is pretty much how I sleep.

During the ultrasound, the ultrasound tech kept trying to jab my stomach to get the baby to wake and move her arm. No success. However, baby girl did decide to get vocal about her disturbance. Every time she was jabbed, she would move her mouth as if to say, "Leave me alone!"

An example of the mouth open...

The girls went with us to the ultrasound. They loved watching the baby on the "TV". They even got their very own picture printed out of the baby. They were so excited about that about as long as it took us to get buckled into the car to leave. After that, it was crumpled on the floor of the SUV.

The girls did decide on a name for us though...

Strawberry Shortcake Stockdale!

It has a nice ring to it, don't ya think?

oh, no they didn't!

Wow, what a day! It was one of those days that at the end of it I said, "Did that really happen?"

First, after we got done with the fair last night, I got sick again. Major coughing spell and couldn't breathe. I think by the time I fell asleep it was 5:00 in the morning. Jason woke me up this morning to tell me that he was going to take the girls to work with him so I could rest and get with my doctor about my bronchitis. I was slightly shocked he so sweetly offered, but I was not going to argue.

On the way to work, Emma was having one of her mornings where everything was heart-breaking, earth-shattering which means she was crying and whining about this and that. So Jason tells her, "Emma, stop being a drama queen." To which Emma replies, with her hands on her hip and full of attitude of that of a thirteen year old girl, "Daddy, I am NOT a drama queen." This has become her new phrase. Every time we try to tell her to stop whining she has decided to say this phrase. Cute, the first time not so much every time after that.

Next, on to the day at the office. Not Jason's most productive day. Ava was in one of her moods also. She kept finding Jason's stashes of hand sanitizer and wanting to play with it. Jason had to run across the hall to another pastor's office for a minute. He put the hand sanitizer on the desk out of the reach Ava. Jason comes back 1 minute later and finds Ava covered head-to-toe in the hand sanitizer. He rushes her to the bathroom which she screams bloody murder while Jason cleans her off. Fun times.

Fast forward to tonight. We have been begging the girls to clean their playroom for a couple of days now. It was completely destroyed. Every time we would try to get them to clean, they would cry and tell us it was too hard and that they didn't know how. Yeah, right.

So, we have implemented a new rule tonight. If I have to pick up the toy, the toy is mine. Needless to say Jason and I picked up 4 bags of toys. Many tears and fits were pitched. I may regret the decision tomorrow when they are in the playroom with none of the "good stuff" to play with. If they can play nice and pick up after themselves tomorrow, they will earn back one of the bags. If they can't pick up, we will be confiscating more toys. I love playing police woman.

Good times with preschoolers. And we're having another one? :)

the tupelo fair

Monday night, after we finished at Ava's open house night at her preschool, we decided to take the girls to the Tupelo Fair. It was so cute! This is how I like to do a fair. Nice, clean, family-friendly and unlike the Mid-South Fair you don't have to go packing heat to survive.

The girl's thought they were big stuff riding the rides without Mommy or Daddy.

Mommy's favorite part of the fair... funnel cake!

a little cooking

This weekend we finally got our wish to relax! We spent the entire weekend at home as a family. It was so refreshing!

Saturday, we had a little cooking time. The girls love to help cook especially are we are making cupcakes. I found a recipe a while back for Red Velvet Cupcakes courtesy of Paula Deen. It became a family favorite instantly!

This recipe is a must try!

Ingredients:

2 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
1 1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoon red food coloring
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

For the cupcakes:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with cupcake papers. In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In a large bowl gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla with a handheld electric mixer. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.

Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled. Bake in oven for about 20 to 22 minutes, turning the pans once, half way through. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 pound cream cheese, softened
2 sticks butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
Chopped pecans and fresh raspberries or strawberries, for garnish

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy.

Cook’s Note: Frost the cupcakes with a butter knife or pipe it on with a big star tip. Garnish with chopped pecans and a fresh raspberry or strawberry.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ease of Preparation: Easy
Yield: 24 cupcakes

Recipe courtesy Paula Deen

i broke down

We had a first in the Stockdale house. I painted the girl's toe nails for the first time last week.

I know what you're thinking. No big deal, right? Girls love to have their nails painted.

I just couldn't do it. If you know me, I love all things girly and innocent. The girls wear smocked clothing, and I have rules about how they dress. We wear bows in our hair and Mary Janes on our feet.

I just want to keep them sweet and innocent and girly for as long as I can. I don't want them to have the desire to look older or be older than they are. I only have my little girls at this stage for a small amount of time.

They did look precious with their toe nails painted, though. I will admit. However, no painted finger nails for awhile. Small steps...