What a Saturday

I know you all are just dying to see this necklace (hee-hee totally kidding!) but first let me tell you how much fun Sterling and I had that day! (no really, we did have a great day together) We started off picking up the necklace. So the lady wanted to take my picture in it.

I posed.

Then she wanted one with Sterling.

He refused.

So I ask him if I could get one by the reindeer in the window..."SHUURE Mommy!"...so there ya go!

Then we proceed to the mall to eat lunch because Sterling wanted pizza. I don't know if everyone knows Sbarro's pizza but their slices are HUGE! (and better be for 4 bucks a slice!!!)

He eats the whole thing but only takes about 30 min to do so, with a potty break. (sheesh, if he and his Daddy could be any slower at things...goodness!)

Then we decide to go see if Aunt Brooke is working. "She will be here in 30 min." Great. We'll wait. Here's how Sterling decides to pass the time...

... by having a conversation with himself in the mirror with a few crazy faces in between.

After visiting Aunt Brooke, Mommy decides she needs a hat. So we go all over that stinkin mall trying to find just the right kind of dad gum hat.

~8 stores, 1 pair of earrings, 2 dressing room visits (because of course i see something cute that i must try on), some very sore feet since I wore 3 inch heals, 1 very tired but keeping himself entertained by all the mirrors three year old, we finally found one!

Time to visit Grandma at work...

And the moment you have all so patiently waited for....

This is Heath's hand by the way, not mine! My camera (yet again) is terrible (which is top on my Christmas list, fingers crossed!!!) so sorry it's not a good picture, but you get the idea.

Anyway, hope everyone has a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving!!

The Black Pearl

I am sooooo excited about something that I just had to share!! I entered an online contest here in our area for a 9 millimeter Tahitian Black Pearl pendant on a 16 in sparkle chain in 14-kt gold. Guess who won!?!

Yours truely!! I am so excited! I am going to go pick it up today or tomorrow and she wants to take a picture of me in it and, I'm guessing, put it on the website. So when I get my picture taken with it, I'll post what it looks like!

But I kind of feel bad because when I got the news I said that I never win anything. What I wasn't thinking at the time of my shock was that I won a set of Junior golf clubs worth $250 this spring. Sorry...was too excited to remember! :)

So now Heath says he needs to take me to the casino since I've got this lucky streak going. I guess the "luck" comes from my dad who has won a really nice laptop computer AND a huge big screen tv all within a year!

So anyway, just had to share my good news! Here is the announcment from the website!

**Goldmine Giveaway Winner Announced!** We absolutely loved reading all of the heart-felt comments from nwaMotherlode readers about what piece of custom jewelry they’d love to have if money were no object. There were so many great stories about jewelry being passed down through the generations and the desire to have new pieces designed so they could be passed down in the future.

And, of course, we heard about your strong desire to win the 9 millimeter Tahitian Black Pearl pendant on a 16-inch sparkle chain in 14-kt yellow gold.

The lucky winner is … Lane Brown! Lane, mother to 3-year-old Sterling, first heard about nwaMotherlode at Candy Cane Lane last weekend when she stopped by our booth to chat. She sent a message out to quite a few of her friends about the giveaway and CC’d the mamas to increase her chances. It really paid off! Like many of our winners, Lane said she “never” wins anything and was stunned to get the news. She plans to pick up her brand new necklace sometime before close on Saturday. “I want to wear it to church on Sunday!” she said.

NOOO because I have to do 'da feet!!!

This poor child must have had this song stuck in his head all day because he went around singing it EVERYWHERE we went!! (and he's really not much of a singer) Oh, and I am trying to grow his hair out just to see what it looks like, so that's why he looks like a little rag-a-muffin!

This thing had some ants in his pants or something. Sheesh! I could not get him to stand still for anything!! But I love how he gets the words mixed up and stops mid verse because he realizes it! I don't know if you caught when he says,"be careful little hands what you touch-ch-ch." I didn't realize he did that until I watched it back on here! And I don't know why I cut it off at the end...should have let it keep going! "Jesus Loves Me"= Sterling's favorite song. Probably because I used to sing it to him when he was a baby and it was the only song that would calm him down if he was being fussy. But the best part, in true Sterling fashion, he can't do something without being silly! At the end when he shakes his head and mumbles the rest...oh.

Ok, for a few weeks now Sterling has been telling us what he wants to be when he grows up and it has not changed. Today on the way to Mommy and Me here is (just one of the many) our conversation:

S (out of nowhere)~ "Mommy I'm gonna be a doctor and a firefighter when I grow up!!"

me~ "You like to help people don't you"

S~"Yes, even dogs too!"

me~"So you might be a veterinarian then?"

S~"No mommy, that is a doggy doctor. I don't want to do that." Here he is being his typical three year old self. And yes he does know when his birthday is he was just being a toot!

Beautiful wedding

Ok, I just went to the most gorgeous wedding I have ever been to!! Tara, Rachel and their mom did such a fabulous job decorating and organizing, I just stood in awe for a minute during the reception! It was beautiful! I am so glad I was able to share such a special day with Tara and Drew! Congratulations you guys!

the beautiful bride The sister-in-laws

Jennifer, Chad, Heath and me

Erin and me (and baby Perry!)

the next Take Home Chef

So after completely complaining about my child all over the last post, I thought I would do a little making up to show you that he still can be a sweetheart most of the time.

He decided he wanted to help me cook breakfast this morning...pancakes. He has actually helped my mom before with this lovely task, so he has a little experience! I pretty much let him do most of it by himself. Brave I know.

He cracked the egg by himself and there was absolutely no shell in there. Coincidence, I'm sure.

See, no shells!

He stirred it very well also. I seriously didn't have to go after him and stir it. It was perfect!

Then I told him to look at me and say cheese...here's what I get. He kept closing his eyes and when I kept telling him to keep them open, he would close them right when I would take it. On purpose! Little toot! :)

This is the pancake that he poured. Once again, I didn't help!

So I made him a "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" (his words) pancake. He ate this and two other pancakes this morning. Way to go Sterling! I think we have the next "Take Home Chef" on our hands! :) Which makes me happy because that means there will be someone else besides just me that cooks in this house! No offense Heath! hee hee

where's my two year old?

First off, for those of you wondering, Heath did not get a deer this weekend. Oh. darn. (please take that as sarcastically as you possibly can) I did not grow up around any kind of hunting whats-so-ever, so I am still trying to get used to this. It's gonna take a while. And Heath knows this, so it's ok that I say it!

Now with that being said, I have not had a chance, nor have I even felt like posting, in a while. But since I have people asking where I have been, I need to get to it!

There really hasn't been much going on here lately except trying to start a business (which is a whole other post in itself that I'm sure I will get to) and raising a three year old. What is so hard about raising a three year old you might ask? Well just take for instance:

~"Picture Days" was last week at school with a fall and Christmas background. The intent was to take the fall picture (wear fall colored clothes) on Tuesday, and then Wednesday dress up for the Christmas pic. Sterling was sooo excited to get his picture taken and we have NEVER had issues with this. (as I'm sure you can tell by all the previous pictures on my blog) He even "pinkie promised" me the night before that he was going to get them done. (which this is his new thing now...Daddy taught) WHELL, as soon as they came to tell his class it was time to go, he freaked out. He wanted his mommy.

So they came and got me.

I thought, "ok, I can make him take his picture. Bribing ALWAYS works with him, if not that, spanking. (don't judge!)"

Not happenin'!

So, no pictures Tuesday. Wednesday (after pinkie promising again, mind you) comes and I now have both outfits with me, just in case he decides to actually do this. He made progress by actually walking in the room this time, so I'm thinking YAY he's gonna do it. Yeah, not so much. He started crying and throwing a fit. I picked him up and put him in my lap while they proceed to take our picture because they, of course, think it's just hilarious. He then proceeds to cover his face while crying, shaking his head, and saying,"Nooo I don't want to take a picture!!" So needless to say, we didn't get any pictures today when the guy brought the proofs up to the school.

~Oh, and the argumentative-ness (not a word I'm sure) is well under way. Help us all!

~Gymnastics has been a hoot. He had to get a spankin from Daddy last week because he didn't want to participate in class. (You probably think we spank our child way too much. But I am here to tell you, that we really rarely spank him, I am just pointing out the highlights!) See, since we moved him back down to the parent child class, he should be fine going in there because one of us is with him the whole time. Not so much. His favorite, Daddy, went in there last week and Sterling didn't want to do anything. He would just sit down, pout and then cry. A.K.A~being ornery, testy, a brat...whatever you may call it. But then he was fine after the spankin and actually participated. He and Owen were even wrestling.

~So, he is completely pee-pee potty trained, but still manages to wait until he gets to wear a diaper at bedtime to poop! I'm tellin you, I'm about done paying $25 a package just so my son can poop when he feels like it and someone else has to clean it. Grrrr!!!!! Which this topic leads me to the pictures on the post.

Monday morning, like every morning (why would this one be any different!?!), Sterling woke up with a load in his britches and his pjs were soaked from pee. So Heath changed him (what a sweetie) and I walk in the room to see this... He is hiding, stark naked I might add, because he "don't want to see and talk to anybody." His words. Not mine.

Then it turned into a game...hiding from the camera because he didn't want me to take his picture.

Ahhh, gotta love those three year olds! Where did my sweet little two year old who minds everything I say and doesn't throw fits, go? I want HIM back!! :)

opening season

Is anyone else a deer hunters widow this weekend!?!

4th picture

I was tagged by my friend Dallas to do another fun picture post! This one is the 4th picture in your 4th folder. So here is mine! Sterling and Claire at our 1st annual pumpkin carving contest 2 years ago. Sterling had just turned one and wasn't walking yet. Claire was Sterling's age now!

I tag anyone else who wants to do it!!

Happy Roar-a-ween

I am almost certain that you all have lost sleep over the anticipation of seeing Sterling's Halloween costume! (TOTALLY kidding!) so without further adue.....

Sterling the dinosaur

Cute huh! :)

Our Halloween was a fun filled busy day! We started off going to Aunt Brooke's office and trick-or-treating there. It was fun getting to see where she works and you had a blast. Except when we had to bribe you with candy to put your costume back on because you were too hot. Course I really don't blame you, you were sweaty! But it couldn't have been because it was 78 degrees outside...not at all! Thanks Aunt Brooke for letting us come see you!

Then it was off to see Grams and Grandma to let them see your costume. Grams enjoyed seeing you in it for the whole 2 min that you left it on!

Then we were off to Claire and Owen's Boo Bash aka, Uncle Shane and Aunt Rachel's house for a Halloween party and some trick-or-treating!! Here you are with Claire and Owen waiting on Clayton and Caiden to get there and watching for other trick-or-treaters. You, of course, didn't have your costume on because you were too hot!

Yay there they are...let's go!!

(this is the best picture I could get of them. we can never get a good picture of all of them at the same time!)

"TRICK-OR-TREAT!!!!"

(Paula Dean has actually been at this house and shot an episode here. Pretty cool huh!)

Here is what you looked like most of the night...naked under the costume with it half off the whole time. Who knew it was going to be so beautiful on Halloween night!

These people had a little thing set up that you put your hand into and they have little things set up inside the box that feel like different things. You, of course, wouldn't stick your hand in it you just looked!

Here is how your family was dressed...bunch of crazy kids!

(Nana and Papa...50's)

(Chad and Jennifer...50's) (Shane and Rachel...classic House wife and dad...June Cleaver)

(Mitch and Brooke...King and queen)

(Our good friends Travis and Erin...dorky American tourists) All the ladies

All the crazy guys!

We had such a fun time and thanks to Shane and Rachel for hosting the Halloween Bash! Can't wait till next Halloween...I already have a costume in mind! haha