Birthday weekend

On Sunday I turned 30. I still cringe just thinking of the number. For some reason, "30" has been a hard pill to swallow. I didn't want to turn 29 because I knew the next number was 30 and I have been dreading it all year long. I think it has to do with the fact that if being a wife, mom, homeowner, and teacher didn't make me feel old enough, I now have the age to prove that I am "all grown up". But, on the flip side, I have everything I ever wanted by the time I was 30 - I am a wife, mom, homeowner, and teacher. Truly, I have a blessed life and need to stop and count my blessings. Even if I didn't want this birthday to happen, I had a great time celebrating it! I got to celebrate all weekend long, starting on Thursday.

Mark took me out for a very nice dinner at one of the top-rated restaurants in Dallas - The Place at Perry's. It was absolutely delicious! They gave us a free crab-cake appetizer sampler because it was our first time there it was to die for!

On Friday night my parents drove into town to spend the weekend with us. At Char wen to bed we enjoyed some roaring games of Spades and Chicken foot. I am proud to say that Mark and I dominated game night! On Saturday morning, we went to the newly-renovated Children's Aquarium at Fair Park. It was small, but just the right size for Charlotte. They have a ledge in front of all the tanks that Charlotte could stand on and enjoy the view.

They also had a tank you could put your hand into.

The best part of the renovations was the outdoor area called stingray bay. They had some huge tanks filled with gigantic sting rays and other large fish.

On Saturday night Mark's parents came over to join us and Mark grilled out some delicious steaks. Here is Charlotte surrounded by her four grandparents. I don't think life gets much better for a 1-year-old!

Finally, on Sunday evening we had a cookout with our small group. This cookout was not for my birthday, but I had the added bonus that it was my birthday! Mark was sweet enough to bring a cookie cake to celebrate with. Cookie cakes are my favorite! Charlotte had fun playing with all the kids. Here she is with Emmie, who is only 6 months older than her.

My birthday wrapped up on Tuesday when my students at school held a celebration for me. They brought balloons and streamers and decorated my room. Thank you to everyone for making 30 a little easier to swallow!

Our day at home

Charlotte started getting a runny nose two days ago and last night she had a fever. This morning at 6:15, which is when we get her up is she isn't already awake, she was very soundly asleep. I didn't have the heart to wake her up. And, even if I did wake her up, if she had a fever she was going to need to stay home anyways. So, I just decided to take the day off and let her have some Mama-loving. I'm really glad I did. We ended up having a great day! Charlotte was in a really good mood, even though she wasn't feeling well. We played together, she played alone, we went to Target, we both took naps, and I even got some cleaning done! I took some videos while we were home together today.

Here is Charlotte entertaining herself by running in circles.

This is the first of two vidoes. She isn't exactly doing what I want her to with her snack. At the end, you can hear the phrase she has been saying constantly when she hands us something. She is saying, "Here you go."

This is the second half.

The best kind of dinner

In my opinion, the best kind of dinner is the one that is already made when I get home! That is basically what a slow-cooker does and I am loving my new one! I got a new digital one for Christmas and am trying to utilize it more. I have been trying some new recipes that I find online. Some have been great and some have been a flop. If you have any recipes you would love to share, please do so! I am trying to do one slow-cooker meal a week because it makes dinner so nice and easy after getting home from work. Tonight we had a recipe I have made several times and it is a favorite of ours! Try it and enjoy!

Pulled Pork

1 pork shoulder, boneless (2 ½ - 3 lb) - any pork cut of this sort will work, it doesn't have to be the shoulder

1 Tbsp McCormick Pork Rub

¼ tsp Thyme leaves seasoning

1 small onion, chopped (about ½ cup)

1 cup cola

2 cups barbecue sauce

8 buns sandwich buns or flour tortillas

Remove fat from pork with kitchen shears. Rub seasoning and meat tenderizer over pork and let if sit in the refrigerator overnight.

Place pork in slow cooker. I always use a crockpot liner. Sprinkle with onion. Pour cola over pork. Then sprinkle with thyme leaves. Cover; cook on Low Heat setting 8 to 10 hours.

Remove pork from slow cooker, reserve ½ cup juice/sauce. Cool some. Use 2 forks to pull pork into shreds. Place pork in a large sauce pan. Stir in barbecue sauce and reserve juices as needed. Cover and let simmer for 25-30 minutes. Spoon filling into buns.

Quick snapshot

All dressed up and ready to praise God this Sunday morning!

Look-alikes

One of the wonderful things about having an older sister who already has kids is that I can turn to her for advice and hand-me-down clothes! Jessica has been so wonderful to save her girls' clothes through the years and now we are making good use of them. I am also extremely happy for Charlotte that she has a cousin who is so close in age to her. Skylyn is 18 months older. I know that these cousins will have so much fun and make so many memories together as they grow up together.

Her is my mom with Skylyn and Charlotte. She bought them matching dresses for church.

Charlotte is wearing an outfit my parents bought in Hawaii for Aaris when she was almost 1.

Here is Aaris in that outfit 6 years ago. You can really see the difference in the amount of hair they have in this picture!

Char's favorite reads

Charlotte is finally getting to wear she will sit still long enough to read a book! Not every book, and she doesn't always make it through the whole book, but it is a start. My favorite thing is when we are sitting on the floor in the living room and she goes and gets a book and comes and plops in my lap. Reading to my child was definitely one of the things I most looked forward to when I thought of being a mom! Below are a few of her current favorites.

This is a great series of books! What have this one and "That's not my dinosaur." I predict I will by buying more in the near future!

We have 3 of the books, consisting of this one, farm animals, and wild animals. She loves feeling the different textures in these books!

Charlotte loves all of the small pages to flip in this book!

The next two my mom found. They have little flaps on the inside and Charlotte loves to flip and flip and flip the pages. I definitely have these books memorized!

Side note: My cousin, Hollie, recently did a post like this about her little boy's favorite books. I thought it was so cute I just had to copycat. Thanks, Hollie!

She always makes me laugh!

I love finding things that make Charlotte laugh that I never would have suspected. The first time I ever ran my SwifferVac around Charlotte she started crying. Tonight, after dinner, she thought it was pretty hysterical.

Mother's Day

Mark and Charlotte did a great job of making me feel very special and pampered on Mother's Day. It started on Saturday afternoon when I got to do my first round of shopping. I only went to one store, but it was great to go, take my time, and not be rushed! Plus, it was my favorite store, Ann Taylor Loft, so that wasn't too shabby! Then, on Sunday morning Mark got up and made me pancakes with a homemade strawberry syrup that I love! After that, Charlotte presented me with a beautiful new watch. We headed to church together and then over to Tom and Nancy's for lunch. We were very blessed to have Mark's grandmother, Wilmama, and his Uncle John, Aunt DD, and cousins Debi and Dan in town.

After lunch, we headed home. Charlotte went down for a nap and so did I! I got to read and then take a nap, for a grand total of two uninterrupted hours cuddled in my bed. The next amazing thing on my wonderful Mother's Day agenda was another round of shopping, this time at Kohl's. Finally, I got a little playtime with Char and then got to read her some books, cuddle, and tuck her into bed. I would say that was a pretty perfect weekend! Thank you to my amazing husband for always being so supportive of me. Thank you to my precious baby girl who makes me so happy to be her Mama every day!