my boy

My Sweet Grayson,

Tomorrow you will turn into a big 1 year old! It is hard for me to believe that at this time last year I was anxiously awaiting your arrival in the hospital. I couldn't wait to see how big you were, who you looked like, and what kind of personality you had.  I was smitten from the moment I laid eyes on you. You were perfect. Ever since I was a little girl, all I had dreamed about was becoming a mom. Baby boy, you made my dream come true! I am so proud to call you my son. I am so thankful that God chose me to be your mama. 

This past year has been the most exciting one yet. I have loved watching you grow & learn new things. I have loved seeing you change from a sleepy newborn to a little boy with loads of personality!

Grayson, you have taught me so much in just 1 year. I have learned so much about myself since you have been here. I have a whole new level of patience that did not exist before & you have shown me a whole new kind of love. The kind of love that changes a person. The kind of love that makes this mama feel complete.

I am so excited to watch you change and grow. I can't wait to hear you really start talking. I can't wait to see you become a big brother. I can't wait to watch you learn new things. You are brave, determined, and have such a strong will.   I pray for you every single day. I pray that God will use all of your strong character traits to do something wonderful in life. I pray that you will one day understand what it means to have a relationship with Jesus and you will desire that for your own life. I know that God has big plans for you!

Your sweet smile & laugh have brought so much joy to our lives this year. Everyone we pass in the store always comments on your big, smily blue eyes. Grayson, you have filled a void in my heart that I didn't even know was missing.

G, I hope you always know just how much me & your daddy love you. You are our world, baby boy!

Love, Mama

You can find me...

in St. Louis rollin' on dubs guest blogging over at The Smitten Mintons today!

Come check it out!

...and you will be my new best friend if you know what song I was referring to up there! 

So What! Wednesday

Today is my favorite day. Hump day. Grocery day (I'm weird). and....(drumroll, please) SO WHAT!  WEDNESDAY! This week I am saying SO WHAT if...

• I am a little too excited that one of my fave bloggers (cough *SHANNON* cough) switched back over to Blogger & now I can figure out how to follow her! Sorry WordPress people, it's too difficult for this non-tech savvy gal. 
• I have been frantically watching all of my DVR'd shows recently...like went to bed at midnight because I was so behind. We are switching to Direct on Thursday & my current DVR will be dunzo. 
• I am totally creeped out by Dish Network. After my annoyance with them last week, I tweeted (hate that work, btw) about it and not 5 minutes later they started following me on Twitter. What the frack?! Stalkers. 
• I am totally stressed about resetting my new DVR schedule. What if I forget something important like Teen Mom, RHOeverycityinAmerica, or Project Runway?!
• I am a total baby boy clothing snob. I admit it. Boy stuff is so much tackier than girl stuff. Monkeys, Balls, & stupid sayings. Make. It. Stop.
• I think that if I refuse to acknowledge the fact that my squishy newborn turns 1 on Monday then it just won't happen. Right? I want to keep him this way forever. 
• I pay for Netflix everything month but haven't actually used it since...um, April? No worries, I sent back the uber dusty Modern Family disc today. 

Go link up with Shannon..I want to hear what you're saying "SO WHAT" to! 

monday happies

Today Ben went back to work for the first time in 11 days. Not even kidding. That never happens! We had a little Nashville staycation this week complete with a visit to the zoo AND the Tennessee State Fair. I am fairly certain I gained 13 pounds at the fair. Fried oreos? So worth it.

I went to Goodwill on Saturday looking for a chair to refinish for the computer room. No such luck. However, I did find this little guy for $10! Holy steal, Batman. These things retail between $40-$50 at the toy stores. We looked at this Step 2 Push Car for G's birthday but settled on something else. I just couldn't pass this thing up for $10. All it needed was a bath & now it's good as new! I love a good deal. I do always feel like I a)need to take a shower & b)have lice when I leave Goodwill. Blech. 

Guess what shipped today???? My Erin Condren Life Planner! I am so excited for this little beauty to arrive. You KNOW you are getting old when a planner is something you truly look forward to. I'm okay with that. 

I made 2 new yummy meals this weekend & I wanted to share the recipes with y'all. Enjoy!

Chicken Tender Fried Rice

 This recipe is from Publix and was SO good. It was super easy & literally only took about 10 minutes to make. 

Here is what you need:

3 thinly sliced green onions

3 (we used 4) chicken tenders -- I got ours from the Publix deli

1 10oz bag of precooked frozen rice with veggies (I used Trader Joe's vegetable fried rice & it worked fine)

1 tbsp sesame oil

3 tbsp stir-fry sauce

1 beaten egg

Cook the rice according to the package. Some you may microwave first...I didn't have to. I put my Trader Joe's rice right into the saute pan with the sesame oil. Stir it around for a few minutes until warm. Stir in the stir-fry sauce. Add the egg slowly & stir constantly. You don't want chunky scrambled eggs in your rice. Cut up the chicken into bite size pieces. Add the chicken and the green onions. Stir until everything is warm.

Hootenanny

Thank you to Shannon AND my beloved Pinterest for introducing this deeeelicious breakfast to me. This will be my new weekend staple.  Basically, this is a cross between a pancake & french toast. How could you go wrong?

Here is what you need:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup milk

6 eggs

1.4 tsp salt

I added some cinnamon & sugar...eyeballed it:)

Pour batter into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake for 25 minutes at 400. Top with syrup...would also be great with powdered sugar!

Grayson and the Red Balloon

Sounds like a book title, doesn't it? Grayson found a new love while we were in Oxford over Labor Day weekend: balloons. My bestie, his aunt Whit, brought him a balloon from the store. Grayson was obsessed. He carried that red balloon all over the house, tried to share it with her massive horse dog goldendoodle, and was really excited when I tied it around his wrist. I took about 100 pictures of G with his balloon (not even kidding). I had to share a few because I am a proud mama and he is so dang cute. 

best kept secret in the south

 If you are not from the south, college football is probably not a huge deal to you. If you are from the south & college football is still no big deal...then I am not sure what is wrong with you. I grew up cheering on the Georgia Bulldawgs but spent my first 5 years of adult-life in the best kept secret south of the Mason Dixon line: Oxford, MS....home of the Ole Miss Rebels. I adore this small college town and & the Black Bears Rebels .  Seriously, I love it. There is nothing more fun than spending a Saturday in the fall tailgating in the Grove! 

 We spent our Labor Day weekend in Oxford with our friends, Whitney & Matt. Thankfully they never left Oxford so we always have a place to stay! winning!

 This was Grayson's first time to tailgate in the Grove. I wasn't sure how he would do because a)it was about 97 degrees, b)it was during nap time, and c) there are about a gazillion people there. Grayson was a champ! He had so much fun walking around & "talking" to people. He loved seeing dogs, eating chicken tenders (shocker), and trying to steal adult beverages out of the coolers. Ha!

I love this. He felt so big with his sippy cup listening to the big boys!

 I stayed in the Grove for about 3 hours & left right before the game. Ben went with Whitney & Matt. Sadly, we lost to BYU. Again, shocker. G and I went shopping on the Square during the game. I'll take that!

 My little Rebel looked so cute in his game day outfit! We will be wearing this every weekend until it's cold. I ordered it off of Etsy from Cappy's Closet. She has lots of other SEC schools and makes cute jon jons & dresses!

Being back in Oxford always makes me want to move back so bad. I miss the small town charm and I miss my best friend. I'm so glad we got to have our grove experience this year...here's to hoping we actually win a few games this season! Hotty Toddy!

So What! Wednesday, menu, and a recipe!

It's Hump Day (giggle) which means it is time for Shannon's So What! Wednesday. Happy dance! This week I am saying SO WHAT if...

• It's hard for me to smile & be nice to certain people because I think they are bat-you-know-what crazy. 
• I got excited when I finally saw what they were adding to the shopping center in our neighborhood...a liquor store! Don't judge. 
• I want to throw rocks at the Dish Network people for the following reasons: taking away almost all of our HD channels (hello, BRAVO?! I need you!), screwing up my DVR (um, Teen Mom. I'm ticked), AND being three hours late (as of right now) to their appointment at our house. 
• I had a terrible dream that I completely forgot about Grayson's birthday party and nothing was prepared. Now I'm stressed.
• It suddenly got cold in Tennessee and I realized yesterday that we have no warm clothes for our child. Oops. 

I haven't done a menu plan in a few weeks. When I don't post it...I never stick to it. So here goes nothing! 

Wednesday: BBQ chicken tortilla pizzas--recipe below

Thursday: baked pork chops, rice, and skillet apples

Friday:Tennessee State Fair...I will NOT be counting calories. Funnel cakes, come to mama!

Saturday: chicken tender fried rice

Sunday: dijon roasted chicken with carrots & potatoes

Monday: panko chicken bites with mango habanero sauce & rice

Tuesday: Taco Cornbread Casserole--this looks SO good!

BBQ chicken tortilla pizzas have become a staple in our house. Ben and I both love thin crust pizza but I have never been able to create it on my own...this is the best way to do it! Here is my recipe:

What you need:

1 chicken breast

Your fave BBQ sauce (we use Sweet Baby Ray's original) -- I don't measure, sorry!

2 tortillas

shredded mozzarella

fresh cilantro

How you make it:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Coat your chicken with some BBQ sauce and grill it until cooked. When cooled off, cut it into small pieces. Place 2 tortillas on a cookie sheet and stick in the oven for about 5 minutes...just until slightly crisp. Take the tortillas out & put about 2 tbsp on BBQ sauce on your pizza. Spread it out almost to the edge. Add half the chicken to one tortilla & the rest to the other. Top with shredded mozzarella. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes until the cheese is bubbly & the crust is slightly browned. Top with fresh cilantro. Enjoy:)