Lovin' my girls' haira!

Both of my girls had some new things going on with their hair today...

Scarlett woke up with some very fabulous, very voluminous hair so we put a few of mommy's accessories in when she woke up and rocked them during breakfast...

Hello blue eyes!

Here is Scarlett enjoying one of her new favorite tasks... carrying her dirty diaper to the trash can. She ALWAYS wants to carry it... my little helper! I guess this is a step toward potty training?!?

Apparently you can enjoy your waffles and fruit more when you have "worked" for them...

And then there is my other girl... my Callie girl. She has practically been wearing a fur coat out in the heat all day. She was overdue for her "summer cut." Bless her little heart she would just lay on the tile and pant forever when she came in at night.

But the curly ears and feathering had to go!!!

Here is our summer ready Callie...

I know it is not a traditional Springer cut, but it is so much more functional. She just loves to run outside all day and that means she needs to be as slick as a little otter... and believe me she is. Her ears are like velvet, so sweet.

On another note, I love to share when I have found something that works well... we have been using a ton of SPF lately. I feel like I am a sunscreen connoisseur. Seriously, one look at our family and you know why! But anyway, I really like the brand Ocean Potion (Mitch and I used it when we were on our honeymoon, which will be 6 years ago this weekend!, so the smell is sentimental to me!) and they have a great kids spray-on that dries instantly. I think I got ours at Target. I read the back and it said you can use it on children over 6 months so I use it on Scarlett too. I still use the baby lotion for her face though. Just thought I would share!

14 Months

First of all, I know Scarlett would like to wish her Aunt Sarah a very Happy Birthday today!!! We hope you have a great day Sarah, we love you!

Scarlett, You are 14 months today and are such a busy bee!!!

Here is what is going on with you...

- You wear all 18-24 month clothes and even some 2T

- You wear a size 5 diaper and a size 5 shoe!

- You are walking everywhere and are doing so well... you were running and pulling toys all over the place in the nursery at church yesterday.

- You have gone to 1 nap a day now... but it is a good 2.5 hours long!

- You are sleeping so well at night. I think all the walking you do during the day wears you out.

- You are understanding SO much of what we say to you... you can go get things from the other room if we ask you. Like your blankie, paci and lots of other things too. You know what to do when we ask you to 'shut the door' or 'come here'... this just amazes us! You are so smart!

- You LOVE to get in the refrigerator. It is very hard to close it once you have gotten to work...

I just let you play in it because I want you to be able to explore!

- You talk constantly. The other day at Kroger, you were talking away in the cart while I was putting the groceries in the trunk. The cart guy ran up frantically and said, "Did she call for me?" I said, "No, she has a lot to say but it does not make sense to us yet." ha!

- You look so grown up... sometimes I look at you and you look more like a little girl than a baby! wah!!!! This is going by too fast.

- You are seriously so sweet. You run up to me all the time and hug my legs or bring me your blankie and want me to love on you. Your daddy and I don't feel like you can be loved too much!!!!

- People are starting to say you look more like me which I love, but I think you are starting to look like yourself.... with your own precious little personality and all!

While you change so much from month to month one thing certainly stays the same: you are our little treasure! Our precious girl that God has given us to take care of. We cannot wait to get you out of your bed every morning! We love you so much. - Mama and Dada

A Productive Weekend and My Grandma's China

Good Sunday evening dear readers... I am sitting here typing with my feet propped up because I am tired with a capital T, people! We have had a great weekend, but it was not incredibly relaxing. That's okay though, I actually prefer them that way. We have been doing a ton of yard work (by we I mean Mitch, don't you know. ha!) and accomplished our entire weekend to-do list on Saturday so we have been hitting it pretty hard and heavy. Though I do really enjoy being productive, I figured I should go ahead and sit down for a little while :)

We worked in the nursery this morning at church. We love working the nursery... it gives us the opportunity to see Scarlett in action with other children, lets us love on other precious babies and plus we really like that it gives other parents the opportunity to focus more intently on meeting Jesus on Sunday mornings because they know their children are in good hands (or at least I hope they feel that way!)

Here is little missy before we left this morning...

Scarlett wore a little pillow-case top that her Nonni monogrammed for her.

I am telling y'all, this girl is a character! Her new favorite thing is to do something we have decided to call "scream fests." This happens at meal time (usually after we are done eating)... she will scream (and I mean loud, at octaves I did not know were possible) and then look at you and smile. She does it to get a rise and it is pretty hard to resist. Mitch and I laugh, is that bad? We are still trying to figure out this whole parenting thing!

Does Scarlett not look like she is from Whoville in this picture? Mitch and I laughed about this for a while. Little sweetie pie.

We entertained one of Mitch's classmates and her husband for dinner tonight. I do love entertaining. One of my favorite books (given to me by my most darling little Southern Belle friend, Laurelee) is Puttin' on the GRITS. My do I love my signed copy! It sits on my desk along with my other favorite books... Just a fun and inspiring read that always makes me laugh. I will share one of my favorite "Pearl Girl" quotes with y'all (btw. a "pearl girl" represents those of us southern girls who like to entertain).... A Pearl Girl Knows -- If conversation flags, there are two topics we Pearl Girls could talk about for hours: "How's your motha?" and "I love your haira!"

Anyhow, entertaining makes me think of preparations, setting a beautiful table, making people feel comfortable as if you have been expecting and anticipating their visit for weeks (even if your husband told you about it only 2 days before... that may or may not have happened!).

I set our table very simply but I thought I would show y'all....

I did not have any fresh flowers on hand so I just cut some ivy and wild strawberries out of my backyard!

Soon after Mitch and I got engaged my mom opened up a box of gorgeous blue and white china that had been my Grandmother's (her mama, Jean, whom Scarlett is named after). It was not a complete set and had several chipped pieces, but I fell in love with it. I already knew I wanted my kitchen to be blue & white because I think it looks so fresh. So, my mom gave it to me.

I love it because it was my NaeNae's (that is what we called her) and she was such a precious lady to me. I think of her when I walk by my China cabinet and see it displayed. I ended up adding some coordinating pieces from Macy's that we registered for. It is so fun to find pieces of 'Blue Danube' at antique stores and flea markets. I always feel like I have found a treasure when I do! I don't use my China much, but I like putting a few pieces in when we have guests or for special occasions. It was fun tonight to serve our dessert in the little 'Blue Danube' soup mugs... we had warm chocolate chip cookies and peach ice-cream.

Finally, I have to share with y'all a recipe from one of my dearest friends, and one of the best cooks I know, Beth. It is usually a faux pas to try a new recipe when you are expecting company, but I felt totally confident since this recipe came from Beth.

Roasted Veggie Pasta

It is so yummy and is a great way to get your veggies in.... plus it uses all the vegetables that are in season right now! I will leave the recipe below...

ROASTED VEGGIE PASTA

1 - 2 zucchini (not peeled), cut into bite sized pieces
1 onion, chopped
2 yellow squash (not peeled), cut into bite sized pieces
1 yellow pepper, bite sized pieces
1 cup baby carrots, bite sized pieces
2 Tablespoons olive oil
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
garlic powder, to taste

Add all of the above ingredients into a bowl and stir until coated with the olive oil and seasonings. Then transfer to a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 450 for around 15 minutes, until crisp-tender. Then set aside.

1 box rotini pasta
8 oz. provolone cheese (It's okay if you can't find shredded. Just tear the slices in pieces)
About 1/2 - 1 cup milk (I always guess!)
1/2 cup canned diced tomatoes with juice
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided in half

Cook pasta and drain. Return to pot and add provolone cheese and milk. (This is hard to mix b/c the cheese is really stringy at first. Just keep stirring. You may even need to turn the burner on low to get it melted good. It will eventually melt and mix together.) Add tomatoes and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese. Stir in vegetables. Taste it and add more salt, pepper, and garlic if you think it needs it. (Use real garlic cloves if you want. I do sometimes.) If it's not cheesy enough, add more cheese! If it's too dry, add more milk! You want it to end up being bubbly and a little creamy.
Transfer to a greased baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining parmesan cheese. Bake at 375, uncovered for 20 -25 minutes until bubbly.
I think I have even added mozzarella cheese before to make it more cheesy. Just experiment. This is delish!!!!!!!!!

A fun getaway and a daddy/daughter day!

Well, I did something big for the 1st time ever (it seems like there is a little trend of firsts starting around the Owen range, ha!) ... I left Scarlett for a whole day (meaning from after breakfast until after bedtime). I love being a stay-at-home mom (as I have said before, it is totally my dream job), but somedays you just gotta get out of your routine. So, this past Saturday I could think of no better girls (other than my mama and sissy) to get out with than 'the ducks' (my college suite-mates)! So, KT and I drove south and listened to the Dixie Chicks CD "Fly" the whole way down. We were so impressed with ourselves... I don't think we missed even 1 word as we sang along and it had been YEARS for me since jammin' to that one! Boy were we glad no one but us was listening though, ha!

We made it to Beth's house and loved every second of it!
How sweet is this little guy? I mean seriously, melt your heart sweetness! Will you please pray for him? He is currently in foster care in Beth and Josh's home. I cannot give details, but please pray hard that the Lord would work in this little guy's life.

We ate lunch at this darling restaurant we dined at once before...
5 Chefs in Portland, Tennessee

Here are KT, me and Bethel getting ready to enter...

We enjoyed a long, leisurely lunch on the back porch... it was nothing short of DIVINE!

After lunch we strolled around the little shop and got all kinds of fun decorating ideas. We were ecstatic to find these 3 "ducky" topiaries! What a perfect momento of our day together. Mine is now sitting in my kitchen window so I can think of my precious friends all the time.

When we got back to Beth's house and we did one of our favorite things... kicked off our shoes, jumped in the bed and watched "I Love Lucy" episodes! It was so fun and relaxing!

Now you may be wondering where precious Scarlett was while her mommy was away...
She was with her Daddy all day!

She was in good hands.

Mitch called it their daddy/daughter day.

I was SO impressed... Mitch fed her lunch and dinner and did bath time, bedtime and everything else in between by himself!!!! I have always felt so thankful for Mitch. I am so in love with him, would do anything for him, but having Scarlett has brought about a whole new part to our relationship.... a part that I love. Mitch is an incredible Daddy. I have to tell you what a laugh I got out of his honesty when I got home. He was laying on the couch.... he gave me the report on their day together, the house was clean, including the kitchen, and I was singing (practically shouting) his praises. He looked at me and said, "I am glad you did not get home about an hour ago because this place was trashed." Ha!!! I love you Mitch.

A beautiful Sunday with a couple firsts.

We enjoyed a sunny, hot Sunday here in the Bluegrass. I walked outside to feed Callie this morning and it was already gorgeous. Then when we walked out the door headed for church it was HOT. Who does not love a 3 day weekend!?! I am so glad that we still have tomorrow to spend together.

Here is our sweet, sweet girl.

She wore this pretty, blue smocked dress that her Lolli and Pop gave her to church today.

Can I please just have a moment? ....... my girl is growing up so fast! All through her first year people would tell me how fast it goes and now I believe them...and it is getting even faster!!!
Scarlett continues to be a pure joy to Mitch and I. She has such a sweet spirit and is fun and vivacious.

So, we had a couple firsts today here on the Owen range....
1. Scarlett rode in the car facing forward for the 1st time today.
2. Scarlett got her 1st bad "pop knot" on her head (it was after I took these pictures).

3. Scarlett stayed in the nursery at church by herself for the 1st time today. I know it may not seem like it but that is a big deal... mostly for me because I worry about her so much. She did great! She got down and did not even look back at me. But when I went to pick her up she ran to me! I was so proud of her.

Here is my girly-girl. She loves to get ahold of my pink clutch and carry it around. Her other favorite thing is bracelets. Mainly, bangles. Oh my... she is a piece of work!

Hoping everyone has a fabulous weekend as we remember those who have served our country. God Bless the USA!

Our Hill-topper.

My little brother Chaz graduated from WKU a couple weekends ago and we all loved celebrating his awesome accomplishment. He graduated from the Honors College with multiple honors... we were so proud!!! He just continues to be an amazing brother, uncle, young-man-of-God and friend. We love you CHAZ!!!!!!

We enjoyed a nice dinner before the graduation ceremony. Mitch and Scarlett headed to the hotel after dinner because the ceremony was going to last way past Scarlett's bedtime. Mitch is such a great daddy. Thank you, babe!

Here we are at dinner... (minus my sweet Dad who was the photographer)

Let's just say Scarlett loved her Alfredo....

Our little family of 3.

My PRECIOUS parents with our graduate. (they now have 3 college graduates!)

The sea of red from all the new graduates.

WAY TO GO CHAZ! We all love you so much.

Swinging in the rain.

Scarlett and I enjoyed a little lunch date with Kristin and Kingston earlier this week at the park. The weather man called for rain, but we decided to brave the elements anyway. Well, rain it did as it has been doing for what seems like the past month! I totally understand what Bill Meck (that is our beloved weather man) means by "scattered showers" now.

So, we just sat under the shelter until we did not feel like it was raining too bad and then we let the cuties swing!

They loved it! But when the rain came they were not happy with us when we grabbed them up and headed for cover again.

But dry or not we were thankful for a few fun hours with our friends.

Oh my goodness I LOVE this sweet girl!!!!!

The minor storms we have been getting around here reminds me to pray for our precious family and friends of Joplin, Missouri. Mitch's Aunt Mimi and her daughter Alex and her husband and sweet baby girl live in Joplin. Alex and her family had quite a scare and we are so thankful they are safe. I talked to Alex last night and she said they are still pretty shook up but so thankful that the Lord protected them. Also, my dear friend Mallory is a student at Ozark in Joplin. Thankfully she was home here in KY, but I know she will continue to be effected by the disaster that came through her second home. We will continue to pray for the city of Joplin!