Two Songs

Linking up with Lauren and Tiffany again today for another week of the YOU challenge.  This has been so much fun.  I can't believe next week is the last one.  

This week's challenge is 2 songs.  Definitely another challenge for me.  There are so many songs I could put here for many different reasons, but in the end, I came up with these two:  

{one}  A Moment Like This - Kelly Clarkson
My friend Tabetha sang this song at mine and Eric's wedding while we had our first dance.





{two}  Country Girl - Luke Bryan
Like I said in my last post, this is my new favorite song.  



Honorable mentions: 
Boyfriend - Justin Bieber (yes, I know I'm a woman in my late twenties listing a JB song.  It's fun to dance to! :P)
Amazed - Lonestar (mine and Eric's "song")  
Our God - Chris Tomlin 
Your Love Never Fails - Jesus Culture
The Climb - Miley Cyrus

Weekend in Review

I hope you all had a great weekend!


Friday evening we took Chris to his soccer game.  My parents are always there to watch him, but this time Eric got to go, too.  They only have a couple games left for this season and Eric wanted to see one before it was over, so he took the night off to come along with us.  Chris is getting better and better at playing.  He really enjoys it now.  

For some reason, only 3 players on the Hurricanes (Chris' team) showed up, one of them being Chris.  We still don't know what happened to everyone else.  Thankfully the coach on the opposing team had one of his daughters with him that isn't on a team this season and she agreed to play on Chris' team for that game, so that gave them 4 players.  The opposing team had 8 players, so their coach let 4 of the kids play the first half, and switched to the other 4 for the second half, so it ended up working out pretty well.  

At one point during the game, the ball was out in the middle of the field.  None of Chris' team members went for it, so all of a sudden Chris just starts charging down the line toward the ball.  All of the kids on the opposing team saw Chris coming full speed ahead toward the ball and instead of trying to get ball before he did, they split right down the middle -  half ran to the left, half ran to the right, leaving Chris with an open shot to get the ball and kick it.  Everyone thought that was hilarious.  After that, Chris' coach said he wanted to put him as goalie since the other team was apparently afraid of him.  

Chris on goalie

That night, Eric and I dropped the kids off at my parents house and we went out to a local country music bar to see my friend's husband play in his band.  One of our other friends, Erika, was there also.  I've never been to a bar so I wasn't sure what to expect.  It was a pretty interesting night.  Things were pretty calm at first and then all of a sudden a loud "WOOOOOOOOO" came from a guy at the table next to ours.  And he wasn't even drunk yet ;)  You can just imagine how much louder and more often he "woooo'd" after having a bunch of drinks in him.  There was a creepy stalker lady but I won't go into details about that.  There was this one lady who kept trying to get us to get up and dance.  When we finally did, she gave us all a high-five, haha.  I got the courage to get up and slow dance with Eric.  Anyone who knows me knows that is a big deal.  I can't don't dance.  I haven't danced with Eric since our wedding day so he was pretty happy that I actually got out there and danced with him.  I tried my first Long Island Iced Tea.  I didn't think I'd like it but it was pretty good.

Eric and I

me, Abby, and Erika.  BFF's.  Just missing Joanne :(

the band, Full Circle

The band was awesome!!  I recognized a few of the songs they did but most of them were new to me.  I think my new favorite song is "Country Girl" by Luke Bryan ;)  I've been jamming to it all weekend.  

Saturday was pretty laid back.  That afternoon we took the boys to the playground at Logan's school so they could run off some energy.  There is a house directly across from the school that is decorated for Halloween.  There is this inflatable black cat in the front yard, it's literally as big as the house is.  Logan calls it the "creepy cat".  It does look kind of mean and its head tilts back and forth.  While we were there, Logan kept running up to the fence and saying "I'm going to look at the creepy cat!"  

"creepy cat".  You can't tell because of the tree but it's tail curls all the way up to the top of the house

my little daredevil

While we were at the park the boys kept asking Eric to play hide and seek with them.  They aren't very good at hiding (some part of their body is sticking out or they start giggling) but they always have so much fun.  

Eric looking for the boys

Logan running toward me from his hiding spot

hiding on the ground under the bench I was sitting on

Chris running toward me from behind the tree

That night we all watched Avengers together.  It was a pretty good movie.  The boys loved it.  They are big into superheros right now.  

On Sunday we just hung out around the house until that afternoon when we took Chris and Logan to Skateland.  We didn't end up staying very long because it looked like Chris wasn't feeling well.  He ended up at the ER that night.  Turns out he has his very first ear infection :(   

What did you do this weekend?

What Do They Know, Anyway?

My son Chris was diagnosed as developmentally delayed when he was around 3 years old.  I was told he would always be behind, would always struggle, would always need help, etc etc.  

He started out wonderfully.  He was developing normally, had good language skills, then around 15-18 months old, his language regressed immensely.  I strongly believe that has everything to do with the vaccines he had at that time, but that's a whole other issue.

His speech didn't improve any after that so we started to look into speech therapy.  After many specialists and evaluations, Chris was given a 'play' therapist when he was 3.  She would come over twice a week for an hour and play with him, trying to get him to talk.  After his vocabulary grew, he was given a speech therapist to work on articulation.  

He went through several speech therapists before he finally was paired with one that stuck.  One of them was fired, one couldn't work with our schedule, one quit, and then another one worked with him for several months and then was transferred to another county.  That's when he got Christy.  She is amazing.  Chris started to see her in preschool at the beginning of the school year.  He did so well that just before Christmas break she told me that he didn't need her anymore so she would phase him out when they returned to school after the winter break.  

Talking with Chris today, you'd never know that speech had ever been an issue for him.  

He currently receives OT for handwriting and fine motor control and sees an EC teacher twice a week because he's still labeled developmentally delayed.  

This afternoon I had a meeting with Chris' teacher.  She spent maybe 5 minutes on paperwork and 30 minutes praising him.  She actually had a doctors appointment to get to so the meeting was supposed to be quick, but she just couldn't stop saying how wonderful he was doing and how proud of him she was.  He is one of the hardest working and best behaved children she has in her class.  Chris, at the beginning of this school year (first grade) when they test to see where each child is, was reading at a end-of-first-grade level and is now well into a second grade level.  

Now, what was that about struggling?  Always needing help?  Placing out of speech and reading above his grade level sounds pretty successful to me, but what do I know, right?  :)  

Chris has some struggles, but you know what?  He takes them on with everything he has.  

He may not do everything on this or that experts timetable, or the AAP's timetable, or some other know-it-all's timetable, but when he's "got" something down, he's got it!  

They can label him delayed all they want to.  Chris is proving them wrong more and more every day and I couldn't be more proud of him!  

Three Films

Linking up today with Lauren and Tiffany for week 8 of the YOU challenge!  Woohoo!

This week's challenge is 3 films.  

This was definitely a challenge.  There are so many movies that I enjoy and that could have made this list, but here are 3 movies that I absolutely LOVE and watch over and over again.

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days

This is one of my favorite movies of all time.  I *love* Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey together, wonderful chemistry!  My husband Eric is not usually a fan of "chick flicks" but even he loves this one :)  

Andie: Unattached? 
Ben: Currently. 
Andie: Likewise. 
Ben: Surprising. 
Andie: Psycho? 
Ben: Rarely, Interested? 
Andie: Perhaps. 
Ben: Hungry? 
Andie: Starving. 
Ben: Leaving? 
Andie: Now? 

Sweet Home Alabama

Another one of my top favorites.  I looooove this movie, even though Melanie ends up leaving McDreamy Andrew :(.  

Young Melanie: What do you want to be married to me for, anyhow? 
Young Jake: So I can kiss you anytime I want. 

Melanie: The truth is I gave my heart away a long time ago, my whole heart, and I never really got it back.

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

My Best Friend's Wedding

Who doesn't enjoy watching a good love triangle?  ;)  

George: Michael's chasing Kimmy? 
Julianne: Yes! 
George: You're chasing Michael? 
Julianne: YES! 
George: Who's chasing you... nobody, get it? There's your answer. It's Kimmy. 

What are some of your favorite movies?

Just An FYI

This is for all of my followers, but especially the new ones (welcome, by the way ;)).  

I don't blog every day.  There are times I will have two posts in one day, times where I write three or four days in a row, and then there are times when there are several days in between posts.  I also do a lot of link-ups.  I think they are fun and it is a great way to meet other bloggers.  I've seen plenty of people out in blog land who don't consider link-ups to be "quality" posts, and that's fine, everyone is entitled to their own opinion.  But I happen to enjoy doing them :)  

I feel the need to put this out there for you all because I've noticed a pattern.  Every time I go a few days without posting, I lose followers.  Usually only one.  Sometimes two.  But one time I noticed a 4-5 follower drop.  It hurt my feelings at first, but I'm working on not letting it bother me.  

I don't want to feel pressured to write.  I blog because I enjoy it.  If I start to feel pressured, it is going to take the fun out of it for me, and I'm going to want to quit. 

 I'm a busy mom of two busy little boys.  Most of my blogging is done in the mornings when the boys are at school or late at night when they are in bed.  But sometimes I have a lot to do during the day and blogging goes on the back burner.  Sometimes I'm so tired at night from being a referee, taxi, cook, nurse, maid, and all the other mommy duties I have, all I want to do is watch TV for a little while and then go to bed.  

I won't always have a new post up every day, or even a "quality" one, but I'll always be here.  Because I enjoy blogging.  I'm here to stay and I hope you all will stay with me.  :)

Have a great week!  

Four Books

Here we are for another week of the 10 Day You Challenge.  I'm pretty excited about this week.  This weeks topic will cover books.  

Here are 4 book series that I really enjoyed reading.  

{one}  Harry Potter Series

This is one of my very favorite series to read.  I've read all 7 books several times.  My sons are huge fans of the movies, so I'm going to hold onto the books so they can read them when they get older.  

{two}  Twilight Saga

I know, I knoooooow.  A lot of people can't stand the Twilight books or movies, but I happen to like them both.  :)


{three}  Hunger Games Trilogy

This is one of my favorite favorites ;).  These.books.were.awesome!  A lot of people I knew were reading them and I just didn't understand what all the hype could possibly be about.  I decided to read them myself and see.  I got sucked in quickly!  These 3 books kept my attention and kept me wanting more the entire time.  


{four}  Shopaholic series

The Shopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella is definitely a great series to read if you like to laugh.  The main character Becky Bloomwood is so lovable, even if she makes you want to bang your head against the desk or wall every once in a while ;) 

What are some of your favorite books to read?

New Blog Design, Button Swaps

Hi everyone!  I hope you're all having a fabulous weekend so far.  

For those of you who haven't noticed yet, my blog got a makeover :D  I'm loving the new look.  The design is by Kelly over at Kelly's Avenue Designs.  She is so friendly and very easy to work with.  I definitely recommend going to her if you'd like a new look for your blog.  

I'm also offering button swaps.  If you would like to swap buttons with me, just send me an email at jnolan05@embarqmail.com.  

Once my blog grows a little more I will start offering sponsor spots, so stay tuned for that.  

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!  

Ahoy, matey. Arrrrr.

Today is Talk Like a Pirate Day and participating Krispy Kreme locations are offering a dozen free donuts to anyone who dresses up and talks like a pirate.  If you don't want to dress up as a pirate, talking like one will earn you one free donut.  

Logan has a Jack Sparrow costume so I asked him if he wanted to dress up and talk like a pirate to get some donuts.  

Krispy Kreme wasn't as busy as I thought it would be.  We parked next to this car with two grown men.  They looked like they were contemplating going inside or not.  Finally they both put on a bandana and eye patch and walked inside.  They looked a little embarrassed though :)  

 Logan walked in and said, "Ahoy, matey.  Arrrr." and walked out with a dozen donuts ;)  He thought that was pretty cool.  We don't get donuts very often so that was a nice little treat for us.  

My little pirate

Five Foods

I am now officially halfway through the 10 Day You Challenge!  Woohoo!  This week is about five foods.

Here are five foods that I love:

{one}  any kind of pasta dish

{two}  chicken that has been cooking in the crock pot all day.  yummmmm

{three}  cookies n cream ice cream

{four}  pork chops

{five}  cheesecake

Five Question Friday

1. How long did it take you to find your wedding dress? Wedding dress pics, anyone?
Once I actually started looking for one, I was able to find a dress within a week or two.  I don't remember how long it took exactly.  That was a long time ago ;) 

This is the only picture I have on my computer of me in my wedding dress.  



2. Someone in your general vicinity releases a nasty smelling fart. Do you say anything or blow it off? 

If it is Eric or one of the boys that does it, I will say something to them jokingly.  Otherwise, I don't say anything.  


3. What is the scariest thing that happened to you or scared you recently?

My most recent scare was a couple weeks ago when Eric's car broke down.  It broke down on the interstate, so while Eric was at work one day, my dad and I went to the spot it stopped at and tried to get it back to my house.  Dad was driving Eric's car and I was following behind him in my van.  Everything was going fine for a few miles and then all of a sudden there was this *loud* BOOM and then there was smoke everywhere.  There was so much of it I couldn't see where I was going and I just knew I was going to run into the back of him.  Thankfully I didn't though.  So that was pretty scary.  

4. Favorite brand & flavor of ice cream.

I don't really have a favorite brand, although I don't care for Pet ice cream.  I'll eat anything but that.  My favorite flavors are neapolitan, butter pecan, and cookies and cream.  Yum! :)

5. Are you able to sleep well in hotels? 

Thankfully, I haven't had to stay in a hotel very often, because when I do, I sleep horribly.  I don't know what it is but I end up tossing and turning all night and waking up every couple hours.  I definitely prefer to sleep in my own bed.