Laughter is Contagious

Happy Birthday Sissy!

HAPPY 35TH BIRTHDAY SIS!

I love you with all my heart and feel so blessed to have you as my sister! Not only are you a wonderful sister, but a wonderful mother, wife, friend, role model, and aunt to Colt Henry. I am truly thankful for you!

Let the Festivities Begin

Last night, we celebrated Christmas with my dad's side of the family. It was such a fun time! Colt and Pop matched in their red...

Colt took over control of the TV at Uncle Bobby and Aunt Sandy's house...

Then hung out with Uncle Kap to watch what he turned the TV to...

After a good meal and opening presents, Colt played with his new Thomas take-along track and ate a yummy sugar cookie!

The Pink Pig: A Past Time and Now the Present

I can remember going to ride the Pink Pig as a little girl when it was on top of the downtown Rich's building. Well, a couple of years ago, the Pink Pig made its debut again...and it is not on top of the Rich's building (maybe because Rich's is no longer there and no longer Rich's), but in a big tent outside of Macy's at Lenox Square Mall.

Kristen and I decided to take Colt and Collin on Sunday, and boy did we make a good choice...they LOVED it! But, when we got there, the line was extremely long, so we made another good choice and took the boys to eat first. While we waited for our table, the boys got to open their ornaments from each other...

Then, while we waited for our food, the boys did a little snacking...

A little reading...

A little playing with trucks and trains (as a mom, you can't go anywhere without your bag of tricks)...

Then after lunch, it was off to the Pink Pig where we encountered this...

Fortunately Kristen and I had a Starbucks and the boys again had a little snack...

They were so excited because all we talked about was the pig choo choo, and Colt was ready...

Until we had to continue to wait in line...

But then it started moving again...

And we saw the light...

One more picture before we got on the pig...

And our mesmerized expression while on the ride...

Thanks Kristen and Collin for such a wonderful day...I think a tradition has been started!

Ode to Pop

My dad made the comment once that "he loved my blog, but there were not any pictures of Colt and Pop". So, here you go Pop (isn't this a sweet picture)...

And just as a side note, can you tell where my genes come from...this is me with my dad and my aunt (his twin sister). It's a little obvious!

My Italian Chefs

Tonight, Wes and Colt made pepperoni and pineapple pizza. It was great for me to just sit back and take pictures of it all. But, I am blessed to have a husband who cooks the majority of the time anyway...thanks babe!

First things first, chefs must always wash their hands before preparing the food.

After Daddy spread the sauce, it was time for the toppings...
mozzarella cheese...

pepperoni...

and dad had to do the pineapple, because Colt wanted to eat it instead of top it...

And the finished product was delicious! It was a fun family dinner!

Thanks Mrs. Corrie!

I love my shirt!

Isn't his Christmas truck shirt cute! My friend, Corrie, makes really cute kid's clothes...she has great shirts for the holidays and other occasions. Check her blog out here and her Etsy store here.

Just the Boys

Sunday was a lazy day for us. Colt was not feeling well so we did not go to church, and we just spent some down time as a family. But, that morning I went to Starbucks to get some work done while the boys stayed at home. When I got home, I could tell they had a blast! There was a mountain of wipes on the coffee table.

And, I could tell that they had worked hard too. There were legs on Colt's train table so that we could store toys underneath.

So, it was a fun morning with Daddy. Plus, daddy got him dressed...who cares what you look like when you are having fun, right. In case you can't tell Colt is wearing brown and green running pants with a red t-shirt. It just made me smile!

So, what makes for a better day than to run around in the field with daddy...
And pull out every pot and pan in the cabinets...such beautiful music and a great day!

Running and Cheering

Again, another post that is a little behind, but I wanted to give a shout-out (I guess I think I am calling in to 95.5 the Beat) to Wes and Ashley for running the half-marathon on Thanksgiving Day. So, the reason for the title of this post is that they were the ones running, and Todd and I were the ones cheering...we obviously didn't do such a great job (j/k, we knew the poster was upside down)!

I think that we definitely had the better end of the deal on that quite chilly morning with an egg and cheese croissant and coffee in our hands. But, Wes and definitely had the healthier deal! They both did awesome! Wes surprised us, and we barely got a picture of him passing us (hint: tall cutie to the left in the red shirt)...

So, we were ready for Sis, who was only a minute and a half behind him...woo hoo!

And, we saw Heather too (waving in the green shirt)!


We had such a great morning...so good that I am fine with being a cheerleader for now!

Clean Sweep with Katie

Okay, so this post is a little out of order, but this is not the first time I have had to play "catch up" on my blog...and I am sure that it will not be the last. Now this post is going to reveal a side of me that most people don't know about...I am a closet junkie. Not the closet junkie that eats a lot of candy when noone is looking, but literally my closets are junkie (am I spelling that right or is it junky). Anyways, my house usually is "picked up", except tonight, but don't step foot in my closets or an injury is likely to happen.

So, a couple of weeks ago, I called my dear, sweet, organized friend, Katie. And man did she come to the rescue...and man did she mean business! Have you seen the show "Clean Sweep" on TLC. Well, it came to me in the form of Katie...we had a bag for trash, a basket to keep, and a basket to give away.

After four hours of cleaning two closets(I know, she is a great friend)...this was the result. Here is a before and after of one closet.

And the after of another closet...I did not take a before of this one because it was too embarrassing. Well, it was embarrassing, but I did not think about the before and after pictures until this closet was already done.
Wow, can you believe it? It really was a very freeing feeling after I knew that everything had a place...some in the closet and some in the trash. So, it is tough to reveal the messy side of Maggie, but I am doing it in hopes that I will inspire someone else to clean out the messies (again, not a word, but oh well) and to thank Katie for all of her amazing advice and help!

Thank you Katie!
Oh, and she gave me homework on some of my closets upstairs, so maybe this will be a "to be continued"...

Thirty and Thankful

So, with my birthday being the second day of December, it generally falls near Thanksgiving. And with Thanksgiving being later this year, only five days separated the two events. And I think it has made me realize how truly blessed and thankful I am. While I am entering into another decade, I can no longer say I am in my twenties, but can now say that I am "thirty-something". And if they bring that show back from the early nineties, I would be happy to be a part of it.

It has actually been exciting, and I had such a wonderful birthday...mainly because of my husband, Wes. I love that man more and more each day and am so thankful to have him in my life. He made thirty a bigger deal than I did and planned two parties for me...one for family and one for a few close friends. He and Colt made me a hand painted picture frame by my one and only frequently mentioned "Picasso". Look for Colt Henry's masterpieces in the Louvre one day.

So, as I venture into my thirties, I simply feel blessed. Blessed to have been raised under the truth that we have a Heavenly Father who loves us unconditionally and will carry us through anything life throws in our path. Blessed to have such an amazing husband who I can wake up to every morning and know I am loved. Blessed to have a little boy who teaches me daily what is important in life and always puts a smile on my face no matter how I am feeling.

Blessed to have such a wonderful family who supports me and is there for me no matter what.

I think Colt was saying "Mom, you might be 30, but I am 1." Yeah, that is what he was saying, ha ha!
I love this picture of Macey and I.

And blessed to have such wonderful girlfriends in my life who encourage me, listen to me, and are just there period...to laugh, cry, vent, and just be girls!

I am blessed to have each and every one of you in my life. I am so thankful for my family and friends who have all touched me in a special way and helped me on my journey to where I am today. So, I am thirty and thankful...and I think that the best is yet to come!