Kumquats and such

A couple weeks ago, Jason and I decided to schedule a date night. Our dear friend, Maureen, was kind enough to watch Reagan while we enjoyed a nice meal and a movie. We headed down to Wilmington and ate a VERY early dinner at Macaroni Grill. It was fabulous, especially since it was half price wine day! This was the first time in a while that we were able to truly enjoy a meal without the constant interruptions from an almost 2-year old needing tons of entertainment. We stayed at the restaurant for almost 2 hours, taking our time and savoring our meals. After that, we drove a block and a half to the theater where we saw Ted . We had spent so much time at the restaurant, that we almost didn't have seats when we arrived. Instead, we managed to find two available seats about 4 feet apart in the handicapped row:) We laughed like a couple of teenagers and really enjoyed the movie. Plus, we got snacks: Ok, those were definitely MY snacks! But I saw this shortly after and almost wis...

Typically, after Jason gets home and eats dinner, he is on bath duty. It gives me 10 minutes to clean the kitchen, set up his coffee and make his lunch for the following day. One day last week though, everything was already done, so I snuck in to watch the fun. We recently got some Mr. Bubbles for Reagan and she LOVED them. She's such a cheeseball!

I've recently decided to pursue my dreams of being a photographer. Being a SAHM offers a lot of flexibility, but it also means towing Reagan around with me for photo shoots. I typically keep her strapped in the stroller with snacks and books to entertain her. She has been a champ and sat patiently while I run around like a crazy lady. After our most recent session, I took her to the park to finish the pictures. It was nearing 4pm and it was HOT. She was a mess, but she still "cheesed" for the camera: Love my girl! She's such a good photography buddy!

One hot afternoon in June, Reagan was not feeling like being outside. So we decided to break out the washable Crayola paint and have some fun. I had some extra cardboard lying around and she used that to decorate for Daddy's office.

A few months ago, I was at the local Food Lion searching for some good bread in the bakery section. If you've never been to Jacksonville, NC, you don't realize just how limited my options were. Having turned my nose up at the terrible choices offered to me, I found myself in the baking aisle and came across this: Find link to bread here Fleischmann's offers four different types of Simply Homemade No Knead Bread Mix: Italian Herb, Country White, Stoneground Wheat, and Multi-Grain. It's seriously the easiest thing you'll ever "bake!" Just follow these steps: Step 1 : Mix yeast and sugar packets together. Add 1 cup of warm (100-110 degrees) water. Stir and let sit for 2 minutes. Step 2 : Pour in bread mix. Step 3 : Stir until dough forms a ball. Step 4 : Shape dough into a small loaf on a greased cookie sheet. Step 5: Cover dough with a small kitchen towel and place in a warm, draft-free place (I put mine in the oven)....

On the first day of summer, Reagan and I went blueberry picking! We went to the same place where we picked strawberries earlier in the season. This time I was determined to actually come home with the berries! Ideally, we should have gone in the morning when the temperature was not pushing 100 degrees, but we were babysitting Sean and having a lovely lunch with Maureen and her mom, Sally. So after Reagan's nap, we hopped in the car and drove down the road to the berry farm. Reagan was more interested in the chickens and roosters roaming around than the berries, but she still had fun. We each had a bucket and wandered through the bushes picking berries. Well, I picked berries and Reagan ate them:) Luckily this is a pesticide free farm! Here are a few pictures of our fun afternoon: You can see from her red face just how hot it was that afternoon! All in all, we picked about a pound and a half. Reagan probably ate a quarter of a pound while we picked! Once we got h...

On June 17, 2012, we finally got to celebrate Father's Day with Jason! Last year, he was deployed, so we just sent him a little album . We were so glad he was home this year!! We woke up around 7, and while Jason and Reagan enjoyed a show on Disney Junior, I headed downstairs to make breakfast. As I was cooking, Reagan came down to visit and promptly stole a piece of bacon:) I wanted to make him his favorite soft boiled eggs, but it was an epic fail...too runny and hard to peel. Instead, I made him fried eggs, bacon and toast with a side of fruit. Reagan had more bacon and some scrambled eggs with cheese. After breakfast, we took care of a few things around the house and then packed the car for the beach! Tommy came to the beach with us and we had a great time. We stayed for almost 3 1/2 hours which was a record for Miss Reagan! I decided NOT to bring my camera to the beach this time around though because we had quite a load of stuff between the tent, umbrella, toys, dog, etc. ...