CHLOEE'S 1ST SNORT!

OMGOSH!! I can't believe I almost forgot about this! I was laughing at one of the girls up front at work today and I snorted so it reminded me..so I rushed back to my office to blog it!

LAST NIGHT, Chloee and I were laying in the bed and I can't remember what we were talking about that made us both laugh..and out of nowhere Chloee snorted! HAAA, I said "Chloee, you just snorted!!" And we both started laughing hysterically again..well, I have never really heard Chloee do the really, really, really deep belly laugh {the one that is uncontrollable} before! {Or at least that I can call off hand right now}...She was laughing so deep and so hard at herself that it made me laugh uncontrollably!!! It was a "CLASSIC MOMMY DAUGHTER MOMENT". Love you Chloee..to the moon and back.

IT'S MY PARTY AND I'LL 'BRAG' IF I WANT TO..

BIG BIRTHDAY WEEKEND AHEAD FOR MUAHHH...

Tonight we plan to go see 30 Aut Sixx perform downtown in Cherryville. This is a local band that is AWESOME. Me, Chloee, Bill...& Amanda, Russell & the boys are going.

Tomorrow Chloee and I are going to Kelly G's pool during the day while Bill plays in a golf tournament. Amanda & the boys are coming, Holly & Bella, Jennifer & her girls...so Chloee should NOT run out of things to do! {KellyG's Birthday is August 2nd so she is having a little 'shindig' throughout the day and into the evening}

Then SUNDAY we are going out on LKN to actually "celebrate" my birthday. This is what I planned for my birthday. We were initially going to take my mom's boat {she is out of town until August 15th} but we are worried about the shifter having recent "issues". So we have decided to rent a pontoon. EXCITED!! Me, Bill, Chloee...Amanda, Russell & the boys...Holly & Bella {Justin too if he gets off work in time}...And Hannah & Taylor are all going..{P.S. Hannah just found out she's preggers!!! YAY!}

Can't wait for some good times and great memories!! I had told Bill that renting the boat would be just fine to be my birthday present. And of course he just "couldn't resist" {and I'm not COMPLAINING!!} I received a new Nikon camera yesterday! Excited about that too!! Since I lost my "waterproof" camera in March at Jannett's bachelorette party {along with my memory card that had Chloee's 3rd birthday party on it and I HADN'T gotten ANY of the pictures off of the memory card yet..errrr} AND my camera before that I left outside that "wasn't waterproof" and it ruined for a few months...and THEN decided to start working again AFTER I purchased my "waterproof" one..Shoo that's a mouthful..But anyway..Bill now has the "not waterproof" camera at his shop using it and I have a SNAZZY NEW NIKON. Lovely!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!! AND LOVE 'VUU' CHLOEE!!! Thank you for finally telling me Happy Birthday this morning! She said she was "too sleepy" to tell me when she woke up....haa....so right before I got out of bed to get in the shower, she said with a grumpy face and voice...."Happy Birthdayuhhhh" ...Sweet girl...and then we played the "I love you thiiissss much, toooooo much, to the moon and back" game..you know where I say it, she repeats it, she says it, I repeat it?? {You get the picture}... And then Bill says "okayyy" {like that's enough} haaa..he's just kidding of course...and I say "hey this is our game we're playing..don't worry about it okay?" What a wonderful start to a wonderful DAY!

Zac Brown Concert 8.21.10

I purchased mine and Bill's Zac Brown Tickets today! We are going for Kelly Duckworth's BIRTHDAY August 21st!! Excited!!

SIGNATURE CLUB A

Sheila Dellinger surprised me with this jewel too. I "jokingly" told her a few months back when she received hers in the mail that "I wanted one for my birthday"...haha...and she really got me one! She orders off of HSN/QVC all the time and always has something "new" to show..love her and all of her new things! Thank you Sheila!

Anne of Green Gables

My Birthday is tomorrow! And my mother met me for lunch today at House of Pizza in Lincolnton..LOVE their Fret Free Fajita Wrap...yumm. We have met there the past few times...hence another tradition maybe? Well, I had told my mom a few weeks ago that I had watched one the Anne of Green Gables series on television and LOVED IT! I had never seen it before and didn't realize that so many other people knew about it! {I was in the dark I guess}...Well the part of the series I caught was mid-way through and only had like 30 minutes of it left. But I was SO DRAWN IN!! Come to find out, there is SO MUCH MORE TO SEE!! So this is what I requested for my birthday from Moms...and I received! It's the 5 disc collection and I just can't wait to lay up one Sunday and watch it all the way through! Not to mention pass it down to my beautiful daughter too! Thanks Moms!

OCEAN LAKES 2010

THE OCEAN
Okay so I have some time to update on the beach trip. First off, Chloee did go on the beach for the 1st day...being "scared" of the water b/c MaMaw told her there were sharks in there..she wouldn't take to the waves so much. She went again the next day but didn't have anything to do with the water again. Luckily Melissa was with us and she's not so fond of the beach either..so she and Chloee would take off and do their own thing. Which gave Bill and I a break and time to spend with friends. So skipping over the rest of the week...Chloee finally decides the LAST day there that she wants to try the ocean out again. Terri Valentine takes her to the ocean and gets Chloee used to it. {For some reason someone other than parents...kids usually will take to them a little easier and try new things I think} ANY WHO...I look to the ocean and see Chloee jumping waves with Terri! I was so glad she was okay with it and having fun!!! Bill and I {and Heather Porter a whole BUNCH...LOL} would take turns holding her over the waves, etc....she went under one time with me b/c I lost a hold of her arm..it didn't scare her but she was ready to get out then. You would have thought I did it on purpose since I had been telling her to get out for 5 or so minutes prior to that. It was GREAT. Oh and also, the pictures of Chloee and Dayne being buried in the sand SAY IT ALL.

DINNER AND CARTOON CHARACTERS
Okay..so we went out to eat one night at Yamato on Boardwalk. Since we had to wait 2 1/2 hrs to eat we had a cartoon picture made of Chloee and I. Bill says we should do one every year. Sounds like a cute idea to me! I am going to get a frame for it to go in Chloee's room...guess we will start a tradition to go along with Ocean Lakes! Also, at dinner, I had initially THOUGHT that Chloee would enjoy the 'show' at Yamato..boy was I wrong! I had to back her chair all the way to the wall. She wasn't too fond of the fire.

Note To Self: NEVER go to Yamato on Boardwalk again in the middle of July....Too hot inside, too many grills going and too crowded....

THE 'STRIP'
Chloee also went riding almost EVERY night with Melissa on the 'strip'..and SHE LOVED IT! Bill and I took her the last night and got a 1st hand show of exactly HOW MUCH she enjoyed it! She stood on my lap and danced away, sat on Daddy's lap and slapped hands...ohhh it was TOO CUTE!

ARCADE
Chloee and Melissa went to the arcade a couple different times throughout the week. Chloee would win 100's of tickets {which she called dollars} and wouldn't turn them in..she wanted to keep the tickets instead. Melissa talked her in to turning them in for prizes a couple times but Chloee would always keep a few tickets at least to bring back to the beach house.

PUTT-PUTT
Melissa & I {Bill had to go to the store} took Chloee to play putt-putt one morning with Dayne {Amanda and Russell brought him}..and it was SO cute to watch them play the game together!

OCEAN LAKES VACATION 2010

Pictures are in order from the night we "arrived" to the last day we were there. I will post more later about all the funny things that happened..but it took so long to get the pictures posted that I should perhaps start working AT WORK? ENJOY!

SIGNING OFF & HEADED TO THE BEACH!

Well I am signing off at exactly 12pm today and will not be back until Monday, July 26th! Ready for a great week of family, friends and Ocean Lakes, Myrtle Beach! Bill, Chloee, Melissa and I are heading down tonight! Melissa is Chloee's babysitter and a great friend of the family! What a great way to enjoy a wonderful vacation. Kelly Sellers says that there should be about 65 Cherryville'ians at Ocean Lakes this week! She is also going to try to coordinate a group picture of everyone on the beach. If we get that done, I will be sure to post it to my "Writings To Remember" along with all of my other snapshots via my cell phone. I know they aren't the prettiest, but it's the easiest for me and I KNOW I will actually post them if I take them with my phone. My camera and memory card....WELL....that's another story. Good Day Mates and Aloha Myrtle Beach!

My Local Celebrity Divas!

EXCITING NEWS!!! Ann from Kid Shots called me a little bit ago. They are moving from Gastonia to our town, Cherryville....She wanted to know if she could use the picture of Chloee and LuLu in the front window as a display!!! I SAID OF COURSE!!! I WOULD BE OBLIGED!

I am such a proud Mommy right now! Proud of both Chloee and the cutest Yorkie around! Congratulations Chloee and LuLu! My two local celebrities!! {What's the cutest is that I ACTUALLY have a shirt for LuLu that says "Local Celebrity" HA!}

**Just a note..Chloee and LuLu are about the same age {in human years}. We got LuLu when she was a little over 7 months old in 2007 for mine and Chloee's EARLY Christmas present....We HEART LuLu {Lucy}

**I'm thinking she's going to use the one of Chloee standing and holding LuLu..I had that one {and the one with our rings on her toes} made into a 16x20...I hope so, it's my favorite!!

Meltdown Madness

Let me begin by saying I am so glad that I stuck it through and DID NOT give in to my SCREAMING princess last night..But it was HARD! Let's begin shall we?

Chloee in bath.
Chloee tells Mommy to let her have toilet paper in bath.
Mommy says no.
Chloee cries.
Mommy gives in with paper towel.
Does not make Chloee happy.
Chloee still cries.
Mommy tells Chloee that CHLOEE is getting out of the bathtub and going STRAIGHT to bed if she doesn't stop..
Chloee doesn't stop.
Mommy gets Chloee out of bath and tells Chloee that if she would listen she wouldn't have to go to bed.
CHLOEE CONTINUES CRYING ABOUT TOILET PAPER!!!!
Mommy takes Chloee to bed..
1 HOUR LATER...
Ear drums about to burst from crying.
Go from Chloee's bed to Mommy's bed....
Get up to get apple juice.
Get up again to go potty.
Chloee practically cries herself to sleep.


You know I left out ALL the details but Mothers....you could only imagine. Chloee at one point told me and I quote..."You don't tell me what to do, I tell you what to do". Then, all of a sudden the crying would stop..she would look straight at me and say..."Can I go to the playroom?"...UH NO? **She was jumping up and down on the bed at one point kicking and screaming. IT WAS HORRIBLE! ALL OVER TOILET PAPER!!!!

LAZY SNAPSHOT

Cute picture of Chloee and I laid up in her bed this past weekend..she is such a doll...and I HEART her birthmark.

Our Home..."The House That Built Me"

Before:

After:

This is an idea of Before and After. The "before" picture is what is still on GIS {so I got the picture from there}..they have yet to update the picture {imagine that}. And the "after" picture is of our house last winter. So you will NOT get the satisfaction {or I won't} of seeing {or me showing off} my beautiful flowers and landscaping in the Summertime. All of my potters are put up and off of the porch, my roses aren't bloomed, my day lilies are DEAD, ETC..ETC..ETC....BUT it STILL looks ten times better than it did "before". This house sat for over 10 years unoccupied. Bill had always wanted to renovate this home. This house is "part" of the Stroupe Estates. When Bill's Grandfather passed, all of the land was divided between siblings and they all agreed to let Bill purchase this house and the 1.5 acres or so surrounding it. We just recently purchased I believe a little over 4 acres from his Aunt that she had inherited. That land is right beside our plot and one day we plan to build on it & give our house to Chloee. Enjoy.

**I wanted to note that if you look closely to the old picture..on the front porch you can see a door to the right. There was also a door on the left {you can't see in the picture shot} SO, that meant there were HOW MANY DOORS ON THE FRONT PORCH??? 3 DOORS ALL ON THE FRONT PORCH!! Oh my...NOW there is only ONE. We fixed that REAL quick. Along with everything else. I sure wish we had before pictures of the inside. You would be AMAZED.

BEACH IN 4 DAYS AND A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS..

Chloee's bikini I bought yesterday for $6.00. Bill was like "is that good"? Uh, YEAH! Last year we spent like $30 a pop at Dillard's..hello?? Do you not remember paying for them?? Haaa. And where I got it is the kicker..I just wandered through FRED'S yesterday on my lunch break..picked up some chalk for the beach..and wandered over to kid's stuff. This bikini is a size 18 month bikini. But, I knew it looked big enough {if anyone has ever noticed..I think sometimes the cheaper stuff is NEVER sized right anyway}..Too Cute AND a great DEAL!

And behind her are a few of my favorite things..I LOVE the brick wall {original} I LOVE the tile on the floor + the step up...{Bill did by hand while I was pregnant..along with everything else in our 1949 home}...The gas log wood stove..there was an actual wood stove there for the 1st year and we got tired of the soot really quick. The tall metal bird cage candle stick "thing"...None other than purchased at Ross "Dress for Less" for like $25..the miniature chiminea that Amanda Harrelson got for me for Christmas one year..2 of my beautiful inside plants && the floral arrangement that Amanda Stroupe {Bill's sister in law} got for us for our wedding. And if you look real closely to the left of the candle stick..my green blown glass door knob. I will take pictures of my other door knobs..LOVE them!

Our house used to be Bill's Grandparents and we bought it with full intention of remodeling inside and out. We don't want to lose the "oldness" of the home, as we both think it should stay in a sense the way it always has been. We have redone the majority of the house and recently added a sunroom. I think the smallest touches, whether vintage or contemporary make the biggest difference in an older home and gives the house so much character. I LOVE finding things that connect with my old house! And I HEART all outlandish things..

Chloee's 1st Haircut 7.12.10

Parker {Amanda's youngest}

Chloee's 1st Haircut 7.12.10

We have {Bill and I} waited until now to have Chloee's hair cut for the 1st time. She is 3.5 years old. Amanda, a great friend for 10+ years cut her hair. Amanda is actually how I met my husband, Bill {your daddy Coconut}. She is married to one of Bill's good friends, Russell. Amanda and I went to high school together and went through much more as well together. I thought it was only appropriate to have her cut Chloee's hair for the very 1st time and also rather sentimental. So, paparazzi was at the affair and I have pictures to share! I also have a zip lock of her 1st few curls cut as a keepsake. yay. The pictures are from beginning to end. The 1st 2 pictures are in the car and where we stopped at the store to get a snack on the way to Amanda's. We actually cut Chloee's hair next door to Amanda's at Hannah's {Amanda's sister's} house {used to be Amanda's mom and dad's house..so I thought that was sweet too} ENJOY!

MY HAPPY CORNER

To go along with the previous post of Chloee in the bathroom..I decided I would follow up with something I saw on http://lalalovelythings.blogspot.com/ blog. She just posted a corner in her basement that always makes her smile..so as I was taking this picture of Chloee yesterday I also snapped a picture of this flower arrangement {not realizing I would actually post..I just wanted to take a picture of it}...But it does always make me happy to see this in my bathroom. Reason being: I thought and thought forever {and when I say forever..I'm serious...I PONDERED for like a year on the idea..} of something small I could put on the floor beside the bathtub because it looked so bare. BUT I didn't want something that would be in the way of Bill getting in and out of the shower {heaven forbid:}...So the vase I found at Stein Mart for like five bucks and found the fake floral at walmart..just enough to add a touch of style to the beloved lavatory.

I think I am going to take time out this week and take pictures of the many things in my home that I truly appreciate. I do have an artistic side and it's high time I blog it for my memories..So that when I'm 80 and can't match my clothes anymore..at least I will have something to look back on....

So a few posts ago, I wrote about taking Chloee to Cracker Barrel and her picking out yet another Pez..Here is a picture that Chloee wanted to take with 2 of her pez toys...and pose the way she wanted to pose. We HEART Pez!

ANDDD a cute song Chloee was randomly singing the other day goes something to the tune of this...uhhummm{clear throat}...

"My Mommy is my best friiiieeeennndddd...oh My Mommy is my best friiiiieeeeennnndddd...oh yeaaaahhhhhhh"

LOVED IT...made my heart MELT.

Chloee and Maddie swimming at TuTu's pool today! Momma is sending me photos via phone messaging while I'm at work && I am uploading...Maddie looks so much like Nicole in this photo.

NEVERMIND

OKAY, so disregard previous post. Chloee came home about 9 last night..ha. She "rode past" our house to go to McDonald's and told MaMaw she wanted to go home. So, she came home after they went to Mickey D's. Sweet Girl.

But she is with TuTu swimming today. I brought her to work with me this AM and showed her allll the pictures I have of her in my office and the drawings I promised I would hang for her..oh and the silly bands she gave me to bring to work too. {She took those back though to wear today}

Chloee's 1st Wednesday Night Sleepover

Chloee is staying at MaMaw's tonight {Bill's mom}. She is off on Wednesdays and Thursdays {and has been for forever}..Our nephews {Bill's brother's boys} who live practically next door to her have always slept over on Wednesday nights here and there periodically. Chloee has been invited to her 1st EVER Wednesday night sleepover with MaMaw! Now, she has stayed and still stays the night anywhere really..we started her early on and she has never had a problem with going to stay weekends with family {and Melissa}..but this will be her 1st EVER WEEKDAY SUMMER SLEEPOVER! Bill's Mom has kept Chloee on numerous occasions..when we have special things going on..but she always takes vacation time off from work for that. So, I know Chloee is excited to sleepover at MaMaw's house tonight! Chloee will also be going to work with me in the morning when MaMaw brings her back home in the AM. I am taking her with me to work so that TuTu {my Mom} can pick her up & take her back to her house. They are going to swim and enjoy another great SUMMER DAY!

Cuatro de Julio 2010

We took Chloee with us swimming early Saturday afternoon at Robbie and Jennifer's. She was ready to go when Melissa called {she was getting Chloee to take her to Steele Creek for the night} Then Jodi, Brandon and Peyt Peyt came...Chloee wasn't as enthused to leave...needless to say I had to get in the pool to get HER OUT..she wasn't upset or anything..just playing "hard to get". So Melissa took Chloee that evening & Bill and I went to Amanda and Russell's for an adult party. The next morning, I got Chloee at about 11. They had a dance at Steele Creek that Chloee went to & she told me that she danced with a little boy, her squeezed her face and tried to kiss her??? I said well Chloee, did you let him?? She said no! {Good}. SO, we packed up, loaded up and headed to Lake Myers. We went with Amanda, Russell, Dayne & Parker..Holly, Justin, Bella and Kelsey {Holly's sister}...Hannah & Taylor...& Gary & Margaret. I have never been and I loved it. SOO much to do for the kids. Great time was had by all. We will be going back before Summer is over!

We only have 2 more weeks until we go to the beach!! We are going to Ocean Lakes...Me, Bill, Chloee and Melissa {the best sitter EVER} && {the rest of Cherryville will be there too..ha}. I HEART SUMMER TIME!