Prayers and a Pick-Me-Up

It's been a struggle for months now to get my younger daughter, Michaela Byrd, to eat. We follow all the "rules," offer nutritious options, and all that jazz.

I finally made an appointment with the pediatrician last Friday to chat about her weight and her refusal to eat anything except for fruit, yogurt, snackie stuff, MILK, and the occassional handful of green beans, cheese slices, or chicken nuggets.

Our pediatrician ordered some bloodwork and a urinalysis, which revealed a urinary tract infection. Ick.

Following standard procedure, I took Michaela Byrd in for an ultrasound on Friday morning, which revealed gallstones in my 21 month old!!

I saw them myself during the test, but didn't want to believe it until the pediatrician called me with the news on Friday afternoon. Now we have to wait for her doctor to set up an appointment with a specialist, and wouldn't you know there are NO pediatric gastroenterologists in our area.

My hope and prayer is that they'll leave her be for now, as she's shown no pain or discomfort. With the exception of our woes at mealtime, she is very healthy. The gallstones were only detected because of the ultrasound they did for the UTI. It appears to be hereditary. I had my gallbladder out when I was 26 (perhaps I'd had the stones for years and they went undetected), and my grandmother and her mother had gallstones as well.

Open surgery or even laparoscopic surgery is not something I want to go through with her, especially during the holidays.

If you have a moment, please say a prayer for my little one today. It's been a rather depressing weekend around here. No one likes to hear bad news, especially about their babies.

One thing that has brightened a few moments for me this weekend is getting a glimpse of the items I won in Holly's recent giveaway.

Holly, I was so excited when your package arrived in the mail, and the hand-written note was such a nice touch. I have some plans for the silverware, and the "Boo!" towel went straight to my Kitchen. I am saving the chalkboard for my dining room, and I am in love with the milkglass planter. The pattern is so pretty!

I love giveaways, especially when they are so fun like this. Holly, thank you for making a difficult week more bearable.

{Blessings to you all today!}

Southern Living's New Look

I was recently contacted by a publicist for Southern Living magazine and asked if I'd like to do a review of Southern Living's new look.

Sigh.

A free magazine? Well, I suppose I could be troubled into putting the girls to bed a few minutes early to thumb through the October issue.

In all seriousness, y'all know I am completely into fluff these days. I deal with kiddie drama all day long...if I'm going to take the time to read something, it had better be glossy and pretty and hold my interest longer than an episode of Max & Ruby.

For the sake of complete disclosure, I'll admit that I let my SL subscription lapse a few years ago because I felt it was too pricey. I recently received a super (!) deal on renewal, so I was anxious to see how the magazine had changed.

My package from Time Inc. arrived on Tuesday afternoon, and Jennifer included Southern Living's October issue as well as the November issue, and two copies of All You, which I have never sampled. Score 1 for Southern Living!

The very first thing I noticed about the new Southern Living was the binding. No more sharp spines...I love that I can store the issue and see the month and highlights.

I saw quite a few cute little projects in this issue that would be fun to take on. This little arrangement made with Moonpies fits "fun" and "Southern" to a T.

More than anything I appreciated that Southern Living still provides stunning photos with decorating inspiration, but they now also offer articles like this:

A step-by-step guide for those of us who don't have it all together and need a bit of guidance in our attempts to bring warmth and beauty to our homes.

I was also more than pleased to see the "Mama's Way or Your Way?" column, in which the mag shares a recipe and offers the traditional version or an option to create the same great taste using some shortcuts. As a busy young mom, I love to cook, but I don't have the luxury of spending extra time at the stove...there are sippy cups waiting to be washed, a preschooler who wants to be read to, and a toddler hanging on my leg!

As for All You, I wasn't sure what to expect. For some reason, I always associated it with those awkward discount magazines that advertise losing 47 pounds in a week by eating only tuna fish.

Boy was I surprised when I flipped open the November issue to find decorating tips, recipes, budgeting ideas, shopping tips, and more!

See?

Those earrings are seriously cute, the shoes are calling my name, and I need that scarf! Not a leisure suit or mom jean in sight! I see a subscription to All You in my future!

In the past, I thought of Southern Living magazine as something pretty to look at, but not at all relatable to my life. The gardening articles presented lovely back yard nature retreats, but no advice for young home owners like myself who might be new to the trade. The spreads featuring Southern homes were jaw-droppingly gorgeous, but they were always placed in my "too expensive," "maybe someday," or "not ever gonna happen" files.

I'm pleased as punch that the magazine has "listened to thousands of...readers" and accepts the fact that "the Southern woman is changing. She is embracing the future as much as she values the traditions of the past. She is busier than ever and wants to cultivate her own Southern style in a new, modern way." (Eleanor Griffin, editor in chief of Southern Living)

The key for me is that the magazine has managed to retain its elegance and traditions, but it acknowledges that life in the South is busier than it once was. Southern Living chose to update its layout, provide more helpful tips for those of us who don't have it all together, offer some fun new material, and still provides the same great quality to long-time readers.

Here's a look at the November cover. I recommend checking it out. If you're hooked like I am, you'll be signing up for your own subscription!

Perfect weekend reading!

{Happy weekend, my friends!}

*Disclaimer: With the exception of the free magazines, I was not paid for my unbiased review Southern Living or All You magazines.

It's the Great Pumpkin (Cookie), Charlie Brown!

What's cookin' today? Find out by checking out Rhoda's recipe party over at Southern Hospitality.

Today I thought I'd share a recipe for iced sugar cookies that can be used throughout the holidays. I took some time last Friday afternoon to bake some with my girls.

{Rolled Sugar Cookies}

from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. butter, softened

2 c. white sugar

4 eggs

1 t. vanilla extract

5 c. all purpose flour

2 t. baking powder

1 t. salt

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover and chill for at least one hour. It should look like this when you put it in the fridge:
Preheat Oven to 400 degrees F. Roll dough on floured surface to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with cookie cutters. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 6 to 8 minutes. Cool completely.

I made the mistake of giving a preschooler and a toddler rolling pins. You can see Michaela Byrd brandishing hers like a pair of nunchucks. Also, I have no words for the mess on my fridge. I'm sorry.

So many, many little hands in the dough. So glad we weren't giving these away to anyone!

Some people have different rolling techniques than others....

When it's all said and done, you have a nice batch of cookies.

I love it when they don't burn on the underside!

Time to ice!

{Icing}

Recipe from my friend Susanne

Take 1 stick of (slightly softened) butter and 1/2 stick of Crisco (eew, I know!) and place them in a bowl or mixer. I used my Kitchen Aid for this job. Mix until really smooth.

Add 1 t. vanilla, 4 cups sifted confectioner's sugar, and mix really well on low speed. Add 1 T of milk if the icing is too stiff and thick.

We decided to color some of our pumpkin cookies, and I managed to find a box of Wilton's coloring pastes at AC Moore. I used a 40% off coupon and only paid about $8 for 12 icing colors.

It's hard to get a good shade of orange, but this is what we got:

Some people insisted on wearing their pumpkin hats during this stage.

All that's left to do is sample your work (after eating a good dinner, of course)!

And because they completely wore me out I was feeling like an extra nice Mommy, I let them watch It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown after dinner and dessert.

According to tvguide.com, this will be airing on Tuesday, October 27th, at 8 pm (ET). I love this classic!

Have you started any Fall traditions? We're at the pumpkin patch this morning with our MOPS friends. This is a fun new tradition for us: cookies, a movie, and then finding some real pumpkins!

"Well, first of all, I can do that."

I had to title my Girls' Night post with a quote from Ellen, the best guest judge ever. While I can't do most of the moves anymore that the So You Think You Can Dance? dancers performed on Saturday night, there was a time that I could perform some of them.

So what can I say about my girls' night to see the Top Ten dancers from Season 5?

It was, well...exciting. After 4 a plethora of emails inquiring after my girls' night, I knew I had to share the experience with you, my friends.

I'll hit the highs and the lows.

And, oh, there were lows.

My friends and I began our evening with a stop for some fine dining at P.F. Chang's in Richmond. The wild eyed look in that horse's eyes should have been a foreshadowing of the evening to come, but we were too busy coercing the parking valet to take our picture.

As we waited for a table to open up, we took a stroll through the lovely outdoor mall.

My favorite stop?

Restoration Hardware! I thought I'd share some eye candy....

Pretty neutrals:

To die for trunk/coffee table!

So pretty, I could just eat it up!

By the time we'd finished our jaunt down the commons area of the mall, we realized that it had been quite some time since we'd put our name in with P.F. Chang's hostess. A check-in revealed that it was prom night, as proven by the multitude of young girls dressed like strippers. I swear, Richmond's prom theme must have been "Pretty Woman" or something, but I digress.

My friend L worked some magic with one of the managers and yadda yadda yadda, we ended up with a table much sooner than we should have, VIP service, a free entrée, and a free dessert!

Lettuce wraps were the appetizer of choice...yum!

The area manager personally brought out 6 different cakes in shot glasses, one for each of us. I like to think it is because we were so cute, but in reality there was a really gross spot on one of the appetizer lettuce leaves, and I think he felt bad.
We left P.F. Changs a bit late. L was nervous because she hates driving in Richmond, Angela was nervous because we were going to be late for the show, and I was nervous that perhaps I should have worn heels with my jeans because my flats just weren't getting the job done.

As I continued my internal fashion debate, I noticed an odd sensation on the outside of the car under my foot. Pretty soon, everyone else did too.

We pulled to the side of the road in ghetto Richmond with a very, very flat tire. (Holla atcha, Shephard Street overpass!)

As I opened my door, to add insult to injury, a very dead squirrel was staring. directly. at me. I have chosen not to post his picture to protect his identity.

Out of 4 women in the car, not one of us knew how to change a tire. I had a lesson from my dad once when I was 16, but I have completely blocked that damaging incident from my memory.

C, the pregnant one, decided that she'd give it a try while L called a taxi service.

They told her to call back in 10 minutes.

Desperate to make it to the show that had started twenty minutes ago, L called the Richmond Police Department, who had no earthly clue where we were. They narrowed our location down, and the waiting game began.

I offered to perform some of the highlights of the So You Think You Can Dance? season, using a street lamp and the dead squirrel as props, but I decided that the bushes outside of the car were too scary.

An officer finally arrived, and wasted no time telling us that he "does not change tires." L pleaded with him and he told us that we didn't look like hooligans, so he would help us. The P.D. doesn't change tires in case bad guys grab their guns and run away with their squad cars. I thought about this, as it might have given us a quicker arrival at the show, but I didn't want to tarnish my record of no felonies.

Here is Mr. Officer, who I asked to please not make fun of us for going to see So You Think You Can Dance. (L asked if it was okay for her to take his picture.)

This is what the tire looked like on L's car!

To be fair, it is her husband's car, and that's all I'm going to say about that.

Mr. Officer finished up, and we were on our way!

Our seats were so high up that I was glad we brought binoculars.

So worth all the trouble to get there though. Beautiful dancers!

A shot of my favorite dance of the season. Amazing to see in person. I had my eyes glued to my binoculars.

Check out that great lift in the bottom right corner (Kayla and Ade).

End of the show with confetti and everything.

I was so pleased that I got to see all of my favorite routines from the season, except for 3, which I think they performed in the first half of the show, which we missed.

Sadly, the squirrel was unable to attend the show at all. There's always next time.

"There's dancing, and then there's da-a-ancing, and then there's da-a-a-a-a-ancing."

Déja Vu

Have you ever had a sense of déja vu, the feeling that you've experienced something before at another time?

I dressed Michaela Byrd in this cute little number one morning, and just loved the outfit.

For the life of me, I couldn't figure out why I thought her outfit was just so darn cute on that particular day. When she started to dance around the Kitchen, that's when it hit me....

"The sun'll come out tomorrow, bet your bottom dollar that tomorrooooow, there'll be sun...."

My siblings and I watched that movie about 45 times during every visit we made to our grandparents' house in Northern Virginia when we were growing up...until they recorded a soap opera or something over it. (They used to record over stuff all the time. In fact, we only saw Annie because they recorded over our beloved The Wizard of Oz. Our parents had to tell us ahead of time so we wouldn't mourn for too long)

You'd think after memorizing the entire movie and knowing each step that each dancer would take, I'd sort of remember the costumes.

All she needs now is a Sandy.

Already ahead of you....

My brother and his wife adopted their dog, Boone, on the same day Michaela Byrd channeled Annie. I think it's a match made in heaven.

I think I'll send them up to Broadway to audition. Michaela Byrd's singing skills rival those of her big sister.

Natalie better watch out..."it's a hard knock life," after all.

BOOtiful Halloween Hair

It all started out so innocently, and then things got a little scary...but I ended up with some BOOtiful Halloween hair bows for Natalie and Michaela Byrd. Let me show you how I made these cute Halloween hair accessories for my girls:

I ran across these cute rolls of ribbon a couple of months ago at Michaels or AC Moore and I knew I had to try something with them.

Once I dug my ribbon out, I gathered the rest of my supplies. Velvet ribbon (to line the inside of the alligator clip and prevent slippage), an alligator clip, hot glue gun, scissors, thread, sewing needle, cute buttons, and a button shank remover.

First, I lined the inside of the clip (not necessary unless you have a toddler with that silky fine baby hair). Then I chose a ribbon to hot glue around the outside of the clip.
Yes, I am aware that it was all lumpy and bumpy. I haven't ever done that part by myself, so give me some credit. This was the scary part for me! But it doesn't matter if yours resembles something from a Halloween horror flick because it will be covered eventually.

I chose a length for my ribbon and measured them all out. Longer pieces for a bigger bow or smaller pieces for a small bow. You can use the same ribbon pattern or mix and match like I did.

Make a cross with the first two matching bows, then layer the others like this to make a star:

Thread your needle and sew a few times through the center to hold it in place. Be careful because the "star's" points can still rotate.

Start with an end, any end, and fold it in to the center. Sew through the center and then back again. Repeat with each piece until you've gone all the way around the star, sewing each "point" into the center.

Now you'll have a flower like this:

Next, choose a button and cut the shank off with your handy button shank remover. I got mine for a few dollars at JoAnn fabric by using my 40% off coupon.

Hot glue the button to the center of the bow, and then hot glue the bow to the alligator clip. Voila!

Each girl has her own Halloween hair bow now, and it only cost me a few dollars!

She's ready to do the Monster Mash:

Michaela Byrd can climb the Empire State Building in hers...or maybe just to the top of the Kitchen table.

My two BOOtiful "ghouls" and their Halloween hair bows:

Linking to Kimba, Positively Splendid

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