Painting Fun!

I had to get a few last minute things before we head out on our road trip to Mississippi and did NOT feel like trekking to the Walmart, so I made a quick run to Dollar General instead, and wound up finding these cute Disney Easter painting sets! Merritt was very excited about his prize!! :)





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Mommy's Leprechaun!!





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Zest Ranch Pretzels!

Do yourself a favor...stop what you are doing and make these right now!! 
Yall! They are SOOO delish! :) It's kind of a pain to have to stir every 15 minutes, but it's worth it, trust me! 

I adore these Rachel Ray cookies sheets! Love that they have the deeper sides, so things stay contained! I got these at my family's Dirty Santa Christmas gift exchange (draw numbers and pick gifts out of a pile then steal them from each other!). We started this a few years ago when it got too crazy to buy gifts for all the adults. It's so much fun! We use a letter from the word "Christmas" and buy presents that start with that letter. This past year was "R" ...my sister brought these cookie sheets (and a few more Rachel Ray pans) as a gift! Such a good idea!! I brought, Rubbermaid containers and the games Rollick and Ratuki...other gifts were "reindeer" cash (money tied to a Rudolph), roll of cash (cash rolled up in a toilet paper roll!), a red velvet candle, and RumChata! It is so fun to see what everybody comes up with! I usually try to bring games for gifts because we love to play! My brother always finds a way to bring cash and everybody fights over it! Last year was "H" and their were lots of Home Depot gift cards! ha! Great minds think alike I guess!?! :) Next year is "I" ...that is going to be a tough one! Suggestions welcome! :)
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This and That!

Not a lot going on here lately...thought I would share a few phone pics :)

My new door got put in yesterday! I LOVE it! Now I just have to paint it turquoise!

Coy snuggles are the best! :)


Merritt was reading to McCoy this morning and I thought it was so precious! :)



We are headed to Mississippi in one week!! It's their spring break and my niece has a horse show, so we are going down to enjoy a spring break of our own!! :) Can't wait! 
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First Day of Sunday School!

Yall! My baby went to his first day Sunday School this morning! When did he get old enough for this?!?! He was SOOO excited, it was hard for me to be sad for very long! The Farmer snapped this pic of him before we left, then I forgot the camera!! Uggghh!! His teachers assured me they would take pictures and when we picked him up, Merritt confirmed that the pictures were taken!! hehe!! 


He had the best time! He got to wear a crown, they sang happy birthday to him, and he got a present and a cupcake!! When we got back home he asked if he could go to Sunday School again now!?! :)

His teachers are the sweetest! He gets to be in their class for two years, so we are excited for all the fun and learning to come :)

He said this card was from Baby Jesus! hehe :)



Their lesson today was about the Good Samaritan, so that was the theme of his gift. They picked out this bunny with overalls because they thought it looked like a farmer! Too cute! The little tag says, "Jesus loves Merritt, Merritt is Kind!"

inscription in his book :)

When we asked him what he learned about, he said, "Baby Jesus took the coins and fell on the rocks"....ummm what?!?! Ha! After a few more questions and looking at his papers, he explained that the man (whom he calls Baby Jesus-no amount of us telling him otherwise, would convince him!) had ouchies and was left on the road (with the rocks) and the Good Samaritan was kind and helped him...whether or not there were in fact coins involved in his lesson, remains to be seen! haha!! Never a dull moment! 


They are learning a Bible verse and will recite it during Church in April! Can't wait! :)

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McCoy Everett - 9 months!


9 months old!! 

He is 22.4 pounds and 29 inches long!

He is a real mover and shaker now...cruising along anything he can hold on to! He can stand for a few second unassisted and likes to push his walker, for a few steps before falling!

His daily schedule has stayed the same with the exception of eating everything in sight! He pretty much eats whatever we eat, as long as it't not too spicy! He had his first eating experience at Pizza Ranch yesterday..you should have seen this babe chow down...when he got a hold of a bread stick, it seriously made his life!

He has four teeth now! Two on the bottom and two on the top!

He is wearing 12 month and 12-18 month clothes, depending on the brand, and has moved up to size 4 diapers.

He loves to jibber jabber! He can say mamama, dadada, bababa and can sign for more, clap, and wave bye bye! He also loves to dance, any time he hears a tune he moves from side to side...soo cute!

His favorite toys include the corn teether things he got in his stocking, his farm themed walker, balls, the bigger barns I just set up, his wubby (but only for sleeping), and anything Merritt has! :)

Love this little chub muffin to the moon and back!! 
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Mommy's Musketeer!!

This is Merritt's new favorite movie!! He has been putting on different things to "be" a Musketeer, so I thought I better make him something so he could really get in character!!

I just cut the sides and arms off a bigger blue t-shirt, lined it with yellow wide bias tape, and slapped on a felt fleur-de-lis!! Perfect! 

For the hat, I just used this foam cowboy hat and glued one side of it up, then added a feather that I had left over from our wedding....I knew they would come in handy one day!

he loves it and it's probably the cutest thing ever to watch him act out the movie in his costume!

I didn't even sew the shirt part, I just used fabric glue! "Sew" easy! I might run a stitch around it just to make sure it's secure, if I can ever get it off of him!

for the fleur-de-lis, I found some clip art online, printed it out, and traced it on a piece of felt, then cut it out! 

you could really do this in any color combo or make different costumes using this big t-shirt idea...hmmmm...stay tuned!! :)
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Mardi Gras!!

We had lots of fun and food today for Fat Tuesday! We usually do a little more for Mardi Gras and spread it out over a week, but it was early this year and I had Valentines stuff to do last week! :) We got out all our beads and stuff that our cousins have caught for us at parades and had a ball playing with everything! laissez les bons temps rouler!



mini king cakes for breakfast!







My Momma got them these bags, and we store all their stuff in them, so fun to get it all out every year!

Jambalaya, cajun black eyed peas, corn (it is Iowa afterall!), and toast!

king cake bars!



Now the boys are off the bed to read "The Amazing Adventure of The Mardi Gras Bead Dog" along with Merritt's nightly fave, "The Bourbon Street Band is Back." So festive!


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