L'Oven

Today Loren and I took my mother to have a root canal done in Southaven, MS. (FYI I have never had this procedure done and it takes FOREVER!)

While waiting on my mom we decided to venture over to the little shops across the street. We were on Getwell Road, about 5 seconds past Snowden Grove Park.

We stopped at a cute little monogram store, then went into a store called Janie Rose. Interesting, very hip, cute clothes, not my style, but I had time to kill. Found a cute top...then looked at the price and I believe my jaw hit the floor. $100 for a summer top!!!!??? Seriously now, I am a bargain shopper, but have been known to splurge now and again. I just don't understand, even if I had the money, I'm so tight with it I don't think I could bring myself to buy something that expensive!!! Not a top! I get bored with clothes so quickly I can't even imagine!

Anyways, the dental assistant had recommended we try this little cupcake shop called L'Oven Cupcakes.

The lady running the place was so very sweet, and patient with all my questions about the cupcakes and their flavors.

Loren finally decided on a strawberry cupcake with white chocolate cream cheese icing. I tried a bite of hers and let me tell you, DELICIOUS!

I got the tropical cupcake. It was pineapple cupcake with fresh strawberries in the center, strawberry icing (the real stuff, not imitation) and shredded coconut on top. YUM!!!

They were only $1.75 each. When I told the dental assistant that I really liked it and what a great price they were she seemed shocked and said she thought they were kind of expensive. Haha, I told her she hadn't been to Gigi's cupcakes! I believe they are $3 a pop?! After hearing that she said maybe they aren't expensive after all.

If you're ever out that way, L'Oven cupcakes is definitely worth a try!

Poppy picked up Miranda from the school bus and took her to run errands with him after school. He took her to Kroger and she was so excited that he let her check them out. From beginning to end she pushed all the buttons and scanned everything herself. I forgot how cool the grocery seems when you're a kid. I remember playing in the grocery store at The Children's Museum. Ah, memories!

We had a wonderful night and the girls are so excited that all three of us and Homma will be home tomorrow! Poppy's a little jealous, haha! Hope we get at least some sunshine tomorrow. I'm just excited and hopeful that Easter Sunday will be a beautiful day. It's been years since it hasn't been cold on Easter! I gotta go buy their Easter baskets tomorrow.

Two days left! :)

So Thankful For God's Blessings

These two amazing, healthy, beautiful, smart, loving little girls are the most amazing blessings I could ever have received from God.

Tonight after they got home from being with their dad they demanded cuddle time with their mommy. :) So we just laid on the couch cuddling each other while we watched a movie.

"The unthankful heart discovers no mercies; but the thankful heart will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings." ~ Henry Ward Beecher

The three of us are so truly blessed by God.
I was a stay-at-home mom for 5 & 1/2 years, I have tried countless times to get back into the workforce since my divorce, but with the economy the way it is, it's just not happening.
I am blessed in that during my marriage I paid off all of my debt, including my car, so I have no bills to worry about. The few bills I do pay are just the bare necessities that everyone has to have in life.

God truly blessed me with amazingly, loving parents who took the girls and I into their very small home after the divorce. After which, they purchased a bigger house, in an area they would have never moved to, just so the girls could go to a good school and I would not have to worry and so I could get back on my feet. They provide for almost everything we need so that I can be there for my girls and not have to get just any random job that doesn't even begin to cover the cost of daycare, and so that I don't have to put my children in daycare yet, better yet, so I can be there for, and take care of my girls myself.

I am blessed that I was raised by a clean freak ;) and can now clean houses to make a little bit of an income to be able to do things with my girls. And that God has allowed me to find houses to clean for very sweet women who allow me to bring my girls with me if I need to do so. This has also allowed me to still be somewhat a stay-at-home mom, which has always been a huge deal to me. I always wanted to stay home with both my girls until they started elementary school, and God is allowing for that to be possible!

I am blessed that my girls and I get to spend all this time with my parents. My girls will have so many wonderful memories of their time living with my parents.

The fact alone that my car has made it as long as it has and has only last year needed the battery and tires replaced is a blessing indeed! (It's a 2003, with 102K+miles on it.)

It seems every time there is a need God handles it in some way, maybe not ways I would ever have put together or thought of, but sometimes when I look back at how things came to be, it amazes me that I can see that God was at work in that. There's just no other explanation for it...It's almost like a giant connect-the-dots scenario. It's as if God lines things up so that the need I have is met when I need it to be, but the dots were all lined up and connected along the way without me even realizing what was going on. Haha, this makes sense in my head, hopefully it somewhat makes sense here.

All I know is, I am truly grateful for all of God's blessings in my life, and for all the closed doors as well! I pray that God continues to bless us and guide us along the way. I pray that I listen and follow His will and not my own, that I continue to see His blessings in my life and not focus on the negative, and that I raise my girls to do the same. God has a way of answering my prayers that leaves me in awe and I don't have to worry, if I'm not paying attention when He does, He seems to smack me upside the head with it, almost literally!

I pray all of you focus on God's blessings in your life as well, there is just too much negativity in this world, we need to be grateful for all that we have and all that God provides for us each and every day. :)

Love,

Tiffanie (xoxo)

Here Comes Peter Cotton Tail...

Hopping down the bunny trail. Hippity, hoppity Easter's on its way!!!

I took the girls out to our church a couple Sunday's ago to do our Easter photos this year. So glad I did. Such a beautiful setting, of course I had two adorably, gorgeous, little models who were very patient with their camera crazy mother! :)

I love them so!

Can you tell we are excited about Easter!

We are waiting very patiently. ;)

Woodland Discovery Playground: Take 1!

Seems I'm really behind on posts! Oops! :)

Well, the girls and I recently visited the new Woodland Discovery Playground out at Shelby Farms. Opening night to be exact!

The girls and I had been counting down to opening day since last summer and were so excited they finally opened it to the public!

The first of four "nests" has a sand pit and water feature. Also, a very tall slide, which the girls seemed to love. They spent the majority of their time in this section of the park.

While fun for them, I am not a huge fan of sand, not unless we're on the beach, haha. I did not realize they had this area so the girls were definitely messy when we went out to dinner after...oh well. Same as when we go out to eat in Florida I suppose.

The second nest consists of slides and rock climbing walls. Which are basically slanted, which I truly appreciate. Loren is such a daredevil/tomboy/monkey that I just know she'd break her neck on a regular rock climbing wall.

Miranda fell in love with their crazy swings! They are in the third nest. Loren wanted so badly to try one out, but unfortunately they were very busy and she decided to get into the one below instead.

If you've been to the parks in Collierville, then you already know about these swings. Definitely better for younger children, but when we go back I want Loren to be able to try out the other "crazy" swings, lol. They also had a hammock like swing that was round. Pretty cool looking, but way too many people using it/waiting on it. So we will have to try it out some other time.

The final nest is just this amazingly huge net/spider web, as the girls called it. Loren spent a while on this. Miranda took short cuts and just liked playing monkey on them, lol. Loren went all the way across them and made it to the top of the tower.

Note: This section is for 5-12 year olds. It does get pretty high in spots, so be careful with your brave little ones who think they are superman.

After the nets, I told the girls I wanted to take their pics, and since they were in a hurry to get back to the sand nest, this is what I got...

Haha, goofy girls! After I told them we weren't leaving until I got a decent photo, they gave me this! Oh...the powers of persuasion! ;)

All in all, I must say it is a pretty cool playground. When all of the greenery grows in around the park and covers the arbors it's going to be so beautiful. Almost like a Secret Garden. I would have loved a place like this to go to when I was a child. I'm sure we'll pretty much be living here this summer! Especially if the weather is like it was on this day. Absolutely beautiful!

It's All About The Hat!

Loren and I had lunch with my friend Janessa today. Loren was so excited since we were sitting so close to the register and the place was empty I let her buy her second cheesy roll-up all by herself! I gave her two dollars and she was such a big girl! The guy gave her a dollar back and three pennies. So Loren came back to me and said, "Look, he gave me money!" I said, "No, that's my money, haha, give it here." She said, "Don't lose it in your purse, that's my money!" I explained and she realized, I think, but said she would like the three pennies, so I gave them to her! Which now reminds me that I probably need to go get her pants out of the dirty clothes hamper...pretty sure they are still in her pocket! Oops!

After lunch we went to Target to get her a Barbie Mermaid for the bath, since sissy got one recently and she didn't. They fight over it like crazy! While there, we decided to play around and have fun! So we tried on every hat in the store, the scarves, looked at the jewelry, purses, etc! After which, Loren said, "Mommy, I love spending time with you and hanging out!" haha! I hope she remembers that during her teenage years, sadly she will probably feel the complete opposite. So I will just enjoy it while it lasts!

Cock your hat - angles are attitudes. ~ Frank Sinatra

First, up...this child just had to try on a cowgirl hat! She and sissy have always wanted one.

Too cute!

Little Miss Sassy! I love it! This is actually my favorite style of hat.

This one I'm not a fan of, but she was cute playing in it. Note* She took tons of pics of me trying on hats and scarves too, but they were all blurry.

I mean, how can you not think she is just the cutest thing!?

A Really Random Day!

This day has had some pretty crazy weather, as I'm sure everyone in Memphis would agree! The morning started out just fine, but the sky and weather just seemed a little eerie.

Loren and I took Miranda to school and while waiting in the car Dude Looks Like a Lady by Aerosmith was on and Miranda got excited because she knows it's from Mrs. Doubtfire. When I told her that Steve Tyler was the long haired judge on American Idol, (Yes, I feel old now having to explain who he is to my child.) she got even more excited and said that the song MUST have been written about him since he looks like a lady, OMG! haha! Kids are so funny how they think sometimes! Since it was my sister's Aerosmith cd, they declared that, "Nanie listens to some crazy music!" lol...seriously?!

Loren and I went about our day rather nicely...the wind got a bit strong and loud, so I turned on the news and they went from saying we only had a 5% chance for tornadoes to, "Well, 'they' are saying that there is some possible tornadic activity (in my area!), if there are any storm chasers or sheriffs who could call and let us know if they have spotted anything or just to confirm, please do so." WHAT!? What kind of weathermen are you?! At this perfect freak out moment the power completely shut off and our neighbors trash can, full of garbage went flying across our yard, so I grabbed Loren and called the dogs and we spent a bit of cuddle time in the pantry. This in no way worried my brave little 4 year old, haha! Loren's concern, "Mommy, I really want something to eat, but I can't see to find the food!" Oh, my bad, let me use my cell so you can see child! So as we munched on Cheez-It's, I called my mother to see if anybody knew anything, since obviously the weathermen had no clue what was going on! The storm quickly passed and we, of course were safe and nothing was damaged, thank God! Afterward our power stayed out for quite a while so we ate lunch, did some coloring, read a book and took a long nap together. :)

When sissy got home she said the school's power went out a few times and they didn't have to do much work today. I asked if she was scared and she said, "At first I was, but then I just prayed to God to put a hedge of angels around us all and keep us safe from tornadoes and the storm, and then I wasn't scared anymore, it was actually kinda fun!" Seriously! I LOVE that child! And I love her complete faith in God!

Finally Homma and Poppy made it home and we grilled out some BBQ Cheeseburgers, YUM! WE made some homemade potato salad and baked beans and my mom made homemade southern banana pudding for dessert, vanilla wafers and all! The girls were very excited about dessert, but unfortunately they did not eat their dinner, so my mom said, in a silly voice, "If you don't eat your meat, you can't have any pudding!" To which Miranda excitedly replied, "Hey! Teacher! Leave those kids alone!" haha! I know our family is different, but that is what I love most about it! I wouldn't want it any other way!!! :)

After we got ready for bed I read Miranda's entire Bible to the girls, upon their request and now I am exhausted! haha! They seemed to really enjoy all the stories though. I can't wait to give Miranda her new Bible for her birthday.

Now let's hope we all get a good night's sleep and that this crazy weather has gotten everything out of it's system!

I've Got Sunshine!

Well, Memphis had another beautiful weekend, made me daydream about lying on the beach in Florida, sun bathing. The storm is supposed to roll in tonight or tomorrow, but I am so looking forward to the nice weather coming back after the rain. The girls were with their dad, Justin, this weekend. Saturday they went to his fiance's family reunion, and he said that they tried crawfish for the first time. They had a crawfish boil, and the girls not only ate tons of it, but begged for more for breakfast, haha! They have had fried crawfish before, we used to make that a lot when they were little bitty, but this was their first time having it this way. I'm so glad they tried something new!

Today they went to see the new movie, Hop, with Justin, and they absolutely loved it! haha! They talked about it all night.

After they got home Nanie was here and had a surprise for them...water balloons! Ha! Momma wasn't so thrilled about this. (See we've already been there, done that with this situation.) They had a ball playing with them out in the backyard though. Then they hung out with Poppy for a bit while I went with my mother to the grocery. Grocery day is their favorite day around here, lol! They love helping put up the groceries and seeing all the goodies we got. After dinner I surprised the girls with miniature tubs of ice cream, one each, and they gobbled them down! Then after a quick bath and bedtime prayers, they passed out cold!

Loren's fever is completely gone, but she still has that cough! I pray it will get out of her system soon, poor baby. But all is well and good and I am so very glad they are back home. Like I said, I miss the chaos when they're gone!

...And They're Off!!

The heathens are off with their dad for the weekend.

I'm a bit worried about Loren. Last night she woke me up at 3am needing to go to the bathroom and she had a fever still so I gave her more Tylenol. At 4am she woke up coughing and said she was going to throw up not a half second before she did so in my bed, lol! Fun, Fun! So we slept in her twin bed...or should I say we just rested in her twin bed till I finally passed out with her at about 6am. Her cough was so bad it just wouldn't let up! I took her to the doc and of course at that point she seemed fine and the cough had relaxed and there was NO fever! He went ahead and gave me some amoxicillin anyways since she's going to be in Como, MS all day tomorrow with her dad. They are attending his fiance's family reunion. I was okay with it until he came to get them, because when I gave her a kiss and hug bye she felt warm again! So I quickly took her temperature, and...FEVER is back! And higher this time. So I gave her some more Tylenol and asked if he was sure she should go. He said that if her fever is not gone by the time they leave for MS in the morning then he'll call me and then I'll just go get her. Poor baby, the last thing I wanted to do was send her off with a fever, but I know she'll be fine.

As for April Fool's Day...Loren tried telling her daddy that I let her drive us home today. (Of course he didn't fall for it.) But he told her she got him good! lol

Then when Miranda got home I heard her telling him from the other room that I said she could get her driver's license when she turns 12?! I said, "Ummm...no I didn't!" She said, I know I was doing an April Fool's. Lol! Hopefully they keep this up, if they get good at April Fool's I may be in trouble, but for now I'm glad they're only trying to pull little things over on their dad!

Now I'm going to enjoy a hopefully relaxing weekend and try and catch up on some much needed sleep! Hope you all enjoy yours as well, and I hope the weather gets back to being spring like!