Things I Don't Want to Forget

I just read my friend Amber's blog. She made a list of things that she didn't want to forget that her son does now.
These are reasons why I have the best job in the world! I am so thankful I'm able to see this little boy grow and do everything that he does! It's AMAZING to me how much I love him! These are things I never want to forget....

1. When I go get Sawyer from his nap, he SMILES and then will run back and forth in the crib, then lay down and cuddle with his blanket before he gets up again.
2. how he lets me rock him if he wakes up at night with a blanket over my shoulder, his little legs straddle me, and he puts his head on the blanket
3. how he leans over in his high chair to play with me-so I lean over, then he leans over, and then we do it over and over again
4. how he smiles ALL THE TIME!
5. how when I ask him a question he shakes his whole body yes!
6. how he SHARES everything he has!
7. how he helps me put the clothes from the washer to the dryer and is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO PROUD of himself
8. when he does something he's proud of, he claps for himself
9. how we'll say "Love Dadddy" or "Love Mama" and he'll lean over and lay his head down on my shoulder or Walker's shoulder
10. how he pats my big, growing belly
11. how he pats his big, growing belly-HE LOVES HIS TUMMY!
12. how he neighs like a horse-(he doesn't say "neigh" like most kids, he actually sounds like a horse)
13. how i say, "1, 2, 3" and pour the bath water over his head-and he looks at me through the water-and SMILES! he LOVES to have water poured on his head
14. how he lays back on my hand in the bathtub to "float" and he kicks and SMILES
15. how he waters the plants-He would like to water them all day! he'll take anything that will hold water and go to the outside faucet for me to turn it on for him, so he can water the plants-Then, he claps for himself!
16. how his favorite "toy" right now is my '95 Accord Walker drives to work. He loves to "drive" the car and peek through the windshield at us!
17. Lately, he's into turning the radio on in our room, and he just dances. Then, he gives me the sign for "more"-like let's do this all day! :)
18. how he likes to be scared-Walker will hide, so Sawyer will run and try to find him, and Walker will jump out and scare him....He loves it! :)
19. how he thinks Walker Williams is the greatest thing in the world! AND he wants to follow his daddy wherever he goes


This post makes me realize I need to get out the video camera a lot more! I am so thankful to be this little boy's mama! He is such a JOY!
I am so glad we're going to have another little boy to love! How can I love him as much as this one? I don't know, but I'm sure it will happen! I am so looking forward to Sawyer having a little buddy to play with, and I can't wait to see them play together and get to know little Eli like I know Sawyer.

The Grocery Game

There I am with Sawyer at the grocery store! :)

This post is dedicated to my friends who have a little time on their hands to clip coupons and shop around. I know some of you don't have to worry about grocery money that much, but some of us do! So, if you're interested....keep on reading!

I was telling Walker on Sunday night about how I wanted to become a coupon queen. I was explaining how I feel so smart when I use coupons and am able to save money. Well, yesterday (low & behold) my smart friend, Suzanne, who always has something fun going on told me about the grocery game. I'm IN!!!
Suzanne just joined 2 weeks ago, but a friend of hers has been doing it for 2 years.
Listen to this! This will get you excited!!
Suzanne (who lives in Hartselle) said she went to Kroger last week. Her groceries rang up to $175 (which is what mine have been lately), but after she gave the girl her Kroger card and coupons, she only had to pay $105. WHAT?? How fun is that!!
So, anyway...there are 2 websites that you can register to play the grocery game. One is www.couponmom.com (which is FREE) and the other is www.thegrocerygame.com.

The Grocery game has a fee, but you can sign up for a free trial for $1.00, and then, you can cancel if you don't want to continue. Suzanne told me she liked that one best b/c it was easier, so I registered, but so far...I like couponmom.com-just b/c I'm limited to Wal-Mart, Piggly Wiggly, and Winn-Dixie for a grocery store. You can check them both out! thegrocerygame.com is COLOR coded with things you get free, things you should stock up on, and then-things that are on sale that you can buy if you really need it.

Anyway...the general idea is that you go on this website and save coupons. Then, it tells you what's on sale in the store and how to use your coupons and where to use them.
IT'S CRAZY!
RiteAid, Walgreens, and CVS also have fantastic deals.
She said her friend that has been doing this for a couple of years has so much FREE shampoo, deodarant, and toothpaste that she just took a load of it to the Christian Service Center to donate it, because she would never use all that she had.

I can't wait to share my own personal testimonial. I don't currently subscribe to the newspaper, but I'm going to start buying the Sunday paper to get the coupons. Then, you file away the coupon books. (Suzanne suggested an accoridan folder and labeling the coupon magazine with the date). The website says it takes 12 weeks to take FULL advantage of all the deals, but Suzanne's big savings is enough to encourage me do it! :)
I was telling Walker about it....He said if you can save that much, it'll be like a part-time job! Sounds good to me!
If you're interested, the website is kind of overwhelming, but if you want to call me-I can explain it the best I know so far!
I thought this was TOO GOOD not to share! :) Hope y'all enjoy!

PS-Suzanne, if you want to add a couple more examples of good deals you told me about, add it in the comments. I can't remember the exact details enough to share, but you know! :)

PPS-If you want to use me as a referral...my email address is ashleyb306@Hotmail.com, but I wouldn't mind if you used Suzanne either. Hers is suzanne.mizell@hcs.k12.al.us. I think you get months free for referrals.

No Rest for Auntie Ashley...

So, today was Allyson and Wes's big day to find out what they're having-Boy or Girl...An OVERWHELMING majority of you voted on my blog that they are having a girl, but were you right?

I didn't sleep too well last night. I had a hard time falling asleep due to the anticipation, but when I finally did, I was dreaming. I had 2 dreams about them last night.

In my first dream, I went with them to see the ultrasound, which revealed it was a girl. I dreamed Allyson cried and cried sad tears, but I assured her that we would love that little girl and it would be good, and she'd be so happy to have a girl!

Then, in the second dream, there was some kind of high-tech gizmo you could hook up to a tv to find out boy or girl. We were in Hartselle to see the results, watching on my dad's humongous tv. Right when it was time to see the result, my dad walked in and covered up my view, so I had to knock him out of the way! The baby wouldn't cooperate though, so we were all disappointed and learned nothing in dream #2.

The real-deal appointment was at 8:00 this morning, so I thought by 9:00 I surely would know whether I should expect a niece or a nephew. However, I waited and waited and waited by the phone. Finally, around 10:00, Allyson calls to tell the news.

I, personally, have thought all along that they would probably have a boy. Walker thought they'd have a girl. So....was he right? Was I? Were you??
Well, Allyson told me I couldn't post the answer on my blog. She told me to direct you to hers. She has one now. So, click here and you'll see the fun news! :)
I AM CRAZY EXCITED TO MEET THE LITTLE HARPER BABY! It's AMAZING how much I already love this little one! I love you, Al and Wes and am so happy for you!

I'm Giving In!

After many requests for a belly shot, I'll add one for all of you with an inquiring mind. I was talking to Allyson on the phone last week, and she asked me to take a picture of my growing belly. So, I sat my camera on the tv and snapped this one. Sorry it's fuzzy, but you'll get the idea.



I also thought I'd share pictures of Sawyer's first carousel ride. He loved it! He really is a happy kid and likes most anything-which is VERY FUN! I hope Eli will be the same way!
Sawyer and I ventured to the YMCA pool today for our first time. It was only worth it ($10 for about an hour), because he REALLY likes the pool. However, the pool was gross-kind of green, there were LOTS of kids (I was the only adult in the pool), and the lifeguard got on to me for having his swimmies on-so I'm not such a big fan of the YMCA. Sawyer wasn't bothered by any of this though, so I just tried to enjoy myself too.
When I got there and got in, I was proud of myself for being brave enough to tackle the pool alone(with the help of my little buddy), but for me, that's kind of a big deal. I'm learning to do a lot of new things alone these days though, and I've decided I'm just going to have to "suck it up, buttercup" as Uncle Pitt says, and get out there if I'm going to stay sane in Enterprise.
I am excited that we really liked church on Sunday, and I met a friend in Sunday School. Sawyer and I are going to her house for a playdate with her son, Gavin, on Thursday. I hope it goes well! :)
Anyway...that's a quick update on us. I ended up getting a baby bed from Walker's mom. It's 34 years old, but we're going to paint it and make sure it will hold Sawyer. I just plan to use it for a couple of months before we put him in a real bed, so I think it will work fine.

Who Wants to Sell....

A Baby Bed???
Does anyone have a baby bed they want to sell me? I'm looking to buy one for Sawyer. He'll soon be moving into a new room, but I'm not ready to put him into a real-deal bed yet (maybe a toddler bed). He'll be 21 months when the baby gets here, and I like the idea of keeping him confined in a crib as long as I can get away with it. So, before I go buy one at the store, I just wondered if anybody has one in storage they would like to sell me?? :)

....And then there were 3

Well, my house just got quiet again. My parents have been here since Sunday, so we had a great time visiting with them. This was their first time to come to our new house, so we were ready to show them the big town of Enterprise. Sawyer really enjoyed Gmama and Granddaddy. We played at home, went to the park, went shopping, went out to eat several times, and went to the Army Aviation Museum today for Granddaddy. Here's a few pictures from their visit! Hope they'll hurry back soon!

PS-They both commented on how much my belly has grown! It's getting big! :) AND he kicks ALL the time! I go back to the doctor on Thursday, and after that, I'll start going ever 2 weeks. Craziness! Allyson's doing good! She finds out what she's having July 25th. I think I'll post a quiz on the side to see what y'all think she's going to have! Make sure to cast your vote.

Window Issue-Please Help!!!

I am writing this for Erika and my other design savvy friends out there. Walker, Sawyer and I went to Dothan today with a specific goal:
find curtains to cover our windows. (Sorry we didn't make it by your house, D! We were on a mission. I'm still planning to come see your little man soon!)

When Katie came, we had to hang a sheet in the window to give her some privacy. So, we went to Bed Bath and Beyond and found some raw silk-looking curtains I like-HOWEVER, I don't know what to do with them now that we've gotten them home.
Please check out my arched transom over my windows (they look like this in the dining room, guest bedroom, and playroom), and please tell me where the rod goes. I am CLUELESS! Walker and I are in a disagreement about this subject at the moment, so the sooner we can get this resolved the better! :) Thanks in advance for your wisdom! I know y'all are all smarter than me about this stuff!

House Full of Cousins

My sister, Katie, and her girls called Monday and said they could come visit for a few days. We were excited! So, since Tuesday afternoon, things have been a lot livelier at the Williams' abode. Grace is 5, Shelby's 3, and Julia's 1 (3 months older than Sawyer). They played in Sawyer's pool, went to the park, went to eat pizza one night, flew a kite, and whatever else we could find to do around here. The highlight for them was probably around 5:15 each night when Uncle Walker got home. He plays hard, and they loved it!! I hope they enjoyed the trip as much as we enjoyed having them. They left this morning headed to Aunt Al's. She's probably the cooler aunt because she and Uncle Wes live at the beach. How can we compete with that? Oh well! Here's some pictures from our time with the Braddocks. Thanks for coming!


Julia and Sawyer enjoying their juice on the back porch


Sweet Julia

Sawyer flew his first kite


Sawyer and Shelby


Bath Time with Shelby and Julia

Grace

Prayer Request, A Day with the Earnest Boys & a little WARNING

My good friend, Sarah, had her baby today 5 1/2 weeks early. Little Luke seems healthy, just small, so she hasn't been able to hold her little guy yet which I know is hard! If you'll please keep the Martin family in your prayers, I'm sure they would appreciate it!

In other news...Sawyer was in hog heaven all day, because the Earnests (Jennifer, Hunter, and Taylor) came to Enterprise to visit. They are pretty cool kids, and Sawyer definitely knows it! They played in the pool with him, pulled him on the little Gator, played ball, and pretty much whatever else he wanted to do. Their mama and I enjoyed our chat too-not that either one of us are talkers! Right, Jennifer?? :) Thank you so much for our fun day!


As for the warning...Well, being a pregnant girl, I am very into food! -especially food that I don't have to prepare. Commercials for food entice me like you wouldn't believe (all but hamburger commercials anyway). So, when our anniversary came around (June 12th), a gift certificate for Walker to the Japanese Steakhouse here sounded like a good idea. It was kind of a guarantee that we'd have a date and there would be food involved. This seemed to be a great plan. So...last night we ventured out to enjoy our dinner. The hostess asked if we wanted to sit at a table or Hibachi Grill. I thought the grill was a good idea-might as well at a Japanese restraunt. However, I was wrong! This was a total mistake! It was HOT as Hector from the fire they were cooking with and the smells were CRAZY strong! I was definitely a weenie on our big night out! BUMMER!! Who knew our little night out would be such a bust! Next time we may just have to go to Pizza Hut (their Pzone commercials look good to me too)! :)

Love Bugs

I just thought they were cute!