ABC's of Me-AND, a fabulous recipe!

A -Age: 32

B -Bed size: queen

C -Chore you hate: Cleaning the kitchen

D -Donuts or Kolaches: Donuts

E -Essential start your day item: Contact solution!

F -Favorite color: lately it's green-somewhere between lime and apple green

G -Gold or Silver: silver, unless it's real gold!

H -Height: 5'4"

I -Instruments you play: played the clarinet 6th-8th grade

J -Jokes or Rhymes: jokes

K -Kids: 1 girl-Allyson 2 & a half and Morgan who died on Dec. 11, 2001 in a car accident at age 6. She's my angel.

L -Living arrangements: 3bed/2bath house on a busy road that motorcycles like to travel on at fast speeds late at night!

M -Movie: Last Chance Harvey-Don't waste your time!

N -Nicknames: Pumpkin, Mommy

O-Overnight hospital stays: car accident, childbirths, stomach virus while pregnant with Allyson

P -Pet Peeve: My ice maker is not working right now! So much for making iced coffees every morning!

Q -Quote you like: Mama always said that life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.

R -Right or left handed: Righty

S -Siblings: 1 sister

T -Time you wake up: Whenever; it's summer!

U -Underwear: VS cotton high leg briefs-I love them! So, comfy!

V -Vegetable you dislike: Brussel Sprouts and rutabagas (sp!) Nasty!

W -Ways you run late: Unorganized!

X -X-rays you've had: Wrist-broken in car accident

Y -Yummy food you make: Last night I made grilled chicken kabobs. Mike said he wants to have them if he ever has to choose a last meal! :D He also took two to work and said he had to fight to keep coworkers away from them! I guess I'll have to make them again! Allyson just took her food off the skewer and pretended it was a magic wand and turned her daddy into a kitty cat.

Z -Zodiac sign: Libra

This is how I made the

Grilled Chicken Kabobs

You'll need:

Two 1 lb. pkgs of chicken breast tenderloins

whole musrooms in a jar

1 red pepper

1 green pepper

1 red onion

(last three items cut into large peices)

For the marinade:

1/4 C. Lime juice

3/4 C. Teriyaki sauce

(You can use a pre-made marinade usually found near steak sauce at the grocery store.)

Marinate chicken tenders for at least two hours. Overnight should be fine as well. Heat grill. (I used my George Foreman grill.) Skewer chicken and vegetables. Alternating vegetables with chicken. (I skewered the chicken at the end, added a vegetable and then skewered the other end. This saved time not having to cut chicken.) Grill each skewer. Rotate every 2-4 minutes. Make sure chicken is done before removing from grill. Cooking time should take 10-15 minutes. Serve over rice.

Variations: Use steak and/or shrimp. Also, add pineapple chunks. (I thought I had some. I was disappointed about that!)

That yellow stuff is squash casserole. Needless to say, my husband was VERY happy!

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Here are a few pictures of our goofy little princess.

Last Friday, Allyson went with me and my friend, Melissa, on an all-day shopping trip at Tanger Outlet Center. On the way back, we stopped for dinner at Buckner's in Jackson. It's delish and you'll eat way too much if you ever decide to eat there. Allyson had to have her picture made with the giant rooster out front.

On Saturday, Allyson insisted that she would take her nap with Daddy on our bed. I found her asleep with my necklace around her face. Can't be comfortable! My weird child!

You might think you've seen this one before. I got one of those inflatable beach ball sprinklers. She enjoyed it so much at her daycare for water day. It was just $12 at Wally World. I would have taken a few more so I could get her face, but I was too excited and wanted to get wet myself. I had just gotten back from the gym. It was refreshing!

That is all for now! :D

Sesame Street Live

Last Tuesday night, we took Allyson to see Sesame Street Live: When Elmo Grows Up. This was a family outing that we'd spent a month looking forward to.

In December, we went to Disney on Ice. Before the show, we had stopped to the McDonald's on Hartley Bridge Road for a quick dinner. We loved it. It was new, clean, and modern. There's no playground to distract little ones from finishing dinner or not wanting to leave.

So, this time we stopped there again. But, our visit was less than stellar like before. It was not as clean and the service was slow. :(

But, Allyson could not have enjoyed it more. Her happy meal was in a box and there was a toy.

We were a few minutes early. I found a cute photo op!

Daddy bought her a Zoey doll. She has to sleep with it every night.

We were just eight rows back from center stage. Far back enough to keep Allyson at a safe and happy distance from big, costumed characters, but close enough for great pictures.

At intermission, a vendor came out with all of these balloons. He sold every single one of them and they were $8 each. I was stunned that they were so much. At least our little Zoey will last a lot longer!

After intermission, out came Elmo's World. I thought the stage looked so cute!

It was a great show. The performers were so talented. They were right on step with all the dances in those huge costumes. I don't know how they do it!

Allyson is still talking about the "Elmo Show". We'll have to go see Sesame Street Live again sometime.

I think I'm all caught up on our latest news now. Hmmm...Let's see. Birthday, check. House pics, check. Water Day, check. And, Elmo show, check. Yup, you are all caught up with the Paces now.

We're lying low for the next couple weeks until VBS and a visit from our nephew, Josh. That's our June adgenda. Oh, and trying to get in shape for vacation. It's gonna be healthy food and working out with a personal trainer for the next few weeks. Fun, fun! :D

Water Day and Good-bye Daycare!

Allyson is officially done with daycare for the rest of the summer while Mommy is home from work.

Two days before her last day, her two-year-old class had Water Day. She brought her bathing suit and towel to school to play with water toys.

I asked her teacher to keep my camera and take some pictures of the fun. I'm so glad I did! She got some awesome shots and even a little video.

My favorite!

Here's a picture of Allyson with her teachers, Ms. Shay and Ms. LaJean. Allyson gave them the shirts as a good-bye and thank you gift. They gave her a whole bagful of goodies to take home to keep busy with this summer. They even threw in a Michael's gift card. I have a feeling that she may have been a bit of a teacher's pet. ;)

A short video of Water Day

New House...Well, it looks like it!

We just gave our house a little facelift. A friend of Mike's paints on the side. It took him a while, but he finished last Saturday.

The snow pictures were the only "Before" pictures I had.

So, BEFORE....

And, now with new paint and new, more up-to-date colors (and a pretty summer day! :D)....

Around the side...
And, the back....(Yes, I really need to do something with my back porch!)
We're very happy with our "new" house. Come by and see us!

Where to start?

We had two big birthdays at the end of May.

My friend Melissa turned the big 3-0. We went to a surprise party for her at Longhorn in Perry. She had a very happy birthday.

And, guess who else turned 30! Mike!

Here's the cake I made for him. It was super yummy and moist! He requested strawberry cake. But, I gave it a little twist!

Strawberry Jello Cake

You'll need:

1 Strawberry cake mix and the ingredients to prepare listed on the box.

1 lg. package of strawberry jello

1 lg. tub of whipped topping

1 carton of sliced strawberries (optional)

To prepare:

Bake cake in a 13x9 baking dish as directed on cake mix box. While cake is baking, prepare jello by boiling two cups of water and stir in jello mix. Keep warm.

After removing cake from oven, use the end of a wooden spoon to poke holes in top of cake. Poke as many holes as desired. Pour jello mix over cake. Allow to cool. Spread cool whip over cake and arrange sliced strawberries. Refrigerate for at least two hours.

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Birthday parties are a HUGE deal at our house. So, the dining area HAD to be decorated. I mean, Mike will only turn 30 once.

Time to blow out the candles!


My birthday boy and me!

Opening a present from Allyson. She picked out a shirt for him.

Birthday hug and kiss!

After having a birthday dinner of steak, fries, salad, rolls, veggies, cake, and ice cream, Mike said it was the best birthday!

Allyson picked out this special yard decoration.

But, the party wasn't over! I had planned a surprise party for my husband that weekend. He didn't have a CLUE!

He loved his shirt from Sarah and Larry. LOL!

I held Baby Abigail while her mommy & daddy ate. I just love her!

I got Mike a cake from Publix. It was in the shape of a 30. Publix cakes are so yummy! Wish I had that recipe!

We took some goofy girly pictures!

L-R: Me, Sarah, Ashley, Andrea, and Pam

Mike with his balloons!

He knows I really love him for making his birthday extra-special.