Happy Birthday Sweet Boy

Oh my sweet boy... you are 2 today.

You know that you are 2 today - you've told me for a week now that you will be "twooooo" on "daturday" -  constantly reminding your Momma that you aren't a baby anymore.  You've never wanted to be a baby (except when it comes to snuggling up to your Momma) you've done everything early - walked, talked, potty-ed - all of it.  You're a chatter box - you're smart, so smart - you know your ABC's and count to 10,  you love to sing You Are My Sunshine, and you know a blue marlin when you see one (a dream come true for your Daddy).  You love books - there haven't been enough written yet as far as your concerned.  You know your manners - I'm always proud to hear you say yes ma'am or yes sir.  And I can promise you that when you are big enough you'll be holding doors for girls and offering to carry heavy things for anyone else who can't.  I will see to it that chivalry is never lost on you.

You have such a big heart.  It's a good heart full of love.  I love when you suffocate hug me and say "my Momma" and how you hold on to my leg and hide when you want to be shy.  You are your Daddy's best buddy - helping, always helping no matter what it is.  You tell us that you love us everyday and give us the sweetest kisses.  You tell Sandy that she is your doggy and that you love her (you also put your fingers in her eyes and nose and ride her like a horse).  You always whisper the sweetest "amen" every time we pray and being able to take you to Church, teach you the Bible, to show compassion in life, and to care for others around you is a privilege to your Momma and Daddy.

Your a comedian - you have a silly face like no other.  Your laughter can fill a room in an instant and fills everyone that's around you.  It fills your Momma and Daddy's hearts and I never want to go a day in my life without your giggles.  Everything is funny - if it's not, you'll make it funny.  You love to dance (you won't make a career of it but you'll entertain many a wedding reception I'm sure), you love music, you always want "anoder song." And when you do your "happy dance" I'm always certain there is a song in your heart.

We check your room for monsters - the closet, under the bed, in the drawers.  Then we check your room for sharks - the closet, under the bed, in the drawers.  Every.Night.  And sometimes you still wonder into to bed with us in wee hours of the morning mumbling about sharks and monsters.  But your sweet snuggles are always welcomed, even in the middle of the night.  I love to find you face to face with me when I wake up ready to say good morning and start your day.  You love trucks, dump trucks, big trucks, any truck, and planes - anything that flies, and trains - Thomas and his friends have preformed several hostile take overs of the house because of your love for them.  At the moment though, there is only one Lightning McQueen - books, cars, movies - your in little boy heaven!  You have the best imagination, you always amaze us with the things you come up with.

I think if we put your bed outside that you'd live there.  You love all things dirt, plants, and animals.  And there just aren't enough bike rides, wagon walks, swings, and balls to be hit for a little boy like you.  Your knees are always scraped and bruised, your fearless, sometimes a little too fearless for your Momma.  You are the greatest blessing to your Momma and Daddy, we are thankful everyday for the gift we were given in you, and we love you with more love than hearts can hold.

 Happy Birthday Sweet Boy!

Seafood Mini Series Part 3...

Well - sadly due to life happening to us this series fell a to the wayside but I'm giving it a little life again with my favorite baked fish recipe!  The good thing about fish is that even in the summer time your oven is on for such a short amount of time that the house won't get too hot (down here that's important!).

Favorite Baked Fish...
Any fish you like (here I used trigger fish)
Italian Bread Crumbs
Parmesan Cheese
Butter

Preheat oven to 375.
Melt 1 to 2 Tbs of butter
Pour it in the bottom of the baking dish
Make sure your fish is trimmed of any extra skin and bones
Cut the fish into small, just larger than bite size pieces
Coat in the butter and spread out across the pan (one layer only)
Sprinkle the bread crumbs, and Parmesan cheese over the buttered fish
Bake at 375 for 12 to 18 minutes (depending on how thick your fish filets are and how large of a dish you are using).  As soon as the fish has turned opaque it is done.

Just prior to baking

Very good over a bed of garlic mashed potatoes!  Right now we're also eating a lot of yellow summer squash!  The veggies may be my favorite part of summer (next to the beach of course)!

Be sure to visit Parts 1 & 2 in this series - lots of tips and good ideas, especially for this Memorial Day weekend!

Work (though some people would disagree...)

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse - She's a Classic

One of the many things keeping me busy and often away from blogging right now is work and even though I'm here from 8 to 5 many days, I really don't have a run-of-the-mill normal job.  Two weeks ago I was in Hatteras Village for a week for a blue marlin tournament, I weigh fish, I talk to people - about conservation, hook types, lures, about boats, and places at the bottom of the ocean - some days I even tell people how old fish are (not like crystal ball guessing, but for real ages).  Really, just not normal.  So I took advantage of the fact that I had to drive the entire length of the Outer Banks and stopped at some of our prettiest sites - our lighthouses, I love them, I always have!  I really only had a few minutes at each stop so no, I didn't climb any of them for you and it was hard to be there wishing I could be there with my baby boy and watching him see them for the first time (he's seen our lighthouse plenty and knows it by name).

 Cape Lookout ("our" lighthouse)

But I'll be back up there in August for work and at the moment it looks to be a family affair in the making - husband fishing, me working, boy in tow!  And by September we'll be in desperate need for a family vacation after a long hot hard working summer - and we'll probably just go to the beach!

From the left: Currituck, Bodie Island, and Ocracoke

Menu Plan Monday...

Well, last week we had a few cool days.  The last of them I believe - Summer arrived over the weekend and we've been surrounded by heat and humidity since, so I'm trying really hard to think of easy summer meals that don't involve to much stove time!  We're still recovering from our weekend too!  We had little man's birthday party yesterday and he had the best time!  This week is going to be a bit of a whirl wind because the husband and I are working so much but we're trying really hard to make meal planning work despite all of the busy!  We've got a blue marlin tournament this weekend that should be a lot of  fun too!

Monday - Chicken, Squash, Rice (fresh garden squash!!!)
Tuesday - BLT's with cantaloupe
Wednesday - Wednesday Night Dinner at Church
Thursday - Sea Bass Fry with Friends
Friday - Pizza (cooked on the grill) or Eating at the Tournament Captain's Party
Saturday - Hamburgers and Hot dogs for little man's birthday!
Sunday - Leftovers or a freezer meal - we'll be too tired for anything else!

I hope that everyone has a wonderful week and be sure to head over to orgjunkie.com and check out the other menus linking up for Menu Plan Monday!

Menu Plan Monday...

My in-box and to-do list are overflowing and unorganized.  I have papers and boxes piled and scattered all over my office.  I have nearly a dozen drafted, uncompleted blog post.  Both of the memory cards I have for my camera are full.  I need just one more cup of coffee, I'm sure of it.  Being out of town for a week and away from my boys was harder on my heart than I could have ever imagined.  I want to be home, I want to be caught up at work, I've tried snapping my fingers, that hasn't worked.  Despite all of the chaos I'm taking a moment for myself, to write this menu out, knowing its a good thing for my family when I plan.  Taking a moment to say a prayer that I can handle all of the things that are coming my way in these moments.  Trying to practice grace under pressure.  I'll be here trying to organize the craziness around me and I'll also be linking up over at orgjunkie.com with others who are sharing their menus this week!  Be sure to head over there and check it out!


Monday - Dinner at a friend's house :)
Tuesday - Shepard's pie for my boys and a Church meeting for me
Wednesday - Pioneer Woman's Perfect Pot Roast
Thursday - Shrimp and rice with grilled corn
Friday - Nachos
Saturday - Grilled chicken and veggies
Sunday -  Little Man's Second Birthday Party (more to come on this soon!)!

I've reflected a lot recently on my favorite scripture passage - and once again, I'm calling on it today and I know that God will see me through the chaos of this week.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus

Philippians 4:6-7

I hope that everyone has a wonderful week!

Oh, um, hi there...

Hi interwebs and blogosphere... work has taken over life. I hope things are back to normal soon well, as normal as it gets during the summer!  And I have to find a way to fix my broken space bar... courtesy of my toddler of course!

A List...

Today I need to dump my brain - I'm not being productive because there's too much in there.

1.  I'm giving up my personal trainer for various reasons.  This hurts my feelings and I hope it's not a setback for my thighs.
2.  I'm tired.  Little man is having horrible nightmares.  I was up pretty much every hour last night consoling him. 
3.  I have no idea what to do about getting my child to give up his "please" (read: paci).  I'm half tempted to let it go until tournament season is over.  He just uses is at bedtime and bedtime is now an issue. (See #2.).  I also have no idea why I'm worried about that today.
4.  Work is unbearable here lately.  To much to do, zero time to do it, more to do every day, less desire to do what I'm currently doing.
5.  I have a headache today, I also drank a lot of wine last night.  I don't think the two are related. 
6.  I have a ton of things to do at home today - laundry, sewing, picture downloading, cooking, cleaning, mothering... I see very little of this getting done, at least today.
7.  I really don't want to leave my baby for an entire week next week.