Fall 2012 Picture Dump

I have been terrible at updating. I take a gazillion pictures, but the process of sending them to my email, saving them and posting each one is so time consuming. By the time the babies go down, poor Lilly Scott gets whatever is left in this gas tank, and I crash about 8:30. Well, mentally I'm finished. Physically, I need to work on laundry, finish the kitchen and prepare for the next day. One of my favorite times in the world is my quality time with Jordan. We watch whatever show(s) we have the energy to comprehend and share about our day. We have a debriefing session when he gets home so our words are limited by the time we go to sleep. Then the alarm goes off the next morning and we do it all over again. Like Kate said, It's a crazy life, but it's our life. I'll add: and. i. love. it. 

Here we go: a picture dump. 

Halloween with our small group at church

Mac and Paisley were quite entertained by the wheely-bug. I think Santa was watching ;-)

 Paisley found Jordan's headset for his XBox. Bleh. She thought she was big stuff. Cutie.

 When they get in the laundry room, the washer and dryer become the best drums. Ever. 

 Trying to do better about taking pictures with M and P. 

Even if it's 2:00 in the afternoon, and we are all still in pjs. 

 True story: Lilly Scott drew a picture of "Mac in my tummy." Random. 

 Gotcha! 

Jordan and Lilly's date night

 P makes her way to Mac's food. Constantly. 

 Which one of these is not like the other? P crawled in and got comfy :o)

 Yogurt mess

 Our November book from Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. Moms, it's a tear jerker. 

 Who knows? Play gym?

 P succeeded in getting her headband off, but the bow was apparently attached to hair.

 I found her playing like this. Hehe. 

Next post: Thanksgiving!

as always,

ashley

Old McDonald's Farm

Written over a month ago and never published.. oops. 

This weekend we went to Old McDonald's Farm in Sale Creek, TN. Such a cute little place with hayrides, a petting 'zoo', corn maze, pumpkin patch, and tons more. We had a great time there.

Before our venture, we dined at Chick-Fil-A. After getting this picture, everything on the table was cleared by the two toddlers {toddlers, really?} so only one picture was captured.

 The first thing we did was cheer LS down the slide. 

 Then we did the corn maze. It was pretty cool. After about 10 minutes of going in circles, Jordan decided to take the lead. {We were letting LS be the leader}. Then LS said, "Hey, guys! Why won't you trust me??" Haha, she's hilarious. 

We made it!

The pony was a popular hit with someone....

 Petting zoo! They had rabbits, sheep, goats and roosters all congregating around.

 We ran into our friends John and Jenny and baby Charlotte {why didn't we get a group picture?!!?!}. They offered to take a picture of us :o) 

 Pumpkin slingshot

 A stranger offered to get our family picture! It's so rare that all of us are in the picture so I love the times when it's a picture of 5.

{I promise my hair isn't thinning...

The wind was blowing at that moment. Otherwise I look like I'm wearing a cheap wig.} 

as always,

ashley

October 26 Birthdays!

Jordan turned THIRTY this year. He's so old, hehe. Good thing he has me to keep him young, right? ;o)

We had a wild, I mean wild, birthday dinner for him at El Meson. Our party guests were Jordan, myself, Lilly Scott, Mac and Paisley. Crazy crowd. 

Jordan warned me to not share his birthday with them, but LS did. We got renditions of Happy Birthday in a couple different ways.

 Mac enjoyed playing with the chip basket once we emptied it. We love chips and salsa. We also splurged and got queso and guacamole. 

 The next day we set up the projector and had a hot dog party. We lasted as long as we could in the cold before we moved it in the garage.

 Sarah playing with Paisley and Jill keeping Mac warm. 

I totally failed getting pictures of the party guests. We had a lot of family {The Nashville Allens} and friends celebrate with us.

 Before Jordan's party, we went to Emory's FIRST birthday party. He and Jordan are in the 10/26 club, as Jordan puts it. Here we are with moms and babies :o)

Frances and Holden {Holden was born the day before M&P, and Frances delivered in the room I labored in. Funny story, actually, they moved her out of the room because I was coming and in labor.}, us, and Mary and Emory Jackson! 

as always, 

ashley

Uncle Jeff's Surprise Party

My older brother, Jeff, turned the big 4-0 on October 22. Lordy, Lordy, Jeff is forty. I can't stop saying that in my head. I remember passing a yard sign that read that on my way to school in 8th grade. Random. 

He had NO idea, and that was pretty spectacular. Rachel and I pulled off quite a fun party and Jeff had a great turn out to celebrate him. 

Shhh!! He's coming! Paw Paw, LS and Colton hiding.

 Birthday boy and our Rachel!

 Colton, McKenna and LS having fellowship.

 I made Colton a shirt from John Deere flannel. 

We celebrated around a bonfire after dinner. Fun times, special memories.

Happy Birthday, Uncle Jeff!!! 

{Mac and Paisley were tucked into bed at Mimi and GeeP's house.} 

Picture Story

A lot of changes the past few weeks! My brother turned 40, Jordan turned 30, Lilly Scott is improving in all areas, Paisley has started walking and Mac says 'bye bye' and waves. Both M and P have started saying "Uh oh" at every perfect moment. Super cute.

Mac loves throwing balls- all kinds, no matter the shape. Here he's playing with our friend, Eli, from across the cul de sac. 

Family dinner at Outback after dad's half marathon and mom's first 8 mile accomplishment since delivering twins :o)

 I can't say it enough: we. love. pajama days!

{Especially when we coordinate, no doubt.}

 The usual: Mac thinks I'm hilarious. Paisley has other interests. 

 I love these pictures. I won't be able to get away with them forever, but until then... ;o)

 I have about 8 second from the second I open the refrigerator before I have four hands and feet in front of me. They know the noise of the door opening. It's great for needless eating caution, I tell ya. 

 When not in the fridge...

Dr. Steph's office for flu shots. My nuggets are old enough to sit at the 'big kid' tables. Bittersweet, yes, but so cool. 

 Cold day for a run, but these two are prepared. 

 Mac, what are you getting into?? Gotcha!

A day in the life!

as always,

ashley

What's Up

What is up... well, a lot. I get behind with posts, feel overwhelmed, then remind myself why I do it. It's for our kids when they grow up, us when they grow up, and our family and friends to see what we're doing. Then there's of you who have never met us, but you read. I love the comments, posts and emails I get from you. Thank you. 

My last post shared a new venture I've started, and it's definitely a dream come true. I am SO excited about Southern Stamp {I'll probably label it SSE in posts}. 

Here are pictures from the past couple of weeks, and of course we are supporting SSE. I had to practice and learn somehow. 

M&P have turned into such mischievous little ones. They are always working together to get out of a baby gate, pull everything out of a drawer or pull things off a surface. They are way faster than me most of the time. :o/

I found them like this one day. I was washing the sheets, and our duvet was on the floor at the foot of our bed. Apparently they liked the fluff. Cutie pies. 

Just a typical hot spot...

One of the last warm days we've had. I'm tring to get the last few wears out of my favorite summer outfits of their's. These adorable onesies are from my freshman year college roommate, support group leader, friend for 10 years, and amazing mama to Tobin- Katie aka Kate. 

What is the face P is giving me here?? Haha, she's SO full of it! Paisley LOVES to climb, rock on a rocking horse, and spin.

Mac loves his spaghetti. We have to hide when we eat in front of him. Even if he has food, he wants what we have. I'm not kidding. He will scream and fuss until we share. It's not that we don't want to share, but he can't eat steak. They often eat whatever we are eating, but I prepare it for them to be able to pick up and chew. Sometimes I just want to scarf something quick down without sharing. I said it. Guilty as charged. 

Happy babies love bath.. especially when we dance and sing for them. 

These days... Paisley started taking several steps! She started on October 22, and she took 4 steps. Then Friday {Jordan's birthday, October 26} she walked across the room! I have a video of it I'll share. Paisley says: Dada, Mama, Nana {not sure if it's my mom or banana}, Mac, Lilly, uh oh, thank you, and stop. She also has full conversations with anyone who will listen- eventhough we don't have a clue as to what she's saying. We just listen and respond 'Really? Yes!" and so on. 

Mac is a sensitive boy. He cries if I give him the 'mama look' while P usually giggles when I do it to her. :-/

Mac says: Mama, Dada, and Nana. He still grunts. It isn't in a negative way. He knows it makes us laugh so he does it, then he cracks himself up. Mac gets the hiccups when he laughs a lot. He even throws up because he laughs so hard. It doesn't stop him, though. He keeps laughing. We do settle him down when he throws up, though.

M&P watch each other all the time. If one takes a drink, the other does it too. If one doesn't like a food, the other often turns his/her nose up at it. Paisley talks to Mac all the time. He sits and listens or laughs like he knows what she's saying. He probably does. It's precious.

Lilly Scott adores them, and they feel the same. They watch her every move and want to be with her every chance. Lilly Scott says some hilarious things that I post of facebook, but I am compiling them for a "Lilly-isms" post. I have to share some of the things that she says. 

Thanks for reading! 

as always, 

ashley 

Southern Stamp... the beginning.

My newest venture {as if I have time to spare} is my new Brother PE 770. It is my new baby, so to speak. It needs a lot of attention, guidance and patience, but it produces wonderful results if I meet it's needs. This 'baby' is a bit more attention detailed than my other three, however. 

When I say 'we', I'm talking about my friend, Anna. She has been such a blessing in our lives, and our passion has merged to create our own small business! We are fortunate to have supportive husbands who believe in us and invest in our business daily. {Thanks, Jordan and Cole!} 

Another blessing in this whole thing is another 'A' friend- and her name is also 'Anna.' Anna has been so supportive and encouraging. She came over the night we got our machine {which we have named Betsy- because it's fun to call her by name}, and we worked and learned for several hours. Since then, Anna has been a great go to for advice and last minute/emergency phone calls- Our needle broke! The bobbin is messing up! I sewed the back of the shirt to the front! 

Fortunately we have learned from our mistakes and Betsy's temperament. I am encouraged with how much we've learned and improved since that first week. Hopefully we'll get faster- one shirt takes us about 2 hours. No joke. That's partially because I am super detail oriented and OCD about making things straight and centered. I want anything we make to be the best quality it can- and something I would put on my own kiddos. Needlesss to say, a lot of heart and energy {and time} go into each thing we make, but it's such a leisure activity for me- I absolutely love it!

Another friend- April- with Cuddle Bug Gifts has been a huge help. She gives me 'insider tips' on all kinds of stuff. It looks like the AAAA team is coming together! Thanks, friends!

We would LOVE to do something for you! Our facebook page is 'Southern Stamp Embroidery and Gifts'. You have no idea how much excitement I get from getting new 'likes' and comments, so please, humor me. ;o)

Our contact email is southernstampembroidery@gmail.comsouthernstampembroidery@gmail.com

Here are a few things we've done:

Our turnaround time is only a few days so get your holiday orders in quickly!

as always, 

ashley