A Near Picture Perfect Day

Spring is finally here! (well, it was and then yesterday happened and rainy and cold weather struck). But Saturday was BEAUTIFUL. So beautiful, that we spent over 4 hours at the Long Hunter Park. And yes, 4 WHOLE HOURS. And for those of you asking how we could spend an entire 4 hours at the park...it went something like this:- lying in the grass, a picnic lunch, good friends, chasing my sweet puppy, a nice walk around the lake, stopping to look at each leaf and acorn, picking up the biggest sticks we could find, throwing rocks into the lake, sliding down the slide, and swings. All in all, I couldn't ask for a better day, except I could ask that our dog hadn't been stricken with ticks and tick babies. And I could ask that the tick I found on MYSELF hadn't been there... Okay- so I guess it was a NEAR perfect day. A perfect day minus ticks.  Pictures to share... (and don't worry, we didn't take any pictures of the ticks)

Our little man turned 2! (And this post is a little overdue)

This post is a little overdue, as I have had a hard time bringing myself to actually blog about this. Because, blogging about Grayden turning 2 means that I have to accept that my sweet little baby boy is now a big, growing, hilarious toddler. REALLY!?! TWO!?! You mean that it has actually been 2 years since this tiny little boy entered my world??

I can't believe how fast the past 2 years have gone by. Grayden has gone from a tiny little baby to a chubby little baby, a balding old man look alike to a head full of hair young man, and from a baby to a TODDLER!? This can't be happening. This is what has came from my little 7 lb 7oz, 20 inches long sweet baby boy?

It's amazing how much this little guy has changed our lives. And I've loved (and still love) every second of it!! Grayden, we are so blessed to have you in our lives!! You bring us so much joy! Happy Birthday my sweet baby boy!!

Quickly, to fill you in on how we spent Grayden's 2nd birthday- I took off work Friday so that Rob and I could spoil him just the two of us. The morning started off with sleeping in, having Birthday Pancakes (as seen above), off to have Birthday 2 year old pictures made- (which almost resulted in a terrible, miserable, depressed mother thanks to Portrait Innovations who refused to do his pictures because they don't take walkins like they advertise they do... THANK YOU SEARS for letting us get pictures made), and a trip to the Nashville Zoo. After the Nashville Zoo playplace and a quick look at the meerkats, Grayden passed out. After naptime- we went to Grayden's favorite place to eat with all the grandparents (and Uncle Brian too)- BLUECOAST BURRITO, came home so Mommy could finish the cake. It was a near perfect day- followed with a pretty perfect Birthday Party where I want to thank everyone who came and made it such a special day for Grayden (and Rob and I too). We love everyone of you! Below, a picture of Grayden from his party and my 2nd attempt at a homemade birthday cake...(the character on top is SuperWHY- Grayden's favorite show, it's on PBSKids)

A $3.37 dinner

For those of you who may not know, today is National Pancake Day. Now, this may not mean much to you, but for those of us who are on a super tight and it's the end of the month budget- it's GOLD. Because, on this day, IHOP (that would be the International House of Pancakes for those of you who don't know what the acronym IHOP stands for) honors this day and shows it's customers their love with a free stack of pancakes to every customer. And the best part? There are no stipulations. You come in- wait 10 minutes for you table, order a water with lemon, and ask for a stack of pancakes. Then you eat them. With delicious yummy warm syrup. And you sit back and take in the yumminess. Then you take your full belly, tip the water $3 bucks, and allow your adorable little boy (whose about to turn 2!!!!!!!!!!) to donate 37 cents to the Children's Miracle Network.


So...for those of you who missed this extremely important day- be sure to mark it on your calendar for next year-Feb 22, 2011. Your life will be changed forever.

The Lion Sleeps TONIGHT!

The Perfect Day.

I've been meaning to post this post for a while. You see, a few weeks back, we had a Saturday that was truly the perfect day. 2 weeks ago, a blizzard came through Tennessee and while most people may think a blizzard would completely ruin a weekend, those living in the Hartman household that weekend had the best Saturday anyone could ask for. The snow started on a Friday mid-morning, which led to mass chaos as everyone scrambled to get home before it got to bad. The wellness center, where my office is located, closed while I as at lunch, so I decided that I too would go home (rather than stay in the scary locked up building by myself). A drive that usually takes me 20 minutes took about an hour and a half. Rob and I were out of food (because it was the end of the month and our budget had run out)- so we were discussing whether we wanted to walk to the Chinese place that is less than 1 mile away from the house. Andy (for those of you who don't know him, he is our friend that lives in our basement...practically family at this point) was home too, waiting for his girlfriend Lauren to get in from work. After her 3 1/2 hour drive (not usually that long of a drive...but Tennessee civilians don't know how to drive in snow, no offense to those of you who may be reading this), Andy and her battled the blizzard, drove to Little Caesars and Kroger- for dinner and groceries. The evening concluded with a good movie. We had no idea what the next day would entail.... The Perfect Day.

Now what is the Perfect Day, you may ask. Well let me give you the run down of the days activities:

8:30am: Wake Up.

9:30 am: Biscuits with Gravy, Scrambled Eggs, Turkey Bacon, Sausage, and Orange Juice.

10:30 am- Sledding down the driveway (Everyone included, Rob, Grayden, Andy, Lauren, Jen, and pups.)

11:30- Grayden takes a nap/ Sledding continues

12:00: Hot chocolate, scattegories, sequence, and leftover turkey bacon.

1:00: Showers.

2:00 pack up in Lauren's SUV- drive to Plato's Closet

2:30: Plato's Closet- $1 deals!

4:00: Sams Club Shopping Spree (and disappointment to find that the free samples we expected were not available.)

5:30- drive to Mexican restaurant to feast on some delicious Mexican food.

6:30- Baskin Robbins- ICE CREAM!

7:00: Walmart pitstop and lottery ticket for Andy and Lauren

7:30- Target pitstop.

9:00: Arrive home.

10:00...exhausted. bedtime

Now- some of you may be thinking that that seems like a long list of activities for one day, but let me tell you- it was in fact a perfectly wonderful day. Good food, sledding, good friends, shopping, and more good food? Yep- most definitely THE PERFECT DAY!

More updates to come...hopefully not so delayed next time.