Andrea's Bachelorette!



Andrea, me, Mel, Mo, Sarah



decor, and our AMAZING view to the ocean...



Just the stickers I made that perspired IMMEDIATELY off... rude.



Crazy Bachelorette bar in Charleston, and we even got a decent pic, good job ladies!



Cheers to the BRIDE!

This was just an epic friday evening at the beach, with the BACHELOR party!



I can't believe I met you in 5th grade, here we are about to turn 25, and your getting married in a month! Beautiful Bride, I couldn't be more happy for you!!!! Cheers to you... :)



Linda's no calorie DESSERT!

haha, gotcha! Come on, ya'll know there is no such thing, but there are definitly ways to limit the calories to awesome desserts! Last night I had an itch to bake/ make a dessert and when in need for a recipe and not actually having time to look up one from Cooking Light Magazine whoooo should I call? Nope, wrong, not ghostbusters, good ol' "Linda Next Door" who has been our neighbor in Charlotte for years! She is all up on what is healthy for you and what is not, and ways to still get our sweet tooth fix that we all have sometimes! So, I called her yesterday afternoon and she gave me this awesome recipe to try, no baking, just a little sauteein' and your done! I'm not sure the exact name she likes to call it but I like to refer to it as,

                             Linda's No Calorie Dessert
What you need:
Peaches- go for the fresh ones if they are in season!
Pound Cake (I used angel food cake, for less calories)

Saute cut up peaches with butter and Cinnamon, juices will fill the pan!

Cinnamon
Nutmeg

Butter

Light Cool Whip

break up the angel food cake place in a pan

Add your juicy peachy concoction!

and now you have your light cool whip on top with some nutmeg!



now go get a spoon and dig into your own!!!

Jump into the Picture

I have to get an A, I have to get an A, I have to pee, but I have to hurry and get this coloring done so I can get an A, my hand is cramping up and my "Duggar Family" dress is officially choking me...."

and the nest is empty...

...and I mean by that Jordan has grown up and gone to college... It is a little bitter sweet I think for the whole family. I mean she's the baby, always has been and always will be! It is absolutlely a blessing to have her here in Raleigh with me as she goes through this new chapter of her life at NCSTATE! I am so excited to spend more time with her go to dinner, cook dinner, grab coffee at "Cup o Joe" (where my dad used to go when he was at STATE... crazy huh!?) and really just be with her more and deepin our relationship! Being 6 years apart and not living at home the same time as she was growing up maturing and getting older was sad, and I feel like this is perfect for us! I will admit that I feel like my mom sometimes and very much worry about her when she's out, I guess I get to take on that role now, somewhat, since she so close to me. If she doesn't call me back right away, I worry ecspecially at night.......ohhhhh the mom in me, what the heck is going on!!?? And on top of that, I totally analyze all of her facebook college pictures now, where is she, who is she with, who is that boy, what time was it, how did she get there, whats in that cup really, is she at a frat house............ohhhh LORD! She's a smart girl though, its just me being an older sister I guess :)

One of the funniest memories of us together when she was little and obviously me too (CLEARLY, would have not done this otherwise...) was when mom was bathing Jordan and I was in the bath with her too, probably playing with cooking utensils, singing, and essentially having a cooking 101 class in barbie bubble bath... what more could a little girl ask for... WHEN ALL OF A SUDDEN: a "tootsie roll" looking thing creeped behind me and mom said I walked on water like Jesus!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you Jordy :)

Enjoy the pics of move in day!

The infamous shelf that dad has been given to put up in all three of our college dorms, and rooms.... HE HATES THIS SHELF... it is a pain to put up it has that plastic little tuby looking thing you have to put in the wall, and then the nail goes in that, its a headache, its hard to get it leveled and dad always seems to take a deep breath when we hand it to  him and does it with a smile, and I just laughed when Jordan busted out the infamous shelf on Sunday for him to put up... "like here we go again, round 3.." HAHA!

She went with the Yellow and Black theme... She overlooks the pool, and boys, and boys, and boys.... ohhh what a freakin life, I miss it!

and her desk....... :)

 LOVE YOU LITTLE JORDY, STUDY HARD! ... and don't overdraw dad gets a litttttttttttle mad!

xoxo

Tick- Tock....

Tick Tock, Andrea's Shower went around the clock and it was A BLAST! Melanie and I and our moms planned this shower for Andrea last weekend at my parents house. It was our very first shower to plan, and since we both are pretty creative and love crafts we had tons of fun planning! All three of us have been best friends since 7th grade, even though I met Andrea in 5th Grade in Mrs. Ipocks class HA! We have grown up together, shared many many fun memories, from our water fights in my moms kitchen to Backstreet Boy concerts and passing notes in highschool, and Monday night YL where we were laughing so hard that I actually named us the 3 blind mice. It stuck thats for sure. I couldn't be more blessed to have these two girls in my life, what a bond we three share...

Back to the shower, We played a game, and had Mason video himself of him answering questions that we had given them and if she got it wrong, she got a sticker on her face, kind of like the Newlywed game. It was VERY ENTERTAINING and a blast to watch!! We had a bunch of different Salads for food (THANKS MOMS!) and to top it off with Jordans Fondont clock cupcakes it was perfect! We sat outside on our patio sipped lemon blueberry coolers, ate, chatted and enjoyed the breeze and the shade while celebrating Andrea! Enjoy the slideshow... I finally figured out how to do it, go me!

Children are Gods Gift to the World

I am not quite sure what it is... but when I have that special connection with a child, whether it is one I have taught or not I get really attached and fall in love... Tyshawn is one of those children. I taught him last year and saying goodbye to him at his Preschool graduation was really hard! I caught my self actually tear up a little bit and had to suck those tears right back in because we had to sing the ABC rap song! His mom told me that I needed to come see him this summer and we exchanged phone numbers.... I had been thinking about him a lot recently and finally called his mom. She said, Ms. Todddddddddd I am so glad you called Tyshawn asks where you are EVERY morning! Right then I thought to my self, "Unbelievable how I have had such an impact on one child, even through the discipline that I had to utilize at some points, it really shows you how much of the little things that you do for them they remember the most."

I went to go see him Last week, and I was a little early so I called his mother to tell her I was there. She was on the phone and said that they just went to the store but they were coming up around the corner. Meanwhile I could hear Tyshawn in the background saying, "Ms. Toddddddddd, DON'T LEAVE IM COMING, IM COMING IM COMING!" He is hilarious. I spent an hour or so with him, he showed me his house and his toys and his kitchen and he danced for me, he hugged and kissed me and danced some more. I have never seen such a LIT UP child before in my life.

I am so thankful for Tyshawn, and the bond that we have together. I am thankful that he has inspired me to not give up on my teaching career, event though it has been a slow and steady road to get to where I actually want to be. I am thankful for Giraffes, because Tyshawn LOVES Giraffes. I always knew that you have to have a bond with a student, and actually establish that before you can teach them and they can learn, but Tyshawn is a true, real example of this and I love him even more for that. So hear is to Tyshawn and impacting my life when he has no idea!

This last picture was taken at school when he was getting ready to go home one afternoon. Every morning, literally, every morning when I got him out of the car, he would give me my kiss and I would carry him inside even though he's clearly capable of walking I just had to get my Tyshawn love in, what can I say. At least he was still in preschool, because I would have had to nip that one in the bud if we were in Kindergarten :)