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Charlotte

Books, Charlotte, Entertaining, Gift Giving, Recipes, Shopping, TalesOfAPeanut

Currently…

Currently Tales of a Peanut

Reading: I’m picking up Amy Poehler’s new book, Yes Please, at the library today and can’t wait to start reading it. I’m reading You’re Already Amazing by Holly Gerth as well. And books on my to be purchased with hopeful birthday money include: Nobody’s Cuter Than You, The Art of Work, Keep It Shut, The Forgotten Seamstress, and The Rosie Project.

Currently Reading Tales of a Peanut

Watching: Madame Secretary. I am loving Tea Leoni’s new show with her as Secretary of State. I feel like it’s very similar to The West Wing only with a female lead.

Working on: Getting all my products listed in my own shop! If you read this in a reader you probably haven’t seen the redesign of our site. Katrina Martin at Riot Customs worked with me to implement my vision for Tales of a Peanut and the result is better than anything I could have hoped for. I haven’t talked about the redesign though because I’m still working on getting my shop set up. I’ve got some products listed and I wanted to share it with you now even though it’s still a work in progress. I’ll do a more in depth post on all the changes soon but come check out the new look and the new shop (I’m still on Etsy as well) if you haven’t seen it yet!

Tales of a Peanut Children's Plates

Planning: Hadley’s first birthday party. It’s hard to believe it’s that time but I sent her invitations to the printer yesterday. I’m doing a strawberry theme and now that I say that remember that I’ve got to get on ordering her cake! Here’s a sneak peek of her invite.

Strawberry Birthday Invitation Sneak Peek - Tales of a Peanut

Looking back and reflecting on: Charlotte at 11 months since Hadley will turn 11 months tomorrow. These girls look almost identical.

Charlotte 11 months

Cooking: Strawberry Oatmeal Bars from The Pioneer Woman. Red put this recipe in the back of her book, Charlie Goes to School, and so the kids and I have been saying that we were going to make them for months. We finally got around to them this week and they are fantastic. The kids love them plain for a small dessert but Jason and I might have been adding some vanilla ice cream and heating them for dessert after the kids go to bed. Very tasty!

Strawberry Oatmeal Bars The Pioneer Woman Cooks

Wishing for: Courtney DeFeo’s Conversation Cups, a gift card for Athleta so I can by some new swimsuits and cover ups, some new slippers, and some new flip flops!

Conversation Cups Lil Light O Mine

Eating: Raisin Bran Crunch. It’s really good y’all and my choice for breakfast these days.

Raisin Bran Crunch

So, what are you currently doing, loving, reading, eating… these days? I’d love to know and check it out!

 

Charlotte, Christmas, Family, Hadley, Holidays

December Fun

December always seems to fly the fastest. Whether it’s because the month is packed to the gills with events and happenings or whether it’s just spent in breathless anticipation of the child in the manger, December goes by in a blink. This year was no different although we did try to focus on the real reason for the season and not get as distracted by all the other stuff. Or, at least, remember the reason while doing the other stuff as well.

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Jason and I ran our first 5k on December 2nd at the Botanical Gardens. It was a fun night run through their Galaxy of Lights. It was hard but I ran it without stopping and am very proud of myself! I’m ready for the weather to get a little better so that I can start running in the mornings again.

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Charlotte continued to be super Big Sister and Hadley continued to love her even more.

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My helper helping me finish up our Christmas cards

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There’s never a bad time to be an Alabama cheerleader!

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Baby girl went back and forth between a cold and teething during the month and didn’t always feel great. But that meant that I got some sweet snuggles!

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James loves school and was very excited when it was pajama day and their class party day. He’s sitting next to his best friend, Claire, in the classroom.

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Charlotte finished up her semester of art with a portrait of our dog, Luca!

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I have no idea what this picture is from…but they sure are cute!

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Hadley discovered that the heat blowing her hair up is pretty fun

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We enjoyed getting to hear the Christmas story in different ways at church

IMG_8932And right before Christmas we surprised Char Char at the airport when he came home from California!

Charlotte, Christmas, Family, Hadley, Holidays

Searching Out Santa

It’s an annual tradition in our family to head to Santa’s Village to see Santa. We like to go early in the season to avoid the crowds and to give Santa plenty of time to get those gifts made. The big kids were over the moon excited to see Santa this year which was a lot of fun. And Hadley didn’t seem to mind him either!

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James wouldn’t sit on Santa’s lap but he gave him a fist bump!

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We were the first in line to see Santa and went to explore the rest of the village after we’d met the big guy. Charlotte wrote out her Christmas list and then stuck it in Santa’s mailbox.

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(If you can’t read it she asked for art storage, a dolphin baby, a Santa baby, and a Rudolph baby. I’m happy to say that Santa came through on all of those requests.)

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The kids were mesmerized watching the trains and loved seeing the singing and dancing penguins.

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And Hadley was just happy to be there and that it was warm enough that she wasn’t all bundled up in her jacket!

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We ended our Santa’s Village night with our traditional feast at Commerce Kitchen.

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Trips in previous years: 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009

Charlotte, Family, Hadley, Holidays

Gobble, Gobble

With barely the blink of an eye it was time for Thanksgiving. We started the festivities off by hosting Jason’s parents and brother and sister-in-law for dinner at our house.

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Then on Thanksgiving morning the kids went and tackled Char Char and spent a little time with him.

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It was then off to lunch with my Mom’s side of the family.

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Hadley wore the same dress that Charlotte wore on her first Thanksgiving. I think they favor each other a little…

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(Charlotte on left, Hadley on right)

Thanksgiving evening we enjoyed time with Dad’s side of the family at Mom and Dad’s.

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We headed to Tuscaloosa on Friday morning but packed lots of family time and good food in before we left!

Charlotte, Family

School Pictures

School pictures are a rite of passage and when I look back on the ones from my days growing up I’m usually not sure about my choice of outfits or look. But I find it hard to believe that Charlotte and James won’t always think that these are as adorable as I do right now!

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Charlotte – Kindergarten

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James – 2 1/2’s Mother’s Morning Out

Charlotte, Family, Hadley

Alabama Football

If you’ve been reading this blog for more than a few months, you probably already know that our family is pretty devoted to The University of Alabama. And in addition to loving the school, we also love our football team. We go to most home games and enjoyed some really fun ones in November!

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Papa and Jason took Abby and Charlotte to watch Gameday

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Charlotte made a new Sparkly Cheerleader friend, Brooke

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Charlotte stayed up really late to stay for the entire win against Auburn

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James worked on his receiving skills all season and fell in love with Amari Cooper (he called him Re-mari) and Blake Sims. He still pretends to be one or the other.

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We enjoyed pre-game meals even on cold days thanks to a tent and heaters

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Hadley got some game time and became a pro at falling asleep in the Baby Bjorn

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Charlotte couldn’t get enough of Alabama football and became proficient at the rules and scoring

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Anytime she saw one or lots of the Sparkly Cheerleaders, Charlotte wanted a picture

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James insisted on wearing one of Papa’s old lanyards to the games and said that it was his ticket

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Due to the cold, sickness, and the late time, Papa got to take Charlotte on a date to the Homecoming Pep Rally

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Getting on the field after a game is one of the most fun traditions that we have. We had a hard time getting James OFF of the swooshy A but thankfully Josh was able to persuade him that he should run to score a touchdown.

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Enjoying the game with family and friends is always a treat

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And James got to do some drumming thanks to the very nice band members