Currently: June 2015

Well, what better way to hop back on the blogging train than through a link up? Seriously, life is like a train going full speed ahead right now, and I want to remember every little minute. SO, here. we. go.

Going... To TN for the day on Saturday.
My husband thinks I'm crazy, and maybe I am. We are driving to the TN/NC state border and getting some family pictures taken. I mean the Ocooee + Mountains ... I couldn't ask for better scenery!

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Wearing... My new jewel toned maxi dress for our family pictures.

I have been having to update my wardrobe for this new post baby body, and I just about fell over when I saw this dress. Gor.Geous. All I had to do was wait for one of J. Crew Fatory's a million 50% off sales and she was ALL mine.

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Sipping...Abita Strawberry.

It's the only alcohol I really splurge on every year and actually buy in the grocery store. It's just so light and perfect for grilling season.

Reading... Just blogs and the news :/
Y'all, I really need to get back into the habit of reading. I LOVE to read, but I seem to have put it on the back burner. Please throw any book suggestions you have my way!

Playing... with my little man.
He's really come alive in the past month and it's so fun to do things with him. His newest favorite is activity is "swimming." He could spend hours every day just splashing away in his little pool. This water loving gal is ecstatic that she has a little fish on her hands!

Linking up with Jenna and Anne

America.

Sometimes you eat your own words because you manage to capture the cutest picture of your child. There are two things I just love in this picture- Ehren and America.

Happy Friday and God Bless America! ;) 

Well, hello...

So remember when I used to blog? Yeah, me too.

Well, this happened...

Which led to this...

And a fun maternity shoot with one of our good friends from high school...

And shortly after that our lives changed forever...

Now we are a little over 2 months into this parenting thing and we could not be more in love. It really has been the greatest joy of my life to watch my husband become a dad. I love watching my son (!!!) light up whenever his dad comes home every night. There is nothing sweeter..

You might notice that I put no recent pictures of Bubs by himself. I have a deep fear of cyber kidnapping. We are those new parents who are SO protective, but really, how could any parents not be?? Join along as I hope back on this train. Hopefully things will get  more interesting around here. Along with a possible blog overhaul because let's be serious... I haven't lived in France for about 7 years now and my life is all about being a wife first and momma second to our little man. Any ideas on a new blog title are greatly appreciated :) I am so not creative.

What's in a name

As the way things always seem to work out, Pat and I had two girl names picked out for future kiddos. Knowing we had girl names down pat I just knew we were having a boy.

Stone Mountain Scottish Highland Games, October 2014

We had so many discussions on boy names that we were both getting frustrated. I had one stipulation- I wanted to use family names. He had two stipulations- We couldn't name our child Asher (my favorite name for 10 years now. Bonus points if you know exactly where the name comes from). Also, we couldn't name our child Brooks (a family name of mine).  After a lot of time on Ancestry.com and discussing family names with family members we were getting nowhere. My family seems to have plethora of names that could be easily thrown in and then there is Pat's family... They lived and died by the rule that their last name should reflect their current occupations. Sorry Charlie, but I am not naming my child Provost...

So, how did we get to Ehren McAllister? It took some convincing on my part. You see, Pat's middle name is Ehren (pronounced like Aaron) and he felt weird about naming his child after him. It never occurred to me to really use McAllister until my mom said she had tried to find a way to use it for me and my siblings and never could. McAllister is her maiden name.

So here we are preparing for little Ehren McAllister to enter into this world. His nickname will be Macca. It's the British nickname for people with a Mac name. You might have heard of the most famous Macca, Paul McCartney.

Thank goodness we have two girl names picked out. I'm not sure I could handle that much work for a name again!! ... of course this means we will only have boys. Better get to brainstorming!! ;)

When life is flying by...

I have found life passing by at an insanely fast rate the past few months. Maybe it had to do with the surprise of finding out we were pregnant. Maybe it had to do with hubs job hunting and finding not one but two jobs. Maybe it's the fact that it's football season and football in the south is unlike anything else. Seriously, my mom and I have our superstitions. My husband had no idea what I meant when I said that I loved football. He gets it now.

I think it has more to do with us getting the surprised of a lifetime in June. There's no way I am almost 7 months pregnant but here I am.... almost 7 months pregnant. 

I fully plan on explaining his name in another post. For now, relish in the fact that it's a boy and I'll be running around with a mini version of my hubs. Lord, help me!! ;)

November 8, 2014- Dahlonega, GA

Life has been flying by at a speed I did not know was possible. We will be welcoming a little bundle of joy in February, Lord willing. My perspective on life has changed drastically over the past few months. Not to mention my spending habits...

Sorry I have been MIA for so long. Sometimes the days pass by at warp speed and all I can do is manage to catch up on some sleep after work. That whole "2nd trimester energy is great" thing was a big fat lie for me. So hang in there with me as I catch up on life and sleep. Oh, and maybe start on that nursery this weekend... I think Ehren would like a place to sleep... 

Chicken Taco Soup and about that break I just took...

So, I took a break. An unintentional one but one that was needed. I can tell you how work has gotten crazy now that summer is over and boss lady is still out on maternity. Oh, and that she still doesn't know that I'm preggers. "Hello! Welcome back, boss lady! Do you happen to notice the small beach ball I'm hiding under my shirt now?!" Can't wait for that conversation in a couple weeks...

Or how I believe that the second trimester energy boost thing is a big fat lie. I don't think I've slept this much since I was a teenager. I've always been a good sleeper but goodness I'm taking sleeping to a new level right now!

Or how I'm stressed because we are figuring out jobs, money and childcare all at once. My dream is to be a stay-at-home mom and the cost of childcare just might give me my dream! $1300 a month... I don't even want to describe the panic that came over me when I saw that price tag. Prayers are something we covet right now from everyone. Prayers to trust and to not stress about tomorrow. Prayers to believe that He will always provide.

Or how I have finally started cooking again. My hubs just yelled out a big, "AMEN!" to that... Guess I've been slacking a little ;)

So that brings me to this. My first venture back into cooking and wouldn't you know ... it's a crockpot recipe :) Just the way I planned it!

HOORAY! It's fall!! Fall means soups and all things warm and cuddly. Get ready for soup recipes, y'all. This little girl L-O-V-E-S a good homemade soup. So without further ado, I present to you....

Chicken Taco Soup (Crockpot Style)

Ingredients
2-3 chicken breasts (uncooked)

1 medium sized onion, diced
1 packet of taco seasoning
1 can of chicken stock
1 can of rotel
1 can of corn kernels
1 can of chili beans
1 can of black beans
1 can (8 oz) of tomato sauce

Add everything but the chicken to your crockpot. Once you have everything in there place your chicken in the mixture until it is just barely covered. Cover your soup and cook on low for 5 hours. After 5 hours take out your chicken and shred it. Place all of your chicken back in your crockpot and continue cooking for another 2 hours. Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream and whatever your little heart desires!

Currently

So as you can tell life has gotten away from me. I feel like I spend my days working, eating and sleeping. Every couple weeks a doctors appointment is thrown in there. I love a good linkup and this one always helps put things into perspective. I know what I'm spending too much time on and what I should focus my time and energy on to more. So without further ado, here is what I am up to Currently...

Recovering.

My Labor Day weekend was spent in Nashville celebrating one of my BFFs on her Bachelorette Night/Weekend. Look y'all, prego just can't hang. I had a blast going to Opryland and the Grand Ole Opry but Broadway was just not happening for me. I did thoroughly enjoy hearing all of their stories about their time out on Broadway when they got back to the hotel and on the ride home to ATL though :) Somehow I ended up feeling like I had been one who had one too many glasses of wine on the ride home? I guess that's what happens when I don't get my needed 10 hours of sleep one night ;) Sidenote: I wish I could store up sleep and use the energy I get from it for later use. Lord knows I'm going to need it soon.

Craving.

Pasta, pasta and more pasta. I can't get enough! So much so that I now feel all Italian like in the kitchen. I even made up my own tomato sauce on Monday and LOVED it! I'll have to share soon.

Nesting.

Poor hubs survived his first bout of nesting on Monday. For someone who had never heard of it before I would say he did pretty well. I'm enjoying having our white couch be white again and our other upholstered items being super clean. Next up, reorganizing our kitchen. You all should be jealous of my plans for this Saturday ;) Sidenote: If you want to clean your couch/chairs rent a rug doctor from Home Depot. SO much cheaper than having Stanley Steemer come out and do it for you. It's around $50 and some elbow grease when things are all said in done. It's more like $200 with Stanley Steemer.

Coveting.

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Melissa Button Frye Boots. I want them, I need them, Oh baby. Seriously, I have been coveting these specific boots for a few years now. Maybe one day down the road I will be able to obtain them. For now, I'll stick to my other riding boots that sort of looks just like them! :)

Linking up with Jenna and Anne