Happiest of Birthdays, Griffin Mark

This past weekend we celebrated our favorite little boy.  Griffin turned 1 on Saturday and we decided to make a whole weekend out of his Birthday.

 

Friday night, we had dinner at a restaurant at the Marina.  It was so nice having a small "get together" with family to wish Griffin the Happiest of Birthdays.

 

 

 

Griffin's Grandparents, Grammie, Uncle and Aunt were able to join us. 

 I hinted in an earlier post that I was looking forward to being an Aunt again this year.  Well, these two are expecting a BOY in October!  I am so happy to be adding to our family and so happy that Griffin gets a little boy cousin to grow up with.

 

Saturday morning we woke up bright an early to sing "Happy Birthday" to Griffin.  He was more interested in the candles than the donuts.

 

 

We made a plan to go to the Upstate Children's Museum but since the weather was going to be better than predicted, we decided the Zoo was our best bet.

 

 

Griffin loved the zoo.  Once he was able to spot the animals, his eyes were locked on them until we left.  The day left him exhausted and worn slap out which meant for a successful birthday.

 

 

On Sunday, Luke decided he wanted one more outing to close out Griffin's birthday weekend.  We drove up to Clemson to walk around the Botanical Gardens.  Griffin was as happy as a clam being strolled around and being outside.

 

 

I just want to say Thank You to everyone that wished my little boy a happy 1st birthday.  The day came so quickly but we made great use out of our weekend with him.

We will be having his birthday party this weekend and I am looking forward to sharing it with y'all.

Chicken + Broccoli Ring

It is no secret that I am not the worlds greatest cook, or a cook for that matter.  I have never enjoyed being in the kitchen, but with a hungry husband and a growing toddler, they demand food (every night).
The first time I made this was at my own bridal shower party where Pampered Chef was being gifted as gifts.  My favorite thing about this recipe was that it was quick, easy, and minimal clean up.

Source

What you will need:

      

1 package (8 ounces) refrigerated crescent rolls

1 cup coarsely chopped cooked chicken

3/4 cup coarsely chopped broccoli

1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

1/4 cup diced red bell pepper

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 teaspoon Pantry All-Purpose Dill Mix

1 small garlic clove, pressed

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 egg white, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons slivered almonds

1 pizza stone

 

 

Steps:

-Preheat oven to 375°F. Unroll crescent rolls; separate into eight triangles. Arrange triangles, slightly overlapping, in a circle on your pizza stone with the points extending off the edge of the stone.Roll wide ends of dough toward center to create a 3-inch opening.

- Mix chicken, broccoli, cheese, bell pepper, mayo, and seasonings.

 

-Scoop mixture over dough and fill evenly.

-Bring points of dough of triangles up over mixture and tuck dough at center.

-Lightly brush dough with egg white; sprinkle with almonds.

-Bake 25-30 minutes or until deep golden brown.


So easy! I didn't use garlic, bell pepper or almonds on mine.  This dish is easy to change up and add more or less as you wish.  There are some nights where we try and ease up on the meat so we add more veggies and make a vegetarian style ring.  They also have Mexican Taco Rings that I have never tried but I am sure they are just as easy.

       

Happy Birthday Little One

Happy Birthday to our wonderful son Griffin Mark.  It seems that this milestone has come too quickly.  I'm sure there will be many tears to come, but today we CELEBRATE you!

 

4/25/14 @ 5:26pm

Photo//Rachael Hughes

 

Four for Thursday

Happy Friday Eve, my friends.  If I post on Thursdays it is normally an easy post so I am happy that I have seen this topic going around.  I thought it would be fun to get to know the girl behind RSG a bit more. 

{Nicknames}

Syd 

{Four movies I’ve watched more than once}
 

Fried Green Tomatoes

Stealing Magnolias

Wild Hearts Can't be Broken

Finding Nemo 

{Four things in my purse}

Chap stick

Change

Pacifier

Hand Sanitizer 

{Four favorite places to shop}
 

Gap

Old Navy

Target

Ingles

{Four places I’ve lived}

Honea Path, SC

Greenwood, SC

Anderson, SC

Pendleton, SC (in a few weeks)

{Four ultimate favorite foods}

Cheese Cake

Baked BBQ Chicken

Turkey Subs

Peanut Butter & Banana Sandwich

{Four favorite drinks}

Sweet Tea

Bay Breeze

Moscato

Dr. Pepper 

{Four places I’ve traveled}
 

Anchorage, Alaska

Montego Bay, Jamaica

San Fran, California

Key Largo, Florida

 

{Four placed I’d like to travel}

Sydney, Australia

Honolulu, Hawaii

Denver, Colorado

Seattle, Washington 

{For places I’d like to re-travel to}

LA, California

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Charleston, South Carolina

Las Vegas, Nevada

{Four favorite chain restaurants}

Chick-Fil-A

McAlister's Deli

Firehouse Subs

Cracker Barrel 

{Four tv shows I'm currently watching}

Survivor

Southern Charm

Million Dollar Listing, NY

SVU

{Four things I’m looking forward to this year}

Becoming an Auntie again

Christmas and have breakfast with Santa

Moving into the new house and getting settled
Enjoying being a family of three and the outdoors

 

 

 

How Motherhood Has Changed Me

We are three days from celebrating Griffin’s 1^st birthday.  In the same sense I am also celebrating my first year of motherhood.  I strongly believe that I became a mother the day Luke and I decided to start our family.  However, this is the first time I actually got to experience motherhood.

 

Photo//Abby Williams

Motherhood has changed me so much as a person.  I have learned to cherish every moment with Griffin.  There are so many first that will happen and every one of them I have cherished the memories.  Motherhood has taught me not to sweat the small stuff.  The house will get clean, eventually.  The dishes in the sink have been there for 3 days, but they will get done, eventually. 

 In the first few weeks of being home with Griffin I knew we would have visitors pop in and out and I always had to have my house clean, picked up, and make sure it was inviting.  As the weeks went on, I knew that the people were coming to visit my son, not my home.  I learned not to sweat it if I did not get a shower in and I learned how to concentrate on the joys of motherhood, stinky or not.

Motherhood has taught me to love life.  I have turned into an “outdoorsman” because that’s where my son loves to be.  I have learned to be more outgoing and talk to people that I don’t know.  I am still working on being more outgoing, but having Griffin is bringing me out of more shell more and more.

 

Motherhood has taught me to work harder than I have ever before.  It has taught me patience, structure, and love like I have never known before.  My life that I live and the way I look at it has changed because of motherhood. 

Motherhood has taught me to appreciate my mom and my mother in law a lot more because I now know the love they have for Luke and I. 

Motherhood has made me want to explore more than ever and to be able to show my son what the world has to offer.

 

My spirit has gotten stronger, I am more grateful, and I could not imagine what my life would be if I was not a mother.

 

I know motherhood suits me.  I feel it in my bones.  I know I was meant to be a mother.  I know I was meant to have the most rewarding, beautiful, and joyous thing a person can imagine.

My heart is so full and I will never forget my first year as a mother. 

Photo//Rachael Hughes

 

What's In A Name

When becoming pregnant, one of the first things Luke and I talked about was what we would name our soon to be child.  The process of naming you child is fun and also a task.  Knowing that the name you give is going to be with them for the rest of their life is a lot of pressure.

When deciding boy and girl names we knew we wanted it to be special and family based.  Right away we had a girls name but it was a little more challenging to decide, and agree on a name for a little boy.

For a few weeks before finding out the gender, Luke and I had a running list of boy names and we would mix several different ones together to see if it "fit".

We found out we were having a boy in November 2013 and we knew we wanted to get the ball rolling and nail down a name for our miracle baby boy.  We were ready to start calling him by name instead of just "baby".

The night of his gender revel, Luke through out a name and it stuck.  Griffin Mark Edwards.

The names Griffin and Mark were tossed around with several different names but with Luke put them together, we knew it was the name for our son.

Griffin is a family name on my side.  My Pappy was nicknamed Griff in the Coal Mines and my dad worked along side him and was called "Little Griff."  When it came time for my parents to name my brother they decided on Jon Griffin.  I also liked that Griffin isn't too common of a name.

Mark is a family name on Luke's side.  Luke's middle name is Mark and was named after his father, Mark.

I loved being able to tie our families together and incorporate different names to give Griffin Mark a name that couldn't suit him more.

PipSquigz

Y'all have heard me talk about PipSquigz before and you know how much I love them.

But I really, really love them.

There is not a time that we are out to dinner that someone does not ask us about these toys that are occupying my little toddler.

If this isn't a happy face because he loves PipSquigz I don't know what it.

These fun toys stay in his diaper bag at all time and we never leave home without them.  The set comes with three suction toys that will stick to any surface.  They also suction to each other which mixes the fun up a bit.

PipSquigz is by the toy company, Fat Brain, and comes with 3 silicone toys in three different colors.  They each have their own texture on them that enhances your child's motor skills.

We love using them in restaurants but they could also be used in the bathtub and strollers.



 Each PipSquigz has a rattle in it that rattles each time your child flicks the toy.

 Griffin's favorite way is to pull it back and let it go. 

 We also use the pink toy to lay some of his food on so he can feed himself. 

I have not seen these in stores, so unfortunately they have to be ordered from Amazon or Bed, Bath & Beyond.  Griffin has been playing with them since he was 3 months old and still is at almost a year old.  If you are looking for a baby shower gift or just a gift for your little one, I highly recommend this one. 



Flashback Friday

This is birthday month for Griffin, so be prepared for birthday overload for the rest of the month and I am sure into May.  You've been warned.

 

With it being Friday I wanted to do a little flashback to newborn Griffin.  I am trying to hold on to any "baby" strand that I can. Enjoy this easy Friday post.  Have a blessed weekend.  

 

-One-

One day old Griffin. 

 -Two-

He was born to be a cuddle bug.  The kid is just like his Mama...and Dada.

 

 -Three-

Four days old headed home. 

 -Four-

Showing Griffin where his new home would be. 

 

 -Five-

Griffin's 1st wedding at 16 days old.

 

Linking up with these ladies every Friday:

 

Stephanie, Laura, and Cait for Can't Live Without It

Darci, April, Christina and Natasha.

Lauren Elizabeth for High Five Friday

Jennie for Friday Favorites

Rebecca for That Friday Blog Hop

Leslie for Confessional Friday

Amy for Oh hey Friday

Amanda for Friday Favorites

Hour by Hour

There are never enough hours in a day to get done what "needs" to get done.  I work part time and I still feel like I am not able to get done things on my list.  I envy you full time working Mama's with 1+ children.

Here is a little sneak peek into my life, hour by hour.


6am: Alarm goes off and I get ready for work.

7am:  The dragon is awake and ready for breakfast.  Dada feeds the boy while I finish getting ready.

 

8am: Eat a quick breakfast and  start the work day.

9am: Work.

10am: List making makes me happy. 

11am: Work

12noon: Work

1pm: Work

2pm:  Off work and head home for lunch and open happy mail.

 

3pm: Prep dinner.  This is an easy recipe to mix together the night before and just stick it in the oven.

4pm:  Tackle the mounds of laundry .

5pm: Pick up the boy from daycare and give him a little trim.  He loved it. Ha!

6pm: Stop by the house and check on progress.  Dada and Griff always make a walk to the pond to visit with the geese.

 

7pm:  Leave the farm and head home.  He is beyond exhausted.

8pm:  Bath is an hour later than normal.  He must have some sort of "toy" in his tub and his paci made the cut.

9pm:  Preparations for Griffin's 1st birthday.  I have pinned every pin you can pin and I am still pinning.

10pm: Catch up on my RH of Beverly Hills.