Come to mama...

soon and very soon this lady will be in my hands!! Since I am co-owner of a legitimate photography business...it's no surprise that soon an upgrade would be happening! In a matter of days, this will be at my front door and I can't wait to try her out!! It's the little things, or in my case the very big ones...I will keep you posted on how she works for me!

Meet the newest addition to our family...

Sweet Lilly! We rescued her from the Grateful Goldens of the Low Country. She is 3 years old and such a sweet girl! She has already made herself a part of this family and we are so in love. We still miss Bailey, but she is in our hearts too!! Welcome to our family Lilly girl!!

Rest in Peace Sweet Girl!

On May 28, 2009 we had to send our sweet Bailey girl to the Rainbow Bridge! She was suffering on her last day and we felt she was trying to tell us that it was her time to go. This is the very last picture I took of her on that day. We were so deeply saddened! At the same time, we knew that we couldn't let her suffer any more. She gave cancer her all and lived a good life. She will forever be in our hearts and we will never forget the love she gave to us. Dogs bring so much love and happiness to your hearts! Rest in Peacer our sweet Bailey girl. We will always love you...

Our Happy Family

Bailey continues to do well. It's been a while since I posted but she has been diagnosed with lung cancer. The emergency vet told us she had days to weeks to live and asked us last week if we wanted to put her down that day. We just couldn't, not that day anyway. We wanted at least one more day with her. We brought her home thinking that she would be in terrible pain and that we were selfish for wanting to keep her alive just one more day....well, she had news for us! She's not ready to go yet....she's like a puppy again at times. Her energy is great, she continues to eat in addition to all the extra treats and table scraps that I'm giving her now. She has a cup of Frosty Paws everyday....we are treating her like a queen. She continues to go on her walks and still jumps on people when they come to visit. We know with a diagnosis like this that her days are numbered and we will continue to watch for the signs that it is time, but until then, we are living it up with her! We love you Bailey-girl....

When you know...

I don't even know if anything is going to happen...but have you ever had the gut feeling that something bad was going to happen? Right now Dan is over at the emergency vet with our sweet, sweet dog Bailey. I am beside myself right now. About 8:30 tonight she started coughing up blood. We were very startled and called the vet. They told us to bring her in right away. I immediately got hysterical and got this 'overwhelming' feeling that I was never going to see her again. Dan actually just called me and it doesn't seem as though the vet is optimistic either. They just took her back for x-rays...please say a prayer for Bailey girl. Bailey, we love you so much!!!

Erin Go Bragh!

Happy St Patrick's Day everyone. I know it has been a while. I have no excuse except that it's been super busy. We are all decked out in our green today. I have an Irish Stew in the crockpot, made with beef instead of lamb so the boys will actually eat it. I also have some Guinness waiting to be consumed tonight with Dan. YUM! Because what says St Patrick's Day better than Guinness. I'll be back soon with more stories, pictures and posts! I promise!!!

Look Mom...No training wheels!!!

Last week Harrison rode his bike with no training wheels for the first time. This video clip is from the first moments...I am amazed that he did not fall and was so confident. I guess he was ready...we had no idea. It was a rite of passage for him and I'm so happy we captured it on video....ENJOY!

And now they are.....2!

Two years ago today our lives changed forever...and for the better. Brady William and Jackson Quinn entered this world 2 years ago today.

Brady,

You are my mommy's boy. I see a lot of you in me. You like things in there place, you like to help clean up, you are a very good eater and you think a smile could brighten anyone's mood. You are so right! You are really tall and look exactly like your daddy. You love cars and trucks and COOKIES! You and Jack have learned that when we pull into the Whole Foods parking lot that if you start saying 'cookie' really loud that Mommy will think you are so cute and get you one. It works everytime! You are in love with your brothers "zarisson" and "dack" and call them by name all the time to get their attention. You bring Jack his 'taggie' when he is crying which tells me what a kind heart you have. I love being your Mommy and love you with all my heart! Happy 2nd Birthday my sweet Brady!

Love,

Mommy

Jack,

Sweet little Jack! Although you are so small you have a very big heart. You are my active little man. You love to throw, catch or kick a ball...anytime or anywhere. You have so much energy, yet still like to be cuddled at night. You let me hold you or rock you anytime I want to. You love your 'taggie blanket' and I like the fact that it makes you feel so much better when you are hurting. You also love anything with wheels and especially love books about them. You are a comedian and love to make people laugh. Your favorite things are 'going bye bye' and 'going for a walk'. You love watching your big brother Harrison and want to be just like him. I love being your Mommy and love you with all my heart! Happy 2nd Birthday my sweet Jack!

Love,

Mommy

I can't believe 2 years has passed. I still remember when they looked like this...

We've been 'Obamacon'ed...thanks Jersey Baby!

Thanks to Jersey BAby, we've been officially "Obamacon'ed". I've been looking for some funky ways to do the boys pictures to hang in the playroom and after working on photoshop for a little while, I stumbled across Jersey Baby's facebook page and fell in love with these. I went on the site and created 3-one of each of the boys. I'm thinking about having them made into posters to hang in the playroom. For $10 a piece you can't go wrong with these. I love having the words 'hope, progress, change' on each of them too. That way I can tell them that Obama was our President when these posters were made for them. Here are the three I came up with....now go and make your own. It's really fun...

I'm still here...with a list to boot!

Between running, running to preschool, cooking, shopping and just being a mom...I feel like I've been too busy to post. I really don't have much to say but felt I needed to post. We are just knee deep in winter here and I've been in a cooking storm. I've dusted off some old cookbooks and pulled out some new ones. With my New Year's Resolution to continue to eat healthy, whole foods, we have been cooking more and more rather than doing take out or going out. So, ladies and gents, I've made a list of my favorite cookbooks. I know it's not exciting, but if you are a cookbook junkie like me, you'll like this list. Let me know which ones you like that are your faves too and I just may have to add them to my wish list. In no particular order, here are my top 5 favorite cookbooks.

1. The Williams-Sonoma Cookbook: The Essential Recipe Collection for Today's Home Cook

2. Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics: Fabulous Flavor from Simple Ingredients

3. Bon Appetit, Y'All: Recipes and Stories from Three Generations of Southern

4. The Bon Appetit Cookbook: Fast Easy Fresh

5. Williams-Sonoma Food Made Fast: Simple Suppers.. because we all like to get dinner on the table pronto!

Happy cooking everyone! Don't forget to tell me what your favorite cookbooks are!!

A good find...

as I continue on my quest to eat all natural foods..I discovered this. Ficoco is made from figs and cocoa...two of my favorite things! Although I love Nutella like nobody's business, I don't like the fact that it's high in fat. I spread Ficoco on one of those mini whole wheat bagels and it's Heaven on Earth. No fat and only 60 calories...and it's all natural! I found mine at Whole Foods, but I'm sure there are other stores that carry it too...

Where have I been???

11 days into the New Year with no post...I know, I know. But I have to say...we have been all recovering from colds here in the magnolia household. Harrison and Dan were hit the hardest. Harrison got his first EVER ear infection at 4 years old. I could hardly believe it!! Anyway, things have been great besides the colds...

Resolutions? How do I top 2008's resolution of running a marathon? I don't know...but I am going to start doing at least one a year. I have my eye on either the Disney (Goofy Challenge, Jen? I'm up for it if you are) or the Charleston Marathon, which may or may not happen. However, these are both in Jan 2010, so technically not this year....So I came up with a list of things that I'd like to do or change for this upcoming year...

1. Lose the remaining 5 lbs and be at my wedding weight...I would love to accomplish this!!
2. Be in the moment with my children...they are growing up way too fast. The twins will be two next month. What happened to my babies?
3. Continue to grow the photography business
4. Continue to eat healthy...leafy greens, whole grains, fruits, veggies
5. Try a detox cleanse..thinking about the Blueprint Cleanse
6. Work on getting rid of all the hormonal havoc that happened to my skin. I'm working with someone and am obsessed with Dermologica products. Trying to conceive, while good for having babies, not good for my skin. (i.e. mask of pregnancy is still on my forehead...)
7. Continue to run 4/5 days a week and strength training 2 days a week.
8. Have fun! Be positive!
9. More date nights with Dan....went to S.N.O.B. downtown the other night and then drinks at Cypress...WONDERFUL!!
10. Surround myself with good friends and family!!

Looking forward to 2009...I promise to post some Christmas pics soon!