Baby Blanket

Here is the latest crochet project I have been working on.

It is a baby Blanket for my friend Jessica. Her new little baby girl will be here sometime in March.

I also made a matching hat. I really like how it turned out.

I tried using a different pattern to make the flowers, and they were much easier this way, than the way I used to make them.

I have her the blanket this morning and she loved it! Can't wait to see her all wrapped up in it.

Kettle Corn Love

So, the last few weeks, Andrew and I have been on a major kettle corn kick. Andrew has perfected the recipe and technique, so I thought I would share it with you.
The recipe is as follows:
1/2 cup un-popped pop corn
Vegetable oil - enough to barely cover the pop corn (see picture below)
1/4 cup sugar
Salt - to taste

First, you will need a large pot with a tight fitting lid.

Pour the popcorn into the pan.

Pour in enough oil until the popcorn is barely covered and then stir.

Turn stove on high heat and wait to hear the oil sizzle.

Once the oil starts to sizzle, pour sugar in, and stir very well, to coat all kernels with sugar.

Spread out all of the kernels, so there is a single layer on the bottom of them pan.

Now just wait for the pop.

After the pop corn has started popping, give the pot a good shake. Continue to shake every 20-30 seconds.

Once the popping has slowed down (about 2-3 seconds between pops) remove from heat.

Stir the popcorn.

Add salt to taste and continue stirring.

Pour into a bowl and enjoy!!

We have tried different brands of popcorn and so far, the yellow corn seems to pop up the best. We are in search of the popcorn that will give us the biggest popped kernel. If you know where we could get some, please let us know.
Please let me know if you try making it, and how it turns out. Happy Popping!

Thrift Store Friday

I haven't posted my thrift store Friday for the past few weeks because of the holidays and being out of town. So, I'm combining the last few weeks into one post.
Here are my recent finds:
3 board books: $.25/each
A Gone Fishing Vest For Michael (NWT): $3.00
6 tooth brushes & 4 tubes of tooth paste: 5/$1.00
Vera Bradley Purse: $12.00

Andrew surprised me with the purse one day. Isn't he sweet?

The Miracle Hill store in Spartanburg has a ton of tooth brushes (mostly children's) so if your kids need a new tooth brush, stop by and pick one or 2 up. Where else can you find a tooth brush for .25/each or you get 5/$1.00?

17 Months

Wow, this one snuck up on me. Usually I have in mind when the 7th of each month is, but not this month.
So, here is what Michael is up to at 17 months:

- He is talking more and more each day and is starting to repeat words back to us. He will try to repeat everything I ask him to, but it doesn't usually come out right. There are a few that do come out right, and it is so cute when that happens.
- He loves for me to sing songs to him. His favorite are ABC's and Frosty the snowman. He has books with these songs written in them, so he is constantly bringing me these books to "read" or sing to him.

- He has grown another inch, but his weight is about the same, so his big belly is slimming down some.
- His hair is coming in, finally! It is still soft and curly. We haven't cut it yet, and really don't plan to for a while.
- He has learned how to slide down the stairs on his belly (feet first) and is getting faster each time. It won't be long till he is shooting down the stairs.

- He has started coloring with crayons. He doesn't try to eat them either ;)
- He loves to play with his little people barn and knows where each animal goes, based on the sound it makes.
- He knows and can make the following animal sounds: cow, monkey, sheep, dog, cat, and sometimes horse. He knows the sign for duck, but won't say quack. He also knows that the pig makes a funny sound he just hasn't figured out how to oink yet.

- He loves playing with his big cousins and follows them around everywhere.
- He plays really well by himself at home. He loves his blocks and loves to knock them over when I stack them up. He has just recently started stacking them up himself to knock over.

- He loves to dance!! That was his favorite thing about the cruise, I think. He dances with just his arms mostly, but it is so cute!
- He keeps me busy, but there is nothing else I would rather do, then spend my days being his Mama!

Year in Review - 2011

2011 was a good year for us. We enjoyed watching Michael go from infant to Toddler and from just learning to roll over to running around the house. It's crazy how much babies change in such a short time. Here are some high lights from our year: (If you click on the links, it will take you to my blog posts about each event)

January
Michael learns to roll over
Michael gets his first two teeth

February
Michael starts eating solid food
Andrew gets moved to third shift at work - Boo!

March
Michael's first trip to the park

April
Spent a weekend in Sevierville,TN at Women of Joy
Michael celebrates his first Easter

May
Spent a weekend in charleston
Michael learns to crawl
Celebrate my first Mother's Day 
Michael has his baby dedication at church
Celebrate 7 years of marriage

June
Michael takes his first steps and learns to walk
Andrew celebrates his first Father's Day
I spend a week at the beach with my friends

July
Spend a fun week at Animal Kingdom Resort in Florida
Andrew starts a new job!! No more third shift!

August
Michael turned 1
I turned 29

September
Start teaching Michael sign language, and he picks it up pretty quickly

October
Michael dressed up as the cutest giraffe for Halloween

November
Got to spend a weekend in Charlotte with my best friends
Bought a new van
Spent Thanksgiving in Blue Ridge, GA with Andrew's family

December
Spent the week after Christmas on a Disney Cruise and in Hilton Head.
Andrew turned 31

Like I said, it's been a good year! Can't wait to see what 2012 has in store for us!

Off the Boat and On To Hilton Head

We were up at at breakfast by 6:45am. Way too early in my opinion. Ate our breakfast, turned in our comment card, and got off the boat. We were to our car by 8:30. Since we never got off the boat, I wasn't able to get any pictures of the ship, which I was a little sad about. So, here are the best I could  get from the parking garage.

We drove over to Merritt Island, to meet Kathleen for breakfast. It was good to see her again. Then it was on to Hilton Head. We would be spending 2 nights in Hilton Head, and then finally heading back home on Saturday, New Year's Eve.

We drove up the coast for part of the way, and stopped right above Daytona Beach to take some pictures.

The weather in Hilton Head was beautiful. We arrived right before sunset, so after we checked into our room, we walked out to the pier to watch the sunset.

For dinner, we went to Mellow Mushroom for Pizza. It was good, but the service was not that great. Our opinion might be a little biased, since we had just got off a cruise ship, where everyone was catering to our every need. Anyway, Michael and I were in bed by 8:30, and slept till 11:00 the next day. We were trying to catch up on all the sleep we missed on the cruise. Friday was Andrew's Birthday, So we got up and went to get some doughnuts from Flamingo's Doughnut shop. We were very sad to see that it was closed. Not sure forever, or just for that week. A lot of restaurants were closed while we were down there, since it is the off season. So, we went to the Hilton Head diner instead. After lunch, Andrew wanted to go swimming, but I just wasn't feeling like it, so I tagged along and took pictures, while he and Michael swam. (The pool was heated) 

After swim time, we all went back to the room and took a nap. 

Dinner was at It's Greek to me. It was so good. We all ate a ton, and even had leftovers to bring home.

Saturday morning, we got up and took some pictures around the resort.

Then we went over to the beach house to take some pictures.

Then it was home. We arrived home around 4:00 and it felt nice to be home. I love vacation, but there is just something nice about pulling into your own driveway after a long day of driving.

So, there is our Christmas Vacation in a nutshell. We had a wonderful time, and can't wait to do another cruise! We will probably wait until Michael is older though, so he can really enjoy all that the cruise has to offer.

Then drove over to the beach house and took some pictures on the beach.

Then it was time to go home. We were home by 4:00, and it was good to be home. I always love going on vacation, but there is something nice about pulling in the drive way and being home.

So, there is our Christmas Vacation in a nutshell. We had a great time, and can't wait to go on another cruise. We will probably wait until Michael is older and can really enjoy everything the cruise has to offer.

Hilton Head on Dwellable

Our Dream Cruise - Day 3

Day 3 we were supposed to be at Disney's private Island, Castaway Cay. But because of high winds and a strong current, they couldn't dock the boat at the island. (The captain tried for 4 hours to dock) So, it was a day at sea instead.

We started the day with breakfast at the buffet. The buffet on this ship was incredible. It had so many different choices, and everything was delicious.

After breakfast, we wandered around the ship, and saw that we were just in time to have some pictures taken with Mickey and Goofy!

Then we decided to put Michael in the nursery, so Andrew and I could ride the Aquaduck, the ship's water coaster!

Michael did great in the nursery and had a great time. The Aquaduck was so much fun!! There is a section where you go out over the edge of the boat, and all that is under you is ocean!


 After the ride, we went up to the adults sun deck and enjoyed the fact that we were on a cruise ship in the Bahamas! We went and picked up Michael from the nursery and took him back to the room to take a nap. Andrew went up to the buffet to grab us some lunch and brought it back to the room to eat while Michael was asleep.

Later in the afternoon, they had a character "Till we meet again" greeting in the atrium so we decided to go to that one, rather than the one that was later that night. It's a good thing we did, because the lines to meet the characters were really short, and we got around to all of them in 10 minutes! All of the characters come out and sing a song and all the kids get a chance to say goodbye and take one last picture.

Then we got ready and went to dinner. That night was the "dressy" night, so we decided to have some pictures taken by the Christmas tree.

Don't you just love Michael's little outfit?
Then dinner was at Royal Palace. After we ordered our food, Michael made it very clear that he did not want to sit for dinner and was ready to leave. So, I took him back to the nursery, so we could enjoy our dinner. When we picked him up after dinner, they said he fell asleep, and slept for an hour. I guess all the lack of sleep was finally catching up with him. Dinner was wonderful. Andrew ordered 2 appetizers, 2 entrées, and 2 desserts! This was the menu he was most looking forward to. He also ate most of my appetizer and half of my entrée.
That night, we decided to go to the show in the theater. We weren't sure how Michael would do, but he did great. It was mostly music, and that was the part he really liked. During the dialogue, he got antsy, but we were able to wrangle him in until the next song started.
After the show it was time to pack our bags and put them outside our door. I went and purchased our pictures, while Andrew got Michael ready for bed. Then Andrew went and watched a movie and Michael and I went to sleep. We had to be at breakfast the next morning at 6:45, so I wanted to get to bed as early as possible.

Our Dream Cruise - Day 2

On Day 2 the ship was in Nassau, Bahamas. Andrew and I have been there before, so we opted to stay on the boat. Pushing a one year old around Nassau just didn't sound like fun to us.

So, we spent the day playing in the splash area with Michael, enjoying wonderful food, and relaxing.
I was able to get a massage and facial in the afternoon, and it was heavenly. I also had some time to lay by the pool, while Andrew and Michael were napping.

The splash area was a lot of fun. It was all themed around Finding Nemo. Michael had a great time playing in the water, and he loved the water slide!

Dinner that night was in the Enchanted Garden. It was beautifully decorated like a garden. I didn't get many pictures of the actual restaurant. But it was pirate night, so the boys were wearing their bandannas.

Again, Michael was wide awake, so we wondered around after dinner just enjoying the ship. During the cruise we spent a lot of time in the Atrium. it was a wide open space for Michael to run and he had so much fun just running around. 

Our Dream Cruise - Day 1

So, we spent all day Christmas day, driving to Florida. We arrived in Jacksonville around 6:30, checked into our hotel and went for a lovely festive dinner at Waffle House. Monday morning, we woke up and got back in the car, and made our way to Port Canaveral. We arrived at the port around 12:15 and things moved very smoothly. We unloaded our bags, parked the car, and then made our way to the terminal to check in. When we got in the terminal, Mickey Mouse was there taking pictures, but they had closed the line to meet him, so we just had to look at him from a distance. You could see that Michael recognized him right away, but wasn't overly excited to see him. This was just the first of many chances he had to see Mickey during the cruise.

So, we checked in, got our welcome aboard picture taken, and then crossed over the gangway onto our home for the next 4 days!

As you walk into the atrium, they announce, "The Disney Dream would like to welcome the Wolff Family!" Very exciting moment. Then we just stood and took it all in. The atrium was beautiful! It was all decorated for Christmas, and looked incredible.

Lunch was at the Enchanted Garden. It was buffet style, so we all got our fill on whatever we wanted. After lunch, we went to check out our room. We had an inside stateroom, which was plenty big for the three of us, though the Pack and Play did take up a lot of room.

After dropping off our stuff in the room, we went to the DVC Member Party. You get a bunch of freebies, and they let you know what the special is, if you decide to add more points during the cruise. We went for the freebies...

We took some time to explore the ship, and check out the kids areas.

Then it was time for the Sail Away Party on the top deck! Michael just took everything in. Not too much excitement from him, since it was all so new. The party was fun, and the weather was so nice.

After the party, it was time for dinner. We had to be at dinner at 5:45 each night, which is a little early, but we were there until after 7:00, so we knew we had to do the early dinner with Michael. Our first night we ate at Animator's Palate, an animation themed restaurant.

After dinner we went back to the room to change clothes, and do some more exploring around the ship. We thought Michael would be ready for bed at some point, but he was wide open! So, we stuck around the atrium to see the characters!

He wasn't too impressed with the characters. He is not friendly to strangers, and to him, these characters were just strangers that he wasn't going to smile at. After a while, he did like looking at the characters, but once we got close to them, he put on his serious face again.

After all of the excitement for one day, we were exhausted and went back to our room to go to bed. Well, apparently Michael wasn't tired, and he was up running around the stateroom until 11:30, when he finally crashed!

Coming up...Day 2 - Nassau, Bahamas