Naomi Garner, she's a lovey lovey!

The title comes from a fitting song we've made up to get Naomi to dance.  She cuts the rug like it's her job these days y'all. Even did the highchair boogie while waiting in line to check out at the store this morning.  She's got grooves, and so does her cousin! Enjoy the videos! :)

Naomi-isms

  
Certain things must be recorded and not forgotten, yet it's so easy to get wrapped up in the day to day of it all and forget to jot it all down. Before you know it, the kids are grown and off to college, and all you've got to show for yourself is a half-finished baby book and a lock of hair that's gone missing, right?  (At least that's what every other person tends to tell me at the grocery store). Ha. No really though, I do get a lot of "Enjoy it. It'll be gone before you know it," and "She is so cute. What a fun stage. I remember when mine were that small. Now they are 23, 27, and 32..."  You get my drift, and all of these friendly strangers are absolutely right.  She will be all grown up before we know it, and it gets me all misty-eyed just thinking about it (yes, I am grateful Oprah retired. I need no more reasons to squirt a tear - chime in all you Extreme Home Makeover lovers any minute now).

Seriously though, I feel the need to jot down EVERYTHING she does that we find amusing, and most of the time those ideas end up quickly scribbled out on note paper, legal  pads, or my favorite: the back of old receipts found in the bottom of my purse.  All too often I get sucked in to daily life and thus, I forget to blog. But hey! I'm back. And I've got some precious moments to share with ya (before I forget them all - I'm sure I'm missing some just thinking about it).

The littlest Lee is talking more and more these days, yet "look" and "yuck" are pretty indistinguishable much to Gramama's dismay ;) Heehee.  Naomi had Gramama believing that all she touched and pointed out was of disgust.  This girl is hard to please! Everything is yuck! :) "Yook!' stands solid for both words.  Pretty funny when she's pointing to a flower.

Or how 'bout all of her new tricks she's learned?  We get, on command of course, a shrug your shoulder, call Dolly (Dah-ee), dance baby dance, and our new favorite, the high chair boogie among many others. The high chair boogie is a hit, and she knows it.  Such a ham for all to see.  This girl LOVES attention, and she shows it.  If there is anyone there to watch her perform, she totally cheeses it up with a "shrug your shoulder sideways grin" to really get her audience goin!

This is the face she makes when asked to smile! PRICELESS!

And let's not forget how polite she is! Heehee. Im ferserious, yall! :) "Ta-ta" is her thank ya, and she'll tell ya thank ya all the time and mean it too, even without being prompted. Every once in a while it'll even sound like our thank ya (yes, the actual English language version), with of course, her country twang spin on it (no IDEA where she gets that from - cue the sarcasm font).  She's reeal good about showing gratitude because hey, when she gets that cinnamon graham cracker she'd been eyeing all morning, she doesn't think twice about being grateful to ya for it.  You might just give her another. :)

There really are too many to count, but the blog helps keep us in the now.  Feeding her bunny, washing her baby, feeding the baby (don't you just love the disappearing milk bottles?), and letting us taste-test her yummy concoctions from her kitchen are all part of the daily routine.  She is an absolute hoot and pleasure to be around in every sense of the word!  Don't you ever change, Naomi Garner! You hear me? :)

 Videos to follow soon!! xxoo

"Shrug your shoulder!"

Love Me a Good Find!

This dumpster find helped make the trike possible!

You may remember a certain blog post from a certain holiday that brings good luck, and on that day, we happened to strike up our own pot of gold. Well, that pot of gold showed itself to us in a dumpster downtown Savannah back on St. Patty's Day, and we scooped it up & lugged it all over town with us that day knowing it held value.  We held on to that monster "pot" disguised as a gargantuous architectural lighting book because we knew better. After 6 months of sitting on the shelf, that monster (I mean, 1,000 plus pages worth) finally cashed in!  We sold it for over $125 (which was a steal for this $300 book) on the amazon marketplace allowing us more than enough money to cash in on a vintage tricycle for Naomi.

I long for items that can be heirlooms (still trying to convince my mama to give me my old red rocker from when I was little), and once we get this bad boy sandblasted and painted, it will look stunning for years to come! Not to mention all of the little ones that will get the joy of riding it too.  There's just something about a well-made American product from mid-century that is so very alluring to me. Maybe because most children's toys are made overseas now, and/or maybe because they are all cheaply and poorly made, but I know that this new guy will last more than a lifetime.

Just like the antique 1950s school desk from my Gramama Betsy that serves as a nightstand in our guest room or the antique wooden high chair from Geemama that she bought for pennies on the dollar in the late 40s-early 50s - this is a timeless piece that only gets better with age.  A nice score, indeed. Pictures to come once we get it in our possession. Before and after pictures for sandblasting and powder coating too.

It looks similar to the one pictured below, but much more rusted (hence the score of the irresistible price tag) and looks like it was originally red. I will have it restored  to as close to it's original colors as we can. So excited. It's even got the back stand bar for an additional rider. This trike will be in the family for years to come!

A Day at the Pumpkin Patch

(please excuse having to scroll pictures before the text. second attempt at uploading, so Im leaving it. Not the biggest fan of this blogger layout..)
Last weekend, Andrew and I had the pleasure of taking the little lady to the pumpkin patch to see what we could find.  It was a gorgeous day, and although in the 80s, we enjoyed ourselves immensely.  How could you not though with this face in tow?

Naomi is at such a fun stage right now.  She finds every little thing amusing, and so do we as we watch her learn and explore.  The petting zoo with all the different farm animals was a favorite as she peered and petted animals she's never seen in person before, and afterwards, she took to the massive pumpkins like they were her own.  Even tried to pick one up that I'm sure was as heavy as a horse. Impressively gigantic as you can see!

I certainly do enjoy my share of fall festivals and all that comes along with it, and it is such a delight to have a "reason" to go now.  Let's face it. Fall festivals aren't all that much entertaining unless you have a little one whose face lights up at the first sign of a tractor pull or candy apple. Ok, I must admit, we were pretty darn impressed with the corn maze too.  Always a child at heart.

Fall is the Perfect Time for Comfort Food!

ok, so as much as I would like to post each and every recipe we'll be devouring this fall, there's only so much time in the day to get even the most mundane chores crossed off the list, so we will see how this pans out.

Best dinner of the year award :)

Last week (heh, it's taken me a week to get this up here!), we had the most old-fashioned of comfort foods, and it was better than ever.  Seriously. I'm not just saying that, it really was the best I've ever had - just don't tell my Geemama I said so! It really tickles me to know I'm getting better in the kitchen because I've got a strong line of women ahead of me who are the best cooks I've ever known, hands down.  My sincerity of that statement has gotten me into a little bit of trouble with the likes of the Deen boys...I was once asked at the Lady and Sons how my lunch was by none other than Bobby Deen, and I answered him as honestly as I know how, "It's good, but I've had better."  Let's just say his response to that needs a censor that this page just won't allow, and I was able to keep my job! ;)  But, it's true. Nobody can cook as good as my mama, well except for her mama, and I believe any true Southerner would say the same!


So, without further ado, I give you my version of mama's Chicken and Dumplins'. I'll have another bowl, please. There's definitely enough seconds for everyone in this recipe.


Chicken and Dumplins':
1 whole chicken - boil in large pot with water to cover. Reserve 3-4 cups of stock.
1 C each of peas and carrots - a frozen bag works just as good!
1 can cream of celery soup - I use fat free
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1 package of Mary Hill's Dumplins, found in freezer section. Hey, I've made dumplins from scratch once, and I will try my best to never do it again.  Geema would even agree, "Do what makes it easy," and these are WAAAAY more time consuming to make than biscuits. Mary Hills are all natural, wheat-based dumplins...homemade, just not in this home!
1 1/2 C 1% milk.

I just love her. Thanks, Mary Hill, for making my life a little easier.

-After the chicken is cooked (say, 45 minutes give or take boiling in pot), remove from pot, place in large bowl and run cool water over it.  Once it's cool enough to handle, remove all meat and place to the side. Reserve 4-5 C of broth.
- In large sauce pan, place two cans of soup, frozen veggies, and milk. Bring to almost boil and then simmer stirring often. Salt and pepper. Add chicken.
- In the pot, add the dumplings one by one, stirring carefully so they won't stick.  Cook for twenty minutes. See? I told you it was easy!

- Add the chicken mixture to the pot and stir all together. Seriously. That. Easy. Hope y'all enjoy as much as we did. It kept us fed all week!

roasted kale! 400 degrees for 14 minutes. Olive oil, lemon, and garlic. De-LISH!