Hudson Playing and Dancing....

There's no doubt about it, Hudson loves to dance, although he tends to always get a bit distracted whenever the video camera or camera comes out. Here he is dancing a bit and playing on his little Radio Flyer scooter that he truly is too big for now, lol! Please excuse my humming and shreiky voice....I didn't realize how loud I was, oops!

Love this....

I found this on my niece, Lindsay's Myspace page and I love it.....very true.

Charlotte's Quirks....

I've been tagged: *Quirks*

Here are the rules:
1. Link back to the person who tagged you: Nikki (indirectly by her own rules, ha!)
2. Mention the rules on your blog
3. Tell 6 unspectacular quirks of yours
4. Tag 6 fellow bloggers by linking to them
5. Leave a comment for each tagged blogger to let them know that they have been tagged

6 Quirks about me..

1. I pretty much have to have some type of beverage with me at all times. I seriously almost freak out if I leave the house without a drink and we don't stop to get one almost immediately.

2. I bite the skin around my fingernails something fierce...not really sure why, but I think mostly it's a nervous habit.

3. I cannot go to bed if the bed isn't made up or at least the sheets have to be somewhat straightened. Again, I about have a fit if David goes to bed before me and I have to crawl into a messy bed....I just cannot get comfortable and fall asleep that way.

4. I touch my hair a lot throughout the day, pulling / moving it out of my face. I cannot stand it if it is in my face or if I have stray hairs flying around.

5. I get in odd eating habits to where I will have the same thing day after day after day for breakfast or my morning snack....this could go on for weeks or even months until I finally decide I am ready for something new. These are just a few examples - Mrs. Bairds chocolate donuts, bagels and cream cheese, granola bars, Cheese-Its (ha!) and right now it is multi-grain crackers. I also bring the same drinks to work everyday and drink them in the exact same order each day.

6. I check the knobs on our gas cooktop several times a day. I always check them before I go to bed and before I leave the house in the mornings and ocassionally at other random times. I'm a little neurotic I guess!

If you read this, then you HAVE to do it. TAG! You're it! :)

Sunday Night Family Fun - Part Two

Being silly with daddy

Playing with Nana. They were twinkies and were both wearing their Beatles t-shirts!

Hudson decided he wanted to wear Nana's shoes, ha!

Don't those cute little bows look great on him! He even had them on the wrong feet, lol!

Awesome Amazon Deal!

I just wanted to share an awesome offer from Amazon that I received an email for last week. They are running a special and the offer is for a secret $ 5.00 coupon code towards participating magazine subscriptions. Here is the link to the qualifying magazines and the code is AUGMAG05 and is good through August 31st, so there is a little bit of time left to take advantage of this great offer! You can also use the code on more than one subscription as well, which is really nice. I actually ordered some magazines through them a while back including House Beautiful, Town and Country and Domino using a similar offer and was thrilled to be able to order some more great magazine subscriptions at a substantially discounted rate. :)
Here are our most recent picks.....

um, yeah...I guess it goes without saying that the Playstation magazine is definitely for David, ha!

Sunday Night Family Fun - Part One

After a long, busy, hectic weekend, we had a nice evening spending time together as a family....this quality time is SO important and I love when we get to just slow down and enjoy each others company. We invited Marcia over for dinner, watched the closing ceremony for the Olympics, drank some wine, watched some cartoons and then had some acrobatic fun if you will. As I mentioned previously, Hudson has become innately fond of jumping on our bed and especially likes playing this game with David where David counts to three and tosses him onto the bed....Hudson LOVES it and in fact, kept grabbing Marcia's hand earlier in the evening trying to get her to come and play. I had to explain to her that he wanted to play on the bed, but she had NO CLUE what exactly that meant until later in the evening when Hudson insisted that his daddy go and play with him in our room. Please be forewarned...these boys are trained professional and do all of their own stunts so we do not recommend trying this at home, ha!!! (pardon our mess, the bedroom needs to be cleaned right now and David tucked up the curtains to vacuum and steam clean the carpet this morning)

Believe me, I about had a heart attack the first time I saw them doing this! I know that they are just having fun and really are being pretty safe and careful about it, but I still get worried, I'm a mom - that's what I do. :) When David was jumping on the bed himself tonight, one time it almost sounded like the darn bed frame cracked, lol! I told him he was going to be in big trouble if he broke our bed.....he said I should be glad that I don't see all the stuff they do when I'm at work....now I am worried! I hope that Hudson doesn't turn out to be the next Johnny Knoxville or Bam Margera! That is just a TAD bit frightening to say the least!

Hellooooo Out There......echo....echo....

I think we *might* be starting to developing a complex over here because of the lack of visitor interaction vs. the large amount of visitors that we get on a daily basis. :) We would absolutely love to hear from you whether we know you or not, so please comment or we may just cry, feel like absolute failures or go into permanent hiding!(j/k) I'm guilty sometimes as well, but I also LOVE to read everyone's comments, so if you have an extra moment, feel free to drop us a line or two! We would love to hear from you! :)

My Two Favorite Boys....

Hudson body-slamming David, ha! Not exactly, but they were being a bit rowdy...apparently, Hudson's new favorite past time is bouncing on our bed and having David throw him up in the air onto the bed. I didn't catch any of the throwing action tonight, but they were having quite a bit of fun just rolling around and acting silly!

Seven Daughters.....

If you are looking to try out a new wine anytime soon I would highly recommend checking out Seven Daughters Winemaker's Blend. They offer both a white and a red wine and I tried the white today based on a rave review from Cesar and it is FABULOUS! It is slightly limited in places where you can purchase it, but I checked out their website yesterday scouting for any nearby sources and found that a local Target not too far away had purchase some recently. So, after dinner at Gloria's last night we made a pitstop at Tar-jay and low and behold....they had the Seven Daughters White in stock! I was going to wait and have some with dinner tonight, but I thought to myself - what the heck, I am going to enjoy some WHILE I make dinner too! It is very good and is a very nice blend of flavors....pretty crisp and light imo.




Here is what Avenue Vine had to say about Seven Daughters.....

Terlato Wines International continues to pioneer new categories with the release of two new innovative California blends that speak to today's informed and engaged wine consumer. Created to provide an approachable introduction to the sophisticated art of blending and to complement the move toward light, fresh and healthier cuisine, the vibrant Seven Daughters Winemaker's Blends, one white and one red, are each composed of seven carefully selected varietals that complement each other to produce a blend much greater than the sum of its parts.

Trailblazing Terlato Wines Unveils Two New Wine Blends--Seven Daughters Offers Unique Taste for Today's Wine Consumer...

"Today's wine consumers are curious and engaged. They are interested in learning more about grape varietals, the process involved in winemaking, the aromas and flavors that result from blending wines, and now, they want to know what's next," said William Terlato, President and CEO of Terlato Wines International. "We created Seven Daughters Winemaker's Blends to provide wine drinkers with a way to experience the art of blending, in a unique package that balances sophistication with fun."

Seven Daughters White Winemaker's Blend is composed of seven distinct varietals including Riesling, Symphony, Chardonnay, Orange Muscat, Gewurztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc and French Colombard. Sultry scents of orange blossom, musk and melon hint at a palate with the fresh flavors of lychee and tangerine. Full-bodied and alluring, the wine finishes with a satisfying spicy note.

Complete with seven different grapes, Seven Daughters Red Winemaker's Blend is a sophisticated melange of Syrah, Merlot, Zinfandel, Carignane, Sangiovese, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. The bouquet displays blackberry and pepper, supported by subtle notes of lavender and vanilla. After an exuberant palate of red fruit, including dried cherries, the wine finishes with a touch of spice.

Both blends take cues from today's hottest culinary trends which feature healthy, fresh and more vibrantly spiced food. Seven Daughters Winemaker's Blends pair well with a variety of foods and are perfect for casual entertaining or a night in with friends. The blends deliciously complement a wide range of cuisines including grilled meats, seafood, Latin cuisine, sushi and Asian fusion.

As consumers have grown increasingly adventurous and interested as to how food is grown and prepared, their curiosity also extends to wine. To provide greater clarity to today's actively aware consumers, the percentages of each grape used in Seven Daughters Winemaker's Blends are clearly listed on the labels.

“I frequently meet people who want to understand what’s in a wine bottle with hopes of sharing that knowledge with friends and family, people whom struggle all the time with getting their friends and family to love wine as much as they do," says Maureen Petrosky, author of "The Wine Club" and Seven Daughters ambassador. "It doesn't matter if it's on the runway or in a bottle, today's trend setters want something with flair that fits their style and personality. With Seven Daughters Blends they now have easy access to vibrant wines as fun and fashionable as they are."

Seven Daughters White Winemaker's Blend is currently available at select retailers. Both the White and Red blends will be available at fine wine shops, retailers and restaurants across America beginning in April 2008. The suggested retail price for both wines is $14.99. To learn more about Seven Daughters and the wine blending process, visit www.7daughters.com.

Freaky Friday....

Yep, today was an oddball day to say the least, now after my long, action-packed Friday I for once in my life possibly (ha!) don't have a terrible lot to say, so I will be heading to dreamland. We did have an awesome dinner tonight at Gloria's, followed by a late shopping trip to Target where I scored some new wine and then headed back home so that I could work on some label orders and partake a bit in some lovely wine as well. Now I am just worn out, sleepy for sure and just want to hit the sack before a long weekend ahead.....till next time....

Furniture Find Update.....

Well, the good news is my lovely leather storage bench arrived today and it is definitely the perfect piece for what I was wanting and is very sturdy and substantial without looking too large, but the bad news is that they sent the wrong color. :(

I had ordered the dark espresso brown one and they actually sent me the black leather bench....I KNEW it was wrong the moment we pulled the box in the front door because it said black leather on the outside of the box, but I tried to be positive and crossed my fingers *hoping* it would actually be the right color when we opened it, but no such luck. I was automatically going through the paperwork to find the return policies since it was obviously not what I had ordered, but then we decided to go ahead and see what it looked like in the space first just to make sure that we even liked the piece. Well, it looks great! I even think we are going to keep the black one because it adds a different dimension to the room. All of our furniture is already in brown tones, so I thought that the espresso would be best, but now seeing the black in the room makes me think that it might have been *too much* brown....we have black accents in some iron pieces, our lamps, etc. so now we are thinking that the black might actually be a better fit! I'll post a picture later and see if I can get any feedback. :)

What a little toot!

Randomness 101

• Yippee!!! I received confirmation this evening that my new leather storage bench has been SHIPPED! That was sweet music to this very unpatient woman's ears. :)
• Just ordered the majority of the paper supplies for Miss Claudia's custom pocketfold invitations...SO excited! They are going to be GOR-GEOUS!
• Annoyed with postal service workers...apparently they think it is acceptable to SHOVE an oversized box into our mailbox along with a pile of other mail to where we couldn't even get the box out! I had to literally tear the box open, remove the contents and then fight with the remains of the box to remove it, argh!
• SCORE! Said box was filled with free full-sized makeup samples for MOI! Totally cool to get free stuff even though I had to fight with a mailbox to get it!
• I am LOVING the cooler weather, but I am so NOT digging all of the rain.....we need the rain and I love lazy lounging around the house rainy days, but I am not getting to lounge around the house and be lazy so I do not like them Sam I Am! I loathe driving in the rain and that's the real problem if we're going to really put it out there....
• Hudson is a total trip -- not only did he pull the toilet stunt last night at home, he did it at his grandma's today too, ha!!! He also climbed inside an oversized planter with a palm plant at grandma's as well and just sat on the side of the pot rubbing his tootsies in the freshly watered soil, yikes!!
• I was overwhelmed with a million things to do tonight, including filing my sales taxes online and went ahead to do the webfiling and was delightly surprised that I was a complete moron and didn't need to do them yet, lol! I have gotten used to do monthly sales tax returns at work and forgot that I only have to do quarterly returns for Delovely....duh!
• Apparently Hudson is just as big of a night owl as his momma because I have been having a hella time getting him to bed lately...seriously! He stayed up until almost 10 pm Saturday then went to bed, woke up at 11:30 pm and then didn't go back to bed until I went to bed at 1:30 am and of course, he ended up in our bed that night....at that point I didn't care where he slept as long as he was sleeping so that I could do the same. :) The past few nights has has refused to go to sleep until close to 10 pm and the weirdest thing about it is that he has been taking really short naps during the day, so in all honesty he should be completely worn out! Who knows....I think we have an overly active little boy on our hands.....

Some "Potty" Humor.....

So last night after I got home I did my normal routine...unpacked my lunch box, changed clothes, changed Hudson's clothes and took his shoes off, etc., etc. Probably about 10-15 minutes after we had gotten home Hudson and I were playing in the bedroom and he was bouncing on the bed acting silly and stuff and I decided to go ahead go make myself a glass of ice tea, let Bailey go out in the back yard to do his business and to go check the front doorstep to make sure that we didn't have any deliveries or anything. We actually did have something on the doorstep so I retrieved the box and came back inside. Well, when I walked back in the bedroom Hudson wasn't on the bed anymore, so I thought maybe he had gone to the back door to look at Bailey because by this time Bailey was already barking at the door because it was wet outside and he doesn't particularly like to be out in the rain, but no, Hudson wasn't at the back door either. So, I get a little panicked thinking that possibly I had forgotten to lock the inside door to the garage and maybe he wondered out there to explore, but I checked the garage and there was no sign of Hudson. Finally I thought I heard him in the bedroom again so I go back in there and hear noises coming from our bathroom...I walk in the bathroom and find none other than Hudson STANDING IN THE TOILET!!!!!!!!! HA!HA!HA!HA!HA! I didn't know if I should laugh or cry, but I laughed and asked him what he was doing to which of course he answered in his own little Hudson language that David and I do not have the capacity to yet understand and then I picked him up and continued to question him why he was IN the TOILET! TOO HILARIOUS! I asked him if he wanted to go potty in the toilet and at first he nodded his head yes, but I asked again and tried to get him to get on the toilet and then he shook his head no and started to run away! So, in any case, I totally wish I would have taken a picture as it truly was priceless...in fact, I *almost* considered putting him back in there just for the sole purpose of taking a picture, but decided that would be too cruel to do to my little baby boy! Man-oh-man do we have our hands full with this little guy!!! I wonder what it will be next????????

Furniture Find.....

I have been looking for what seems like forever for a storage bench that we could use in our living room area as an additional seating option for times that we are entertaining, as well as also act as a quick storage spot to stow away stray toys of Hudson's in a quick fit and after literally months and months of searching I finally found one that I absolutely love this past weekend! It's on order and should be here within the next week or so, although I have no patience at all whatsoever so I am really hoping it comes early and is here by the end of the week. It's a dark espresso brown toned leather storage bench and my favorite part about it is that it isn't only functional, both as additional seating and storage, but it is also a substantial size while still looking very clean and streamlined, not bulky at all...I think it has a great classic look and cannot wait to see it in our space. I do have a battle on my hands for this purchase though as David has decided that he might like it better in our bedroom and wants to move our wooden chest from Pottery Barn into the living room area instead.....I guess we will have to wait and see what works best for both spaces. Here is a picture from online of the bench, but I will definitely post another picture later after we have decided in it's permanent home!

Busy Sunday....

It's been a long and busy morning already....Hudson was up bright and early, but I tried to sleep in a little since we were up really late last night and I anticipate being up late for the next several nights as well. Hudson has definitely kept me busy this morning though.
First he threw a fit wanting chocolate pudding for breakfast, so I gave in and let him have it, but he also had a whole banana and part of my bacon sandwich, ha! Next he decided to use his bubble mower on our couch and even though we took the bubble solution out of it a while back, it still leaked all over our couch so I had to scrub the cushions and it still hasn't all come up yet. Then he was just being rowdy and playing with the fireplace tools and almost knocked one of our lamps over. Then he hid behind the couch on the patio when we took Bailey out and he wouldn't come out so I had to fight with him to get him to come inside....oy veh! David has to work the next four nights, so we'll be husband-less and daddy-less until Thursday, which is no bueno. :(

Hudson and I are going to Sarah's baby shower here in a bit and are going to try to make it back to the house by 4:30 or so, so that we have a little bit of time to spend with David before he has to leave for work. Of course, I have a ton of projects to work on this evening including several new orders, some revisions and ordering supplies for Claudia's invitations as well....so it will definitely be a long evening....I'm ready for a lazy Sunday.....anyone know where I can find one???? :P

More Dancing.......

Here's a video of Hudson dancing to the Everywhere I Go video on Noggin.....he's usually a bit more out of control when this comes on, but eh'....it's still pretty cute!

Lindsay's Graduation

Here are some pics from Lindsay's graduation ceremony last night.....they aren't that great because the lighting in the auditorium was horrible, but in any case, we had a wonderful time and were all just glad that we were able to play part in Lindsay's special day!! Congrats again!!

DJ, my mom, LaTisha and Hudson

Lindsay walking to the stage

Walking across the stage....

Excited to graduate!

Getting her diploma....

More handshakes....

Happy as can be!!!

This was during the school song

Lindsay and her granny

Lindsay and her dad, Mark

A family pic....Mark, Lindsay and Debbie

Lindsay and my mom, grandma Charlotte to her

(yes, for those of you that don't know, my mother and I share the same name!)

Lindsay and DJ

Lindsay and Karen

Me and Lindsay

Joe and DJ

Lindsay and Debbie arguing about something, ha!

Shelby acting goofy....as usual....:)

Hanging out after the ceremony

Shelby and her friend, Charity

Shelby and Charity

LaTisha and Hudson

Hudson and his new girlfriend, ha!!!!

Apparently, Hudson and Miss Payton were getting along really well!

She kept giving kiss after kiss after kiss....

After kiss.....

I'm not sure who she was, but they sure did like each other, ha!!!