HappyGoStuckey

She is definitely my daughter

June 18, 2013 by HappyGoStuckey 1 Comment

Abby has had a little bit of a runny nose this week and hasn’t quite been her usual happy self, post VBS. We are all still trying to recover honestly.

Sunday morning, Father’s Day, we had a nice breakfast together and she kept wanting my Iced Coffee. (In retrospect, I realize that maybe she thinks anything with a straw is a smoothie. She takes her smoothies very seriously.)

We took the following pictures of her reaction when we told her “no.”

so unhappy. poor kiddo.

Then we thought we would be really funny and take a video of her reaction.

Then we got this: (serves us right, by the way! )

(Sorry the video is such poor quality. Still trying to figure it out!)

Sad.

And for all of you out there who think she just wanted cheerios, a spoon, or her milk.. (namely my Mother!) I can assure you she did not. She had eaten plenty of breakfast and had a whole pile of cheerios on her tray. For some reason, she really wanted the coffee! I love that kid.

A Birthday Tea Party

June 6, 2013 by HappyGoStuckey 4 Comments

For Lucy’s 4th Birthday this year, we had a Tea Party with a small group of her little friends.

Here’s a few pictures from that fun day!

The entire party took place on our front porch, so since outside is so naturally pretty, I kept it simple with the decorations. We took a Shabby Chic approach to the Tea Party, which was not only girly, but also allowed me to use so many things I already had. (Money Saver!!)

We made this bunting/ banner from scrapbook paper and twine– it’s probably going in the girl’s room.

The Tea table for the little girls. Yes, I used my real dishes. The cups and saucers were perfect sizes for their hands and they were all perfectly careful with them. After searching ALL over for metal or plastic cups that would be foodsafe and also pretty, I decided to use what I had, as it was really the theme we were going for.

We had Tea Sandwiches (PB&J and just PB)

Mini Scones: Chocolate Chip and Strawberry

Mini Chocolate Muffins

Decorated Sugar Cookies

(all three of which I baked ahead and froze)

Strawberries and Grapes

Goldfish (of course!)

Chocolate Cupcakes with Pink Buttercream!

I also put Pink Raspberry Lemonade in a Tea Pot and served them from that.

They all LOVED it and were perfect little ladies.

And as I am never one to miss an opportunity to entertain, I did a separate “Mom’s” Table and I’m so glad I did. It was lunch time and that way they could wander down the porch, grab a little plate and enjoy the party too. We served:

Tea Sandwiches (this time pimento cheese and egg salad)

Cream Cheese and Red Pepper Jelly with Triscuits

More Scones and Sugar Cookies

Fruit: Berries and Grapes & Cheese

Chips and Salsa

Chocolate Cupcakes with Pink Buttercream!

Beverages: Peach Tea, Unsweet Tea, Lemonade and Spa Water. (It was WAY too warm for hot tea!)

See these Mason Jars? They are limited Edition Heritage Ball Jars (apparently the color was only made 100 years ago, so they are remaking them for limited distribution) You can get them here but I did find these at my local Target. I LOVE them and have enjoyed using them for drinking.

I found this chalkboard easel at Hobby Lobby– LOVE!

a Little view of the side where the girls sat.

Our Birthday Girl!

Sweet!

So glad my parents could come!

And of course, Fresh flowers in a Mason Jar were a must! These flowers came from Publix and I was so pleased with them.

Her face cracks me up!!

“Happy Birthday to Lucy, Happy Birthday to you!”

Cheddar Zucchini Cornbread

June 3, 2013 by HappyGoStuckey 2 Comments

I saw a recipe on Pinterest for Cornbread with Cheese and Fresh Zucchini and it prompted to me bake my mother’s recipe for buttermilk cornbread (the best I’ve ever had!!) and add these two things to make it extra special. It was delicious and the kids even liked it. (Hidden Veggies–YES!)

It would be the perfect addition to a meal of veggies, or a chili, a soup or really anything! It would also be a great potluck item, as it makes a ton!!! I bake it in a 12-inch Cast Iron Skillet, but you easily make 2-8inch cornbreads and still have plenty. Or muffins! It would make great corn muffins. Just bake it a little less and check it sooner.

Cheddar Zucchini Cornbread

Preheat oven to 375′ and place cast iron frying pan with 2 tbs. of vegetable oil to heat while the oven heats.

Combine:

8 oz. shredded zucchini, drained and slightly pressed of excess water

3 eggs

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup melted butter

1 cup buttermilk (or 3/4 sour cream and 1/4 cup of water if you don’t have buttermilk)

3 tbs. sugar

1 cup of Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Combine together in a separate bowl and then add to other ingredients:

1 1/2 cups Self Rising Flour

1 1/2 cups of Self Rising Cornmeal

Mix well and pour carefully into the hot skillet. Bake at 375′ until golden brown on top, about 30 minutes. Test for doneness with toothpick.

Recipe: by Cynthia M. Stuckey, modified from Linda Blythe (My Mama!)

Happy Birthday to the Court-ster!

May 31, 2013 by HappyGoStuckey 2 Comments

She’s been by my side through some of my best (and worst) moments.

We have almost always lived in the same town since we were small children.

After high school, we both found ourselves at the same college in beautiful NC.

She made me many a bowl of oatmeal when we were both broke college students, and somehow made it taste like a 5 star brunch.

During/ After college, we watched each other meet, date and marry our husbands.

She was there when I found my wedding dress.

We gladly donned bridesmaids dresses and watched the other become a wife.

Soon after, our husbands got on board and also became best friends.

We lived 5 and then 30 minutes apart during our respective first years of marriage and spent many weekends eating good food and loving life!

She was there the night Lucy was born. She came back the next night and the night after that.

She brought me her classic chicken and rice casserole and sweet tea to help me in the throes of a nasty bout with PPD when Lucy was only a few weeks old. (Is there anything better than your best friends and comfort food when you’re sad?)

She helped us move. They actually followed us to Augusta and helped us move in. She helped me set up my kitchen while I stood back and thanked God for such a blessing.

She and her love moved back to our home state around the time we moved to Georgia, thus solidifying several years of frequent visits!

She was with me the day I found out I was pregnant with Abby.

We’ve shared a love for Le Creuset, travel, relaxing with our loves, cooking good food, making our houses homes, Mason Jars, Anne of Green Gables, Friends, good music, and great coffee.

I HONESTLY don’t know where I’d be without her and SHE TURNS THIRTY TODAY!!!!!!!

Welcome to the club, Courtney! I love you and am so honored to call you part of my adopted family.

(Courtney, don’t be mad. I HAD to post these pictures. Are you mad?! Love me!)

Flawed Mommy 101

May 30, 2013 by HappyGoStuckey 2 Comments

I got in the kitchen early and baked blueberry muffins (one of her favorites) and blended a purple smoothie, put it in her favorite heart cup with a straw. Mentally cheering myself on for the healthiness of the breakfast about to be set before them and myself, I presented her breakfast and waited.

Waited for—
a smile,
a thank you,
an “ooh mommy! These look yummy!”
or even a grunt of appreciation.

Nothing.

Only a “Why’d you give me a GREEN straw?!? PINK is my favorite color.”

I calmly walked out of the room in order to avoid losing the chance for a lesson in thankfulness in my own bad attitude which was waiting just below the surface. Then I became grossly aware of my recent penchant for pity parties. Frankly, I’ve noticed a lot of this lately. So much effort. So much thought and preparation. So very little thanks. So. Much. Work. So little acknowledgement. Even the thanks I do get seems buried in my own unending to-do list of what must be done next.

Now, let’s be honest. Motherhood is certainly almost always a somewhat thankless job. Especially mothering small children, because they are in the years when they must learn gratefulness. They learn what it looks like, what it sounds like, hopefully what it feels like. But in those days of training, we are the ones who absorb the excess ungratefulness. We take it all with a grain of forgiveness (on our “good” days) and gently teach them how to be thankful. But it IS. SO. HARD. SOMETIMES.

This morning, I was unloading the dishwasher and pondering how frustrating it can often be. How tiring. And often, aren’t you just physically worn out? Tangibly tired in well-doing when all your effort goes seemingly unnoticed. It’s interested how just a little gratefulness from the ones we serve goes a long, LONG way. For them and for us.

And then it hit me. (or should I say He gently stirred my heart in conviction…)

Are you acting like a 4-year old who doesn’t quite grasp the sacrifices I’ve made for you?

Ouch.

Um. yes. The answer is all too often yes.

I’m like a child, sitting in a room FULL of toys, saying… “What can I play with?”

I’m lavished from every single side with spiritual and physical blessings abundant and all I can do is sigh at the kitchen floor that is dirty. Again. When what I should be doing is overflowing with Praise that my children are healthy enough to make messes. And that we have enough food that it’s ok if a few crumbs fall to the floor.

I’m living in abundance with God as our provider and I’m asking, “Why this job!?” and “When a better one?!” or rather, “Why a green straw? Don’t you know I PREFER pink?”

How can I possibly teach my little ones gratefulness when all they see is weariness and worry on my face?

More importantly, how can I have any hope for “Rejoicing in the Day that the Lord has made…” when I cannot remember to Praise Him for HIS moment by moment goodness to us.

Meditating on this today:

“Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.
Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before Him with joyful singing.
Know that the Lord Himself is God;
It is He who has made us,
and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving,
And His courts with praise.
Give Thanks to Him; bless His name.
For the Lord is good; His lovingkindess is everlasting,
And His faithfulness to all generations.”

Psalm 100

A Lesson in Laundry

February 6, 2012 by HappyGoStuckey 1 Comment

This week I learned something whilst doing laundry. ( I also learned I would like to use the word, “whilst” more often. It feels so much more Jane Austen than just your everyday “while”)

Upon doing the first in what will be many, many loads of little girl laundry in which the clothes belong to TWO little girls instead of just one, I was struck with several realizations. First, time really does fly. So fast I can hardly fathom where the last 2.5 years have gone since I was folding, preparing, re-folding these tiny newborn sleepers for Lucy before her arrival. Second, the sizes are so much more obviously different when they are side by side! My skinny minnie’s clothes look HUGE next to her baby sister’s! Not to mention for her I’m folding pajamas, play clothes, socks and underwear– no more diapers for her! She has gotten to be such a big girl overnight!

The difference is what concerns me most. I think it’s easy when you have only one child of one gender and then you know you are having another of the same, to fall into this auto-pilot mode of expecting everything to be just as it was before, just a repeat. This is something I’ve noticed about my own heart and mind lately that I am having to condition myself to having TWO completely different little girls, with TWO completely different sets of needs.

Though Lucy has been fairly calm and such an “easy” child with all major milestones, I know we may get a real firecracker with little Abby. If her movement in-utero is any indication, that is exactly what is in store for us.

So back to the laundry, I realized how great an opportunity folding the clothes of these little dear hearts is to pray for them and their specific needs. I pray that God gives us what we need to parent two different, though possibly similar, children and that we do it with His grace, patience and love. I also pray He reminds me of these little lessons and opportunities in a few days when I’m buried beneath a sea of onesies and pajamas– must remember the fact that babies go through multiple changes of clothing as opposed to my, “Mommy, I need a napkin, I have a crumb on my hand” daughter.

Here’s to seasons of change!!!

To miss or not to miss, that is the question. (Thankful Thursday)

February 2, 2012 by HappyGoStuckey 2 Comments

Being that we are about to meet our 2nd daughter next week (yay!) I already find myself torn between wanting just a little more time of being pregnant and wanting her to come now, TODAY and not next week. I wouldn’t say that this pregnancy has been easier or harder, just different for different reasons. But as I sit at the end of a 9-month road, about to enter into a new season of life, I cannot help but ponder what things I will and will not miss. Funny how big changes always prompt that in us. I had to write this all down for myself so I remember!

To miss:
* The movements. All the little kicks and feelings that remind me of the beautiful one God has created in His image in my growing belly. From the first little flutters months ago to the full-on conga line the last few days, I have LOVED being constantly reminded from our little girl, “Hey mom! I’m in here! Take good care of me!”
* The affinity for food. This sounds funny, but any currently pregnant woman will attest, you either hate food or you LOVE it. As ferociously as I despised having to think about cooking, eating, meal planning in the beginning, the 2nd half of the pregnancy has brought with it, a fresh appreciation for all things culinary! There are only a few things I really cannot stand but mostly, there are so many things I liked before that I can’t get enough of now! Luckily, they are (mostly) all healthy things. 🙂
*My time with Lucy though I know I will still have this to some degree, we have been just inseparable the last little bit, as I have been soaking up the time with her. We have made some great memories and I though I greatly look forward to time with TWO little girls, I will miss the “just she and I” time.
*Having clothes that fit like they’re supposed to. This may seem like it’s in the wrong category but I have really enjoyed Maternity clothes this time around– much more than last time. And I was reminded of the awkward stage that comes immediately after when your clothes don’t fit right yet but the maternity clothes look a little strange without the cute belly sticking out. BUT, we have a double stroller, and this mama will be hitting the pavement as soon as the Dr. gives me the ok. 🙂
*My predictable time with Lance as much as this is no where what it was before we had kids, every night we know bedtime for the little one is coming and as soon as it does, we can sit and be uninterrupted for as long as we like, usually until we both fall asleep these days. 🙂 I will enjoy getting into a new normal and establishing our new routine of “us” time.
*My rockstar parking spot at the Grocery Store. Really. Once I got big enough to really show, I have completely used the “stork” parking every time we go–especially when I have little Lu with me. Lifesaver!

NOT to Miss:
* My lack of gracefulness. Seriously, I have never dropped so much, knocked so much over, and spilled things in my life.
* The many embarrassing, uncomfortable, and very often painful symptoms that remind you, “By the way– you are growing another life and you probably won’t feel normal until you are finished doing so.” These are the things that you forget about from one pregnancy to the next. That’s the selective memory that allows us all to keep having children. 🙂
*Sleeping propped up. Honestly, I’ve never had Heartburn or anything else that always seems like something your grandpa gets, but this pregnancy, whoa buddy.
*My energy level decline. Though I know this will only sink further over the next 6-9 weeks– I look forward to being able to do things all day long without having to take multiple breaks.
*Not being able to pass a bathroom without a visit. The funniest thing about this is, Lucy recently became potty trained and so every time she goes, I go just in case. So between my having to go every 15 minutes, her going every 30 and all the time in between, we don’t get very much done when we leave the house. HA! Too much information? sorry.
*Expecting some weight gain on a regular basis. I mean really, who WANTS to keep gaining weight? Thankfully, I have gained WAY less this time than last. Chasing a toddler vs. sitting at a desk will do that to you. 🙂

All in all, this has been a great pregnancy and I’m just so happy to be having another Healthy baby that I think I should be rejoicing no matter the discomforts. Praise God for sustaining us and for my wonderful Husband. He has been a true knight in shining armor through the whole experience and I am SO very thankful to be able to ~~walk~~ WADDLE this road with him at my side.

And just for fun, let’s take a brief look at where the PREVIOUS 9 months of pregnancy took us: