Groupon

I'm going to put in my plug for Groupon.. I fell in love today.. Basically, its a couponing site.. I know quite a few people who have used it, but never done it myself.  Today I saw a deal I couldn't pass up and signed up!  Basically, you put in your closest city and they send you daily deals for that city.  It is usually local shops and is usually something like buy a $50 gift card for $25, $20 worth or product for $10, etc.  But you can buy from any city (you just have to search and find).  The closest city to us is Richmond (Roanoke is coming soon), but they have online deals too.  Today I was able to buy someone a $50 gift card for an online retailer for $25.  What a deal!!  I don't want to reveal it, because it's a Christmas gift.. BUT it's a good thing :) I've seen the same thing for GAP and some other major retailers.

It's pretty much awesome and EVERYONE should sign up!  Ashley was telling Google just recently bought it and it's basically the fasting growing company ever... People want DEALS!  So basically, I am telling you to RUN over and sign up right now!

It has taken me weeks, maybe even months, to find a deal I couldn't pass up, but it's worth it AND it's FREE to sign up.  I highly suggest you check out Groupon and really consider signing up!

Click here to sign up!

Our First Family Thanksgiving..

This year for Thanksgiving Brian, Burke and I stayed in town very unexpectedly.  We were planning on heading to Lynchburg to see all of his family, but I was feeling pretty bad on Thursday morning so we decided it would be best to stay here.  We had a great little family thanksgiving and our first.  I would venture to say it will definitely NOT be our last :)  We enjoyed the quiet and the peaceful sounds of nothing :) We definitely missed our families, but it was sort of nice to just be us.

Since I wasn't feeling well, Brian (and Burke) made Thanksgiving lunch for us.  Since we both don't like turkey, he made fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, and rolls.  It was pretty yummy.. We napped in the afternoon (a Thanksgiving Day MUST!) then went for a walk and enjoyed the park in the afternoon. It was a little chilly, but I think we all enjoyed getting out for a bit.

Friday, we only made it to three stores for shopping.  Spent very little money (that's a good thing, right?), then headed home.  We didn't leave the house again until Sunday for breakfast!  I don't think that EVER happens!  We watched VT kill UVA on Saturday, which was so nice!  I was a little sad, we skipped the game, but sick, cold and toddler don't really go well together!  Sunday, we went out for some breakfast, Target and then hung around the house with some football.  Overall a VERY quiet weekend for us :)

I haven't taken a ton of pictures lately, but I'll give you this one :)

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!

A Blast from the Past! Wedding Slide Show FOUND! :)

A Quiet Weekend?!?

It's hard to believe.. but yes we had a relatively quiet weekend in the Williams house and it was AMAZING!  Our lives run in high speed ALL of the time and it's hard to catch our breath. Summer is just plain miserable and then we think we are in for a break with fall, but then football season is here (which we do LOVE) but that means business EVERY weekend.  Well, this weekend was a little different. Saturday morning I headed out early for a short run with Ashley.  It was a great morning and nice to have a running partner.  We both hate running so it was kind of perfect :)  After our run, Brian, Burke and I went to the grocery store. We let Burke ride in the car attached to the cart and it was the MOST PEACEFUL trip ever!  Kroger better have that cart waiting for us every time we show up!

Saturday afternoon we invited the Olmstead's over for dinner and to watch the Hokies BEAT Miami.  Burke loves playing with the girls and we love adult company!!  The Hokies won so that was great too!

 Watching some football and having fun!

 Cheese!

 Burke is trying so hard to help Daddy play the guitar (Abbey was dying to hear Brian play :) )

 Burke's future wife and father-in-law ;)

Sisterly Love!

The cutest kid ever...

After the game, we were all exhausted and headed to bed pretty early (i was in bed at 8:30!).  We had a pretty low key Saturday.

On Sunday, I got up super early since I went to bed so early.  I enjoyed a little peace and quiet before the boys got up.  Burke and I actually had to wake Brian so we could go for a run.  Ashley was so nice to watch Burke so we could run without pushing his weight.. It was a HUGE help!  We finished 5 miles in less than an hour (that's huge!)!!  That's even more impressive because I hate running and we ran the WHOLE time!! I'm starting to get excited about the half marathon!  After our run, we showered  and went to PKs for lunch.  It was a nice treat because we NEVER go out to eat anymore!  This afternoon Burke napped and I ran a few errands.. We  had a great weekend!! Hope you did too!

Weekend Getaway and Visit with Grandma and Grandpa..

Brian and I have been on exactly 2 dates since Burke was born.  It is hard to find time in our busy lives to go out... not to mention we love being together as a family, so the few nights we have we try to spend together.. Everyone says you should have date nights regularly.. once a week, twice a month, etc.. Well we've just never figured it out.. So we were in desperate need of a getaway and finally decided we were going to do it! My parents offered to keep Burke for the weekend, so I said YES!  Williamsburg is a 30-45 minute drive from my parents, so we thought it would be a PERFECT place to go.  We had never been together either, so it was a great place to go together.

We headed to Richmond on Friday afternoon.  It took FOREVER to get there as a wonderful wreck on 81 held us up :) but we rolled in in time to head to the high school football game with mom.  She still helps with marching band, so Burke and I decided to go with her.  It was a little chilly, but we still had fun and Hanover won! I was a little worried about how Burke would do without us.  He is so clingy sometimes, but he LOVED my mom and chose her over me tons!

 

On Saturday morning, Brian and I headed out.  Burke was sitting in his highchair having a snack when we left. I went to tell him goodbye and he waved goodbye to everyone else and jumped up to me.. Poor guy thought he was heading out too :)

 When we got to Williamsburg, we headed straight for the movie theater.  We were psyched to go see a movie and we found a theater that serves food AND beer!  You just order your food and they bring it to you in the theater.  The beer was cheaper than the soda, so we couldn't resist.. BUT I did say.. "I can't believe we are drinking beer at 11am" We saw Paranormal Activity 2.  I didn't love it.. But I didn't see the first one, so maybe that's why?  The yummy food:  

I had a panini and Brian had a burger.. SO GOOD!

After the movie, we went to the outlets to spend some money.. I was really disappointed.  We only bought Burke some overalls and jeans from The Children's Place outlet.. I think when you are a really big bargain shopper outlets just don't do it for you.  They are so deceiving.  People think they are getting good deals, but really they aren't..  I was amazed at the number of bags people had.. and wanted to SHOUT.. BAD DEAL! :)

After not spending much money, we headed to the hotel to check in.  We stayed at the Embassy Suites.  It was really nice and I'm glad we picked it.  We tried to go out to the Winery but the tours were sold out, so we bought some wine and headed back to the hotel.  After the manager's reception (free drinks and food?? we were there!), we headed to dinner (what? we like to eat!).. We wanted to try a new place, but didn't have time, so we headed to Pierce's BBQ.  I LOVE it!  It was Brian's first time.. He liked it too.  After dinner, we went to Colonial Williamsburg for a ghost tour.  It wasn't exactly what we expected, but we both really liked it!

After the tour, we headed back to the hotel for some relaxation.  We watched some football and ate more food :)  Then hit the sack.  It was "fall back" and I was so excited for the extra hour of sleep!

Sunday morning we headed back to see Burke.  We were super excited to see him.. He didn't care about us!  I think he had a blast with Grams and Grandpa, because when we got home, they were outside playing and he didn't even seem to care that we were back. Eventually he remembered who I was and was clingy again.  Brian spent Sunday hanging out with Tim and we hung with mom and dad.

We stayed around town Sunday and headed back first thing Monday morning.  We had a GREAT TRIP!!  Thanks Mom and Dad! :)

16 months old!?!?

So I'm only over a week late in posting this BUT.. Burke is 16 months old!  It's hard to believe it's been 16 months since we started this journey (and 2 years if you count pregnancy!).. It's been hands down BEST time of our lives.  I never knew I could love anyone so much.. I love our little man :)

At 16 months old:

- Burke is about 20 lbs and finally wearing 12-18 months clothes (although they are still big on him :))
- He is walking all over the place.. Today I even saw him run towards me :) No more crawlers in this house..
- His favorite foods are bread, bread and bread, fruit (especially watermelon), waffles, pancakes and mac/cheese.. Not a big fan of chicken (even if I try to hide it :) ) Although he'll eat anything at daycare?!?
- Loves using utensils to eat.. Especially a fork!

- He gives out hugs and kisses whenever you ask (and I ask A LOT!)
- His vocabulary: mama, more, mo (milk), dat (that with pointing), dada, and hot - started signing "please" this month (was already signing "more")
- He loves to read books.  His favorite are the touch and feel books, but he LOVES Peek a Who, Wild Animals Touch and Feel, Fall Touch and Feel, and Goodnight Moon
- He loves his momma and going anywhere I go.. The minute I mention leaving or going somewhere he is waving bye bye..
-  Had his first night away/sleep over at Grandma and Grandpa's this month!  He loved it! (and so did we :) )
- Sleeps about 10-12 hours at night and takes a good 2-3 hour nap...

Life.

I will catch up one of these days with everything that has been going on!  Our busy lives and my laziness just keep getting in the way.  We are doing well.  There was no home football game this weekend, which I thought woud make for a quieter time.. NOT AT ALL!  We had a pretty busy, but fun, weekend..

But since my last post, we went to Richmond to visit Mom and Dad, okay really, so they could babysit Burke so we could head to Williamsburg to get away for a night!  Brian and I are not good about date nights and it was SO GREAT to get away for a night.  Burke had a blast with my parents and we are so thankful they watched him.

Burke is now 16 months old and WALKING EVERYWHERE!  He's a great little man.. I'll do his status update soon :)

More later...

Wordless Wednesday on Thursday...