Little fish

We put Charlie in private swim lessons and we are going on week two. It's so different when swim season is only 4 months long in the South compared to where I grew up in California and we swam just about year round.  So, the fact my son isn't swimming on his own at almost 5 worries me! 

Charlie is very confident in doing anything physical...running, baseball, soccer, wrestling and he's fairly good at doing all of them. Everything except swimming!

He has a huge fear of putting his head underwater.  He hasn't had any terrible experience that would make him fear going underwater, so it's hard to help him.  

His instructor is SO patient with him and she's 6 months pregnant! I think it's hard for Charlie to not excel at this sport like he is with every other. Especially when he notices younger kids swimming better than him.  Let's hope he swims on his own by the end of the summer!

Laundry confessions

Since our townhome has ZERO storage we currently use our laundry closet as a storage closet. It has been bittersweet each week lugging our laundry to the laundromat. We have always had a washer/dryer in every rental we've had so when we moved to Charlotte we didn't think about it. Silly us!

 

The couple who own the laundromat love, love, LOVE Charlie and always spoil him and sometimes me with treats and drinks.  They offered me an ice cold diet coke as soon as I walked in with my arms full of clothes.  I happily accepted, of course.

I always use unstoppables, especially with detergent that has a bland smell. It actually makes me smile while doing laundry!

I like to think I get better and better each week as I brave the laundromat. Well, last week I forgot our hangers and had to lay out 25+ shirts on the cart. While transporting the clothes from the cart to the car all of the clothes fell over on the ground and I about flipped!  It was OH SO HOT and I was already sweating from folding the clothes and it was my last straw. Little Charlie helped pick the clothes up and decided that we needed to go swimming to get happy.  He knows me too well, that boy of mine and we did just that. 

Weekend photos

Yes, along with everyone else on Friday.

Looking/driving by homes is a normal occurrence around here. Although, I'm having a hard time deciding on newbuild or older home with character. Any tips would be appreciated...

Would love a white kitchen, not too keen on this dark look.  

C H I L D R E N

I think about children every single day. My children. The one child I have here on Earth and the others still in the loving care of our Heavenly Father.

I have had dreams, one in particular of kneeling in a circle with my husband and children.  Looking around the circle seeing all our children and being so happy that these little souls were mine. This dream is what gives me hope and assurance that more are coming. 

Before my family moved to Charlotte my husband and I saw an infertility specialist in Atlanta.  We thought our prayers would finally be answered and with a few thousand dollars we would have what we were seeking.  In our first visit our doctor said we were an easy case... We were young, already had a child and we didn't smoke or drink!  We took every test imagineable and to my surprise, and I really mean surprise, nothing was wrong with me or my hubby! I was positive I had pcos or blocked tubes or even hormonal imbalances. nope. Nada.  Nothing!! 

Right when we were ready for some treatment, perhaps IUI, my husband accepted a job offer in Charlotte that he couldn't pass up.  So, after all the tests and waiting we were going to put plan baby on hold. 

After moving to Charlotte, for some reason I didn't want to pursue a specialist just yet and my husband felt the same way. We knew we would be lead to the right doctor at the right time. I didn't feel rushed or on a timeline anymore or the anticipation of who was getting pregnant next. Mind you, all of my friends or family members who had infertility issues were already pregnant or had their hoped for child and as happy as I was for them, I had a hard time being the last one to bear this trial. 

I think our move to Charlotte has been the best remedy for my infertility.  I needed space and a fresh place to learn and grow. 

I was introduced by my neighbor, Laura to an obgyn office that did a more natural approach to infertility, pregnancy and birth. I made an appointment right away and haven't looked back.  The staff already feels like family to me and I have the best doctor in the world. The office is a fully functioning obgyn and birthing center and it's a special place.  I feel peace, hope and assurance that things will work out.  

I know my trial with infertilty will pass someday and life will unfold new challenges and hurdles.  I am, however, grateful for the aspects of my life that are not struggles or trials.  Like my marriage.  I married a good man, honest and loving and we have a wonderful family life with our son.  Our home is full of love and laughter and that right there is heaven on earth.  

  

July 4th in Savannah

Savannah was pure magic for the 4th of July! We tend to vacation here a lot and the city never gets old. We kept things low-key with a trip to south beach on Tybee Island, fireworks on the front porch, Forsyth park and family walks downtown. We did manage to get family pictures done with Ernesto's brother, Eric as photographer. Mind you, it was raining, humidity levels were high and it was oh so HOT!! My hair was uncurling and turning to frizz every minute we spent outside! I think our session lasted 15 minutes or so! 

We always love meeting up with my sister's family and so glad our kids play well together! Us adults really did have a "vacation" while the kids played all day, everyday with each other! Cheers to another great trip to Savannah!

Charlie's Fettuccine Alfredo

This meal is a family favorite with my boys in particular! One thing that I love is how simple the recipe is and you only need a handful of ingredients. Plus, I have the best helper around! 

 

Now, because this meal is high in... (Ahem) fat, I don't recommend making this every week.  I make this dish 8-10 times a year, usually for birthdays or having missionaries over.  I haven't met a soul who doesn't love this dish and I always get compliments, especially from parents of picky eaters!! If you want to try a no-fail dish with rave reviews then write this down!

Behold, the list of ingredients...

You will need:

1 box fettuccine noodles, we like barilla

1/2 cup butter (one stick)

3 garlic cloves, minced (do not use bottled minced garlic- the taste is flat and not enough garlic flavor)

1/2 pint heavy whipping cream 

Pinch of salt

2 cups shredded Parmesan cheese

Parsley to garnish 

First, add butter and minced garlic to a saucepan on medium heat. Melt mixture and add heavy whipping cream. Stir constantly with whisk.

Next, when mixture looks puffy and foamy add pinch of salt and gradually add Parmesan cheese, stirring constantly. The mixture should be bubbling a little and the cheese melting into a creamy mixture.  

Once cheese is well blended, take off burner and put timer on 5 minutes to rest sauce.  During this five minutes, magic happens! After 5 minutes, stir sauce and don't bother with small lumps of cheese since it will melt nicely with the noodles.

Retrieve drained noodles and add to sauce.  Mix softly and eat!! Oh, and garnish with parsley for fun!

The end result! You can always add grilled chicken or shrimp but we like it plain.  We always eat this dish with peas, salad with Italian dressing and grilled veggies!

Life in Charlotte

We made our move to Charlotte and we love it so far! The city is smaller than Atlanta and the people are even sweeter! The accents are stronger and our neighbors are the best! We have seen blessing after blessing from moving here. To be honest, I was itching for a change from Georgia. I love my family and friends there but I wanted some space, I guess. I think my calling as young women president made me feel heavy-burdened and super busy all the time that I wasn't enjoying other aspects of my life, sadly. I miss my YW and nothing will ever come as close to the experiences I had with them and what they taught me but it has been a relief to be released!! I am young and still learning so much and I always felt inadequate as a leader in such an established ward. There, I said it! My bishop was so sweet and helped me so much to be the leader The Lord needed me to be. I will always cherish Georgia and that season of my life.

Here's our townhome for the next year. It's a two bedroom and cute and cozy with wood floors and white walls. Perfect for decorating! I will show the inside soon!

Loved having my sister visit the first week in Charlotte. Made me feel like home!

        Redneck games in the backyard!

       Our first Sunday in our new ward!!

We made our way down to Atlanta for Mother's Day weekend and Ernesto's graduation.

Decided to try an entry way makeover at Leanna's place. Here's the before...

After. It was fun to spruce up their entryway with finds they already had around the house!

Here we are in the ER with my boy! He was playing hot lava with Azaliea when he fell on the floor(lava) and broke his arm. It was a minor fracture above the elbow.

Coming down to Atlanta was worth this picture right here! So proud of Ernesto for completing his law degree in his second language! 

For my birthday I went to Mac and got a much needed makeover and new makeup too! I felt spoiled!

His elbow was looking good! Time to get it taken off!

Charlie got his cast taken off and we have been in the water playing everyday! We met up with some new friends in Uptown for a fun play date!

My friend Abby has quickly become one of my good friends here! We both moved in within a month of each other and our boys have a blast together! Plus her baby Mia is as adorable as they come!

I was called to be activity day leader and we had a summer hairstyles activity recently. This is the best calling to have! The girls love coming, it's only twice a month and they are so fun! I was happy to see half of the girls do the same hairstyle I taught them on Sunday!

We weren't able to be host families for youth conference since my hubbies work schedule didn't allow time off but I was able to help with rides to and from activities. As you can see, two in three girls are giants here!

So that's our life so far here in Charlotte!! Of course, I will cover more soon!