Party Attire....

Here are a few pictures from this weekend.......I had to post these because I loved my dress.......I wish I had one of the whole thing, it's floor length, and the bottom has the same green border that the top does......super cute if I don't mind saying so myself!

The bug is finally starting to feel better! She hasn't run a fever in over a day now, so that has been a huge relief! Tonight we are headed to Batesburg-Leesville to cheer on the Lexington Wildcats in their first game of the season! We are very excited as it's Georgia's first football game! We hope she enjoys it!! The rest of the weekend will be laid back and we plan on catching up some rest. We have been getting a lot of sleep throughout the nights, but it still catches up with you by the week's end, so we will definitely catch some extra zzz's this weekend. Other than mild fevers, things have been relatively calm with the Hamilton brood. I hope you all had a wonderful week...hopefully my computer will be more cooperative and I won't be so MIA next week. I will be sure to post pictures of our adventures this weekend!!! Stay sweet!!!

Love,

Charlotte

Weekend Roundup!!!

These are just a few images from our past few days....I have a few more of Raymond and myself but my computer is just not cooperating!!!! These should hold you over.........

Believe it or not, these are from when I wake her up in the morning....despite having a combo genetic makeup of myself and Raymond, she is quite the morning person....Swoozie would never have believed this raising me......my little bug is ready to Seize the Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!

More to come!

Charlotte

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!!!

Well, I guess it's only appropriate to make my first post in a while the announcement of who won my giveaway! Congrats to.........

Annie over at CHAPTERS OF OUR LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!
Congrats!!!! Email me all your info!!!!!

Thank you to all who entered my giveaway! I have loved looking at all of your blogs and making such wonderful new blog friends!!!!! I look forward to many more giveaways in the future!!!

I have lots to blog about but very quickly, my little bug has been running a low grade fever for two days now and is screaming at the top of her lungs at the moment...so I've got to keep this one short but I will be back with some CUTE pictures of the past few days! Sit tight!!

Love,
Charlotte

It's (almost) the freaking weekend....

That blog title was a shout out to my bestie Blair over at Reasonably Swanky ....back in THA day we used to love us some R.Kelly....ahh good times. Y'all should go check out her blog- she has adorable finds for interior decorating and she's a clothes hog as much as I am! If you like my blog, you'll quickly fall in love with hers. Our friendship as tested the time of 10 years! Ever since my freshman year in high school! Yikes!
I am so glad the week is coming to a close. Well, I have survived my first week back. It has been, well, exhausting to say the least, and I think I am coming down with something. I just feel really run down and abnormally lethargic. Not tired like I want to go to sleep, but just no energy can barely hold my head up. That's why I haven't really blogged much this week. I know how desperately you all want to hear me complain. I don't know what's the matter with me. I am hoping that it's not anything major and I use this term loosely, because the last time I thought something minor was wrong with me, well, ahem, you can guess how that turned out!! I am going to try and get as much rest this weekend as I possibly can. We have a party to go to on Saturday evening so other than that, I plan on doing a whole 'lotta nothin'. I hope you all are as excited about tomorrow being Friday as I am! I know all of you mama's out there are! No early morning carpool for two days!
I forgot to post my update for Weight Watchers Wednesday! I am really slacking off! I lost another 2.9 pounds this past week so I was really proud of myself! I haven't been posting any recipes lately, so I will make sure and do that this weekend. Last weekend we cooked up a storm so I have plenty in my box to share. Have any of you seen the show Cook Yourself Thin? It comes on Lifetime (the Goddess of tv channels)- LOVE IT! I went and purchased the cookbook and the only downside is that it's a little hard to calculate points for, so I am saving it when we are more maintaining than actively trying to lose. I suggest everyone look it up! It is a neat concept of substitutions in recipes.
I hope everyone has a tres fabulous Friday and a safe and happy weekend! I'll be back with pictures from our weekend!!

Love,
Charlotte

First Day of School!!!!!

Okay, well it wasn't my first day of school, but that's what it felt like. You know when you were a kid and you couldn't sleep because you were so freaking excited to get up the next morning?!?!? Well, that's how I was last night. After I fed Georgia at 4:00 I never really went back to sleep. Ready to get up and Seize The Day!!! Ahh...only if every day contained this much enthusiasm on my part. It was so wonderful to be back! Thanks for all of the well wishes- they meant so much to me! You know who else was sending good thoughts and beautiful flowers my way........ That's right! In his usual romantic form, Raymond sent me some beautiful flowers that fit nicely on my desk and the card was signed by my three favorite people: Raymond, Georgia and Tellie. That's right y'all, the furbaby doesn't get left out of much. It was so cute to see all of the children dressed in their best today as I passed by the local elementary school. I also was thinking about all of you teachers! Especially my favorite teacher The Wife over at The Cobia Family. She's a first grade teacher (God love her!!) and her classroom is adorable!!!! She teaches at an incredible school around here and I am sure her little students love her!! She also inspired me with her cupcakes she made for her class, so I in turn, made cupcakes for work today! That's right, I hosted my own welcome back party!!!! I'm such a good hostess ; )
It felt so good to be back today and any qualms I had about returning to work settled right away when all of my coworkers welcomed me back with open arms. I didn't miss a beat. You would never have known I was out (11 days shy of) 4 months. That felt wonderful. I certainly missed my bug, but I really felt back at home today and my sense of self really came back full circle. It made me feel good that I know I can confidantly juggle motherhood and a career outside of the home. I think it's definitely a lot easier working than being home full time! Selfishly, it was nice to have some time to just have some adult conversation and respond to some emails and phone calls!
For all of you that started back today, I hope you have a wonderful year!! For those of you lucky ones above the Mason Dixon that don't start until Labor Day, enjoy the rest of your summer!!!

I also want to send a shout out to my friend Mrs. Crab over at the Preppy Pink Crab on her amazing and incredible news of expecting another baby crab!!!!! Congrats girl!!!! We over here at the Observer can't wait to watch your amazing journey!!

Hope you all had a wonderful start to your week!!

"God ever works with those who work with will."
-Aeschylus

Love,
Charlotte

Weekend Round Up

This weekend we did absolutely NOTHING and it was great!! The past few months have been a whirlwind of traveling, visitors, cleaning, no sleep, laundry and more laundry so this weekend we didn't have to worry about a thing....I loved every second of it!! Here's a picture of us on Friday night as we vegged out and watched tv....the Bug didn't exactly cooperate...here's the best one of her believe it or not......... This morning we went to church and I wish I had a better picture of Georgia's dress...of COURSE it's a smocked dress you ask!! Here she is with her Daddy......

And here we are!! She did so good in the nursery and it was so relaxing to be able to sit there and focus on the service without a squirming baby in tow. The praise team led the service today and they did an amazing job. We certainly needed an uplifting message as we have been struggling to find a church home and I think we have really found a church that we can see ourselves flourishing in. I just continue to pray that God will lead us in the direction and help us "land" where we need to be. I feel that your spiritual journey is something that is never done and final- that we should continue to strive to learn more and gain more- to never settle in our walk with Christ- There's something to be said about a church that has so many different programs for us a couple, for our children, and for us as a family. I definitely think a strong, close knit church can change your life. After church some members came and visited us and brought us some homemade bread. It was lovely being reached out to like that. It made us feel so special and something that I have really been longing for for a while. I pray we've found our niche!!

One other thing that made our weekend so spectacular is the fact that for 3 nights in a row now, Georgia has slept for at least 7 hours!!! On Thursday night she slept from 9:30 to 4:30- when she woke up I panicked because I thought that I slept through a feeding or something! Raymond reassured me that I hadn't! I just couldn't believe that she slept that long! THEN on Friday night she slept from 9:30 to 6:00!!! Whew!!! "School" must be wearing my little bug out!!!! Last night she slept from 9:30 to 4:30 again- all 3 mornings we have fed her and put her back down and she has slept for another 2 to 3 hours! Where has my fussy, no sleeping, wanna be up all night baby gone?!?!?! Who cares!!! I welcome this happy, rested and well fed baby with open arms!! Whatever they are doing at her nursery is doing the trick. Plus, we have found that 9:30 is her "magic hour" and she does really well when we put her down at this time....maybe, just maybe y'all we have found the secret to some success!!!!

Hope y'all have a fabulous rest of the weekend!!!!!

"Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."

-John 14:27

Love,

Charlotte and her happy (and well rested) clan!!!!

So many choices, so little days.....

First Day of Work! by citadelwife featuring Miss Selfridge

So after much deliberation, this is some what close to what I am planning on wearing back to work. The shoes will not be Louboutin's (sadly) but you get the gist of it!
...after being out for close to 4 months, I am super excited to get back in the swing of things!!

Eat your heart out Gerber

I have been trying desperately to catch the bug when she's smiling....it never fails, she will give me the BIGGEST smile when I first wake her up, or when I am trying to feed her- never times that I have my camera on me. So the other day I literally walked around all day with my camera around my neck like some tacky tourist out of National Lampoon's (am I creating a nice visual for you??) in hopes that I could catch her smiling on film.....pardon my inept photography skills here....I can merely point and shoot with my snazzy camera. This is the best I could do- she isn't smiling long enough yet for my camera to get all the way through. Pardon the mismatching of blanket and onesie....she loves to be swaddled and sometimes I forget to take the blanket off of her before I start snapping......

I know they're a little close (Raymond was so kind to point this out to me) but it's hard when you're holding the baby and trying to point and shoot all the while not blinding her!!

Alas, we'll keep trying........

Love,

Charlotte

Quest for Quesadillas

Lately, I have been crrraaaving quesadillas. No, I'm not pregnant. Please don't jinx me! I guess it's a running joke with my friends that since I got pregnant so easily and so soon after I got married (like, a month- yes, seriously), now when I don't feel good or I am craving something, that's the first thing they ask. TRUST me. That will not be happening for a while. I would like to just sit back and enjoy this step in my life. We're not bringing on any nervous breakdowns anytime soon!!! I digress....
So I have been searching for a WW friendly quesadilla recipe and I stumbled across this website www.hungrygirl.com. HOLY COW!!!!! This is the absolute greatest website! Even if you're not on WW, she has some great recipes and tips and information for anyone who enjoys eating healthy without feeling like you are eating diet food. I am obsessed with this site and I suggest all of you to run and visit it. The nice thing is she breaks down the points per serving for you. The only downside is her recipes aren't categorized because they're sent out in newsletter form. So you just have to search the site for the specific recipe you need. A small task for what you get in return if you ask me. She has awesome dessert recipes and some great ideas for substitutions. I have found my pumpkin pie recipe that I am going to use for the holidays! I did happen to find a quesadilla recipe and we made it last night and they were absolutely fabulous. A little time intensive, but as I have found, eating healthier is just that. It takes a little longer, but so worth it in the long run.
Which reminds me, I forgot to update our weigh in this week....you ready????
4.6 pounds!! That's right!! My biggest loss for a week thus far! We totally overindulged at the beach (which, is there any other way??) so this made me feel better about getting back on track. This week, we have been really diligent and this weekend we are going to cook and stay on track. Our "it's the weekend, we'll make up for it later" excuse is over!! I know it will be easier once I go back to work as well because I won't have idle time to munch all day. Does anyone else do that? I am horrible about that. Not anymore! Life changes are on their way!!!
Raymond has been a saint in helping me stay on track. I am totally that girl that loses a little bit and then settles back into my old ways but he's so encouraging and positive. For those of you that have ever struggled with weight, you know what a blessing that is to have. When I was growing up and would "get right" my mama would always be so supportive but never over obsessive about what I was doing or how much weight I was losing. Or especially not ever push me to lose weight, or tell me I needed to lose weight. She has always just motivated me to be healthy- that was her focus. Not skinny. Big difference for a woman who is destined to always be on the curvier side. I am so thankful for this, as it never caused me to develop any sort of negative view of myself or obsess about weight. I have in recent years, embraced my womanly shape and just strive to be healthy so that I can run and be active with my children and be around to watch them grow up.
That said, I appreciate all of your encouragement out there! I think it's so important that we as woman rise together and support each other. If anyone, we know better about the perils of what we go through, so who better than to be your biggest campaigner?!?!? Thanks for all of your friendships and kind words!

Love,
Charlotte

My First Giveaway!!!!

I absolutely LOVE Scout bags!!! I recently expanded my collection by a few more pieces including the 2 piece cooler set, which is a must have because the mini cooler is the absolute perfect size for a lunch box! I also received the pocket rocket from my dear friend Reabok which I LOVE! It's so practical! I could easily house several more pieces, which is likely in the near future. So I've decided to host my first giveaway and share my obsession with you! This is the Scout Weekender bag in French Twist Black and it has a hot pink bottom. It's a great size for hauling school supplies for all you teachers, or a cutesy bag for an overnighter! It's also a great lake.pool.beach bag with plenty of room for beachy towels!

For all you crazy bloggers, here's how you can win this precious bag:

1 entry for becoming a follower of my blog

If you're already a follower, leave a comment and I will give you 1 entry as well!

1 entry for posting about my giveaway on your blog (leave me a comment so I know!)

I'll be picking the winner at random on August 26th!!! Good Scouting to you all!!!!

Love,

Charlotte

The time has come....

First, I want to say that I am going to keep this short and I apologize for being MIA the last few days. We had an amazing weekend with lots of friends and family. My girlfriends threw me an amazing Sip and See for all of us to get together and gab over the little one. We had such a wonderful time sitting around and drinking wine! Also, our brother and sister in law stayed with us on Saturday night and I literally had some of the most fun I've had in a long time. It was so relaxed and they're those kind of people that you don't have to entertain....you know, the PERFECT house guest! We just sat around talking and drinking and just enjoying each other's company. I guess Georgia knew we needed a break and some adult time because she was very cooperative!
That brings me to my next thing, the time has come for me to go back to work. It has been an amazing experience being at home on bed rest and then home with Georgia. I (of course) have mixed feelings about going back, but I know I am dreading the inevitable. It's one of those things for which I have been praying for tons of strength. In hopes that I won't be a complete mess my first few days back (I start on Monday), we are taking Georgia to start her nursery tomorrow. This way, she will have a few days to get adjusted. I also, will have a few days of a true break! I don't know what it will be like to have 5 minutes without anyone around! I love the husband and our baby free time together, but I am looking forward to some baby free time for just me. I have a feeling the pool is calling my name. So that's what I have been doing, and will be doing for the next few days, just soaking up my last moments with the little one before heading back to the trenches. I am so excited to go back to work as I love my job, and I love working. But, it will be hard going from being with her literally 24/7 to picking her up, feeding her and putting her to bed. Needless to say, I'm going to be selfish and not want to do anything on the weekends when I have uninterrupted time with her. So this will be an adjustment for all and I appreciate all of your prayers!!

Love,
Charlotte

Summer lovin happened so fast........

Well, my summer is coming to an end...and NO, I'm not a teacher. I say that because I have the patience of a mule, and teacher, I am not made to be.....that takes a special heart! But I have conveniently been on "summer break" with my bed rest and maternity leave. When I go back to work, I will have been out 11 days shy of 4 months. I cannot tell you how blessed I am to have an employer who hires me in February, I go out the end of April, and don't come back until mid August. I feel so blessed to have them and that has helped make my maternity leave stress free (as much as around the clock feedings, a screaming baby, keeping up the house, and trying to lose baby weight can be stress free). Since I've been out of work, I vowed to bump up my reading since I really didn't have an excuse at that point.....here is the list of books that sums up my vacation induldgences.....
Something Borrowed (aggh!! one of the best books I've ever read)
Something Blue (almost as good)
Love the One You're With
Baby Proof (almost done, slowly tredging through this one)
**Yes, you see a pattern here, all of these are by the same author, Emily Griffin**
Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah (RUN and get this book, it's AMAZING)
7th Heaven
6th Target
Sail
**all by James Patterson, one of the greatest mystery writers**
I am about to reread Sullivan's Island so that I can start on Return to Sullivan's Island both y Dorothea Benton Frank
I vow to not let my return to work slow my book worminess!!!!!

A Patient and Grateful Heart

I came across this prayer in a church bulletin from my childhood church...I love that they still send me the bulletins because I get to stay in the know of the news in the church and they always have insightful articles written by all of the ministers. This one struck a chord with me because I feel it's something that I personally struggle with, as I am sure most of us do. This is an excerpt from a collection of Puritan prayers called Valley of Vision (I know that's supposed to be underlined, but I can't figure out how in blogger) and this excerpt is a prayer entitled Continual Repentance.....

O God of Grace,
Thou has imputed my sin to my substitute,
and hast imputed his righteousness to my soul,
clothing me with bridegroom's robe,
decking me with jewels of holiness.

But in my Christian walk I am still in rags;
my best prayers are stained with sin;
my penitential tears are so much impurity;
my confessions of wrong are so many aggravations of sin;
my receiving the Spirit is tinctured with selfishness.

I need to repent of my repentance;
I need my tears to be washed;
I have no robe to bring to cover my sins,
no loom to weave my own righteousness;
I am always standing clothed in filthy garments,
and by grace am always receiving change of raiment,
for thou dost always justify the ungodly;
I am always going into the far country,
and always returning home as a prodigal,
always saying, Father, forgive me,
and though art always bringing forth the best robe.

Every morning let me wear it,
every evening return in it,
go out to the day's work in it,
be married in it,
be wound in death in it,
stand before the great white throne in it,
enter heaven in it shining as the sun.

Grant me never to lose sight of
the exceeding sinfulnes of sin,
the exceeding righteousness of salvation,
the exceeding glory of Christ,
the exceeding beauty of holiness,
the exceeding wonder of grace.

I know I get caught up in the hub bub of life and fail to realize who controls it all and that I need to more faith in Him...for He has never led us astray. It's easy to be grateful and prayerful in times of need but it's when you are reaping the fruits of His labor that we all forget to continue to thank Him and continue to pray for us, and those that we love.

Funny Face

I have this picture on my desktop and every time I look at it I laugh. It's one of those that it's hard not to chuckle when you see her so complacently sitting in her saucer with her paci....so I wanted to share this with all of y'all and I hope this cheers anyone up who needed a little smile!!!

Getting closer to the victory over my battle with the laundry. It's as if our suitcases literally exploded all over our house and I am left to pick up the pieces- slowly. We'll get there eventually! One advantage to being a woman who's married to a man with a baby who all have a tremendous amount of clothing! No rush!

Beach Babies

We are back from the beach!!!!! It would literally take me DAAAAAAAAAAAAAYS to upload all of the pictures from the week so I will just do some over several posts.....here are a few that I liked and just looking at them makes me want to be back there again!!! We were on Sullivan's Island and you just cannot ask for anything better. As soon as you drive over the Ben Sawyer bridge onto the island, you can just suddenly feel your spirits lighten. Our week was full of sunshine, mild weather (which, if you live in SC in August is HUGE), family and friends, a little (ha!) partying, and lots of relaxation. It's the time of year Raymond and I look forward to most and Station 9 is such a special place to us. This is also the place where Raymond proposed to me at, so it will forever hold a very near and dear place to my heart. From the picture above is the Charleston skyline...such an amazing view. From our perch, we can see all the ships that come into the harbor- it is so wonderful to sit on the porch and just rock and swing and see all of the massive boats coming in. The bug did WONDERFUL in the water! You can't really tell by her expression, because she always has that famous pouty look on her face, but she was so calm. Whenever she got fussy or upset, we would just take her outside and she would immediately calm down. Must have been that salt air. We indulged in lots of food and drink and even a little game of Loaded Questions.....if you have never played this game, RUN don't walk and get it! It makes for the best icebreaker with a crowd. Only, if you are playing with my husband, watch out, you might wanna close your ears! It's kind of hard to see but in the picture below to my right above my shoulder is Ft. Sumter for those of you history buffs.....

This was my bestie (SIL) Keys and myself during our Friday night dance party...let's just say there was lots of Motown, shagging, and midnight swimming....fun times!!!!!....

I'll keep the pictures coming!!! Hope you all had a fabulous week! I'm off to catch us up on laundry!!!!

Love,

Charlotte