It's amazing how things go full-circle sometimes.  This past weekend, Wendy's and TheMotherhood, a national social community for moms, invited me to attend a Blogger picnic to try the new Berry Almond Chicken Salad.  I usually go for a cheeseburger with mustard and pickles (since they make it to order) or a spicy chicken fillet sandwich at Wendy's, but my metabolism isn't what it used to be so maybe I should give more salads a try.

It was an honor to be included in this event and fabulous to meet such talented and successful bloggers who welcomed this newbie blogger with open arms.  They've been blogging for years.  Me, five months.  My son who is always eager to eat in a restaurant went with me for a great mom-son date!   We need those from time to time.





My salad.  I ate half of it before I remembered I should take a photo for you.  Still learning!

Let's just say that Wendy's has a berry good idea with this gourmet salad. It is filled with in-season strawberries and blueberries, tender grilled, warm chicken, roasted almonds with sea salt, shaved asiago cheese and eleven types of mixed greens, all tossed with a delicious fat-free raspberry vinaigrette. Yes, I said eleven greens; not just the usual iceberg and romaine!   The salad is not only gorgeous, but truly delicious.   It comes in either a half-size or whole.  Being the hearty eater that I am, I ordered the whole salad, and ate it down to the last bite.  It was THAT good.

I also ordered the new Wild Berry Iced Tea to go with my salad.  You knew this southern belle was going to order tea, right?   It wasn't in the biggie size, but let me tell you, I asked for a refill and went back the next day to get another one at a different location.  There is no doubt that Wendy's knows how to make good iced tea and a fresh salad! 

I now have a new summer craving, and have met some great new friends, too.  You may just find me at one of my local Wendy's this summer.

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The calendar says another Monday.   For my son, it may be just another day in the week, and he'll ask, "What are we going to do today?"  As a parent,  it's my job to teach him about Memorial Day or else he'll never learn.  He needs to know that Memorial Day is about more than eating great burgers, being lazy, and his dad having a day off from work.  It's about remembering those who fought for our freedom.

I plan to get us all in the car, drive to Cary, NC and visit the Veteran's Freedom Park.  I pass by this memorial a lot on Harrison Avenue, but never stop.  Today, we are stopping and are going to have a day of education and remembrance.

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School is officially out!  I'm now chief entertainer for the Hines family.  It's my full responsibility to entertain, teach, and keep two kids happy for twelve hours a day every day for about 100 days.  But, who's counting, right?  We do have a few vacations, some summer camps, and good friends to help keep us busy.  You may see less of me online, but I'll do my best to keep in touch.  As you know, I started this blog to "melt away some stress".  As a result, you may find me burning the midnight oil because with the southern heat, and two bored kids, I may have a little more stress than normal.  You think?

But my new motto is:  Don't Worry, Bee Happy!  My son made this plant holder for me at his preschool.  When the going gets tough, I'm going to look at my bee and BE HAPPY!   They are only young once as I've been told.

My Gym Class for Toddlers

I really needed the bee to travel with me this morning to my daughter's toddler gym class to remind me of my new motto.  We were running too late to drop my son off at MiMa's house.  He went with me to My Gym's Children's Fitness Center.   He's not allowed to participate in the class because of the little ones, but I did allow him to participate in the circle time for songs and dance.  He was one of the happy ones, and since he is five, he did every move just right.  He looked just like a teacher.  But his happiness soon turned into monster craziness when I told him he had to sit on the bench and do his PuzzleBuzz magazines.   I need to make a mental note to myself to check BabyCenter as soon as I finish this post to make sure he's not too abnormal in his development right now.   He acted about the age of two.  I'm not joking!   His public behavior was less than desired, and could be classified as embarrassing.  It's one of those times where you know all the other moms are thinking, "thank goodness that is not me right now!"  My good friend, Amy, assures me that all moms have seen this type of behavior.  I hope she is right, but just in case, I'll spend less time brushing my hair next week and I'll be making a pit stop by MiMa's before class and will leave Mr. Crazy Gym Pants off with her for awhile until I can sign him up for his own class.
The buzz today is that I have a winner for the Thirty-One Thermal Tote.  Thank you all for participating.  I got Mr. Crazy Gym Pants in on the action, and even helped his fine motor skills through blogging.  How's that for summer teaching?

We decided to put all the entries in our thermal tote for the drawing.


He helped me cut and fold each entry.   We had over one hundred to cut.


He then grabbed my camera, and said he was shooting photos for his own blog.  This is the only one I'll show.  The others were of me all hunched over and wide shots of my backside.  My friends will be impressed that I'm showing this photo and I didn't even powder my nose or put on lipstick for it.   I think he will be proud of his photography skills, and that his photo made my blog.



We had some fun doing this little project together.  When he got up this morning, I let him draw a winner.



Congratulations to Jen D. from Florida.  This contest was a random draw. It is ironic that she has a blog called, "Get Lucky".  When Jen entered the contest, she did tell Tricia with Thirty-One Gifts that if she won, she plans to give the tote to her friend's daughter who was recently diagnosed with juvenile diabetes.  The tote will be used to carry around all of the child's medicines.  I'm so glad the Hines-Sight Blog will help you give this wonderful gift to your friend's daughter, Jen.

I also want to thank you Tricia Edmundson for sponsoring this give-away.  Tricia is always running some type of special.  You can visit her Thirty-One website for her latest sales and promotions.

Until next time, I'm off to entertain the kids, and it's too hot here to even have a cup of afternoon tea!


As a parent, I sometimes have to ask myself, "Does every day really have to be like a Monday?" If you are a parent, you understand that when young children are in the house, it helps if your day is well---structured. On the weekends, I don't like structure. I want to have my tea, check e-mail, be nosy on Facebook, and catch up on all my favorite blogs and travel sites.  Mr. Piggybank essentially likes to do the same thing except he reads the entire day's world and financial news in one sitting.    Before children, we would spend hours in our pajamas doing this sort of thing.  We have certainly trimmed our leisurely routine, but when the weekend rolls around, I think we both want a morning off from parenting to do a little surfing.

This past weekend, I got the short end of the stick.  Everyone slept later than normal which is a good thing, but it can sure mess up a day.    Both mornings were unstructured and thrown way off kilter.  It was after 10:30 am and I had not even showered yet.   Mr. Piggybank didn't shower.  He put on his yard clothes, and like a magician disappeared into our yard. I decided to head into disastrous and dangerous uncharted waters.

Mr. Piggybank was back in the yard tackling his "to do" list.   He got out there before I could shower.  For this quick shower, I was serenaded with lots of crying and noise.  My daughter grabbed a bronzer compact off the vanity and dropped it.  Yes, it broke into a million tiny pieces.  My bathroom floor looked as if it went on vacation without me, and spent some time in the sun.  I pleaded with my 5-year-old to try to get some of the smashed bronzer off the floor before my 18-month old stepped in it and made the situation worse.  My son used an entire roll of toilet paper trying to clean it up, but it was still a mess that only a mom could fix.

Yes, she needs a helmet.  It was her first time on it today

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Photo by Jumping Jack Photography

This beautiful inn called ,The Swag Country Inn, is located on a mountaintop near Waynesville, NC,  about 25 minutes away from Cullowhee, NC, which is the town I called home for 18 years,  I took dance in Waynesville every week for many, many years.  Waynesville is a charming and quaint town with the most adorable mainstreet.   The Inn is also about 50 minutes from the city of Asheville, NC.



Image by John Warner

Swag Country Inn sits on 250-acres atop a 5,000 foot ridge, and has its own private entrance to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.  This is the room I've picked out for all of you today.  This is my type of rustic elegance!

Image Jumping Jack Photography

The Swag Country Inn is more of a place to escape with the love of your life, however, there are some cabins on the property that will also accommodate children aged seven and up.   Now that is what I call a cabin!  Wow!

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Don't forget to enter my Thirty-One Thermal Tote Give-Away..

Disaster relief agencies still need donations.  Sometimes when the cleanup begins, and it’s been a while since the storm, we forget that agencies still need donations.  The American Red Cross and Samaritan's Purse are good places to start.  They are working to help families in need, and that NEED is great.   Together, we may be able to make a day a little brighter for a child impacted by these storms.

This post originally appeared on the Raleigh News and Observer's Triangle Mom2Mom website on Sunday, May 15, 2011.

It's time to continue our road trip in Carteret County located along North Carolina's Southern Outer Banks.  On Monday, I took you on a tour of the lovely and picturesque town of Beaufort which was our home away from home during Mr. Piggybank's 45th birthday weekend. (You can catch that post here!)  The reason for our trip to the coast was to visit family and attend a wedding, but this was no ordinary wedding location.

When I told my son the location of the wedding we were attending, you would have thought that it was "Christmas."  He, all the sudden, went from not wanting to get to dressed to go  to a wedding to rushing to put on his dress shoes.  He couldn't get in the car quickly enough.   I think any boy, young or old, has a special spot for where we were going.  I know my husband does!  He grew up going here.

Here's where we went.

Our destination was approximately 20 minutes away from Beaufort. We crossed the bridge onto to Bogue Island and ventured to Fort Macon State Park which is located on the eastern end of Atlantic Beach.   If the walls could talk this fort would have a lot to tell!   In the 18th and 19th Century, Beaufort was very vulnerable to attack.  Blackbeard and other infamous pirates were known to have passed through Beaufort Inlet at will while successive wars with Spain, France and Great Britain during the Colonial Period provided a constant threat of coastal raids by enemy warships. Beaufort was captured and plundered by the Spanish in 1747 and again by the British in 1782.

Adore to Decor