DEEP THOUGHTS!

I will be honest. Alot of times when I leave posts on my blog, I wonder who reads them? Or if anyone does? Someone told me that I should leave a blog counter to see how many hits I have a day. Well, let me tell you. I was NOT expecting 300 in 2 days! I am honored!! I SO want to get 100 followers, so please tell your family friends to sign up and follow. Please let me know also if there are any topics you would to discuss. Or recipes. Or anything. Also, in honor of my crazy blog counter results, I am giving away $25.00 Visa gift card. If you sign up to follow my blog OR are currently a follower, you are already qualified in the drawing. I will draw April 15, 2010!

I love you all and enjoy hearing from you!!

Much love from Nashville!

XOXO-

KJ

A Few Treats for Mommy...

Some things I am loving right now:

How cute is this contraption? It is called the "Mother Tucker". HA!! It basically wraps around your stomach after a baby and sucks you in. And, its in zebra print. LOVE it!

And since I am going to be home for the next 4 weeks, I LOVE these silk PJ's. How cute are they?? I love silk PJ's! These are from Victoria's Secret.




And this is SOOOOOOOO HOT!!! I so, so , so, so WANT this necklace. I saw it on the mannequin at BCBG at Green Hills. This is one of the reasons that it is a good idea to stay out of the Green Hills mall. HA!

And how cute is this? Also from BCBG, I love the idea of the coral skirt with the gray and white. This just screams spring and summer. Love it!!

Hope the Easter bunny treats you all good!! He is bringing me a sweet baby boy named

Griffin Hays. I can't wait to kiss those little chubby cheeks!!!!

XOXO-
KJ

DEAR EASTER BUNNY...

Dearest Easter Bunny,

This is Paisley. Mommy is sleeping, so I decided I would leave a guest post. I am gonna be real clear, bunny, I don't want junk for my Easter basket. I can't have any candy (daddy says no) and I am getting a brother tomorrow. Please treat me well. The End.

Bubbles are my favorite!
Or this, Did I mention I am getting a stinky brother?!

Or this Barbie pool!! I love it.






And last but not least, The Barbie Vacation house. Yes, please and thank you.

Your biggest fan, Paisley.

PS- I will leave some yummy lettuce wraps and chocolate carrots. I know their your favorite.

XOXO

MY CONSTANTLY RUNNING WISH LIST to BABY GAP!

Are these cute OR what? I am such a sucker for a flower on anything. I have never been a huge fan of purple, but since Paisley is obssessed with it, I am learning to like it more. Love these as some slip ons for the pool.

And what about the Stella McCartney line from BabyGap? Such great stuff. I love this top with some white skinny jeans and some gold gladiator sandals.
Another great print dress by Stella McCartney. So cute with some leggings.

And this, because I can't pass up anything that has a Hello Kitty or a cupcake on it.
I mean, and how cute is this? With plaid shorts and some jelly shoes?

And this might be my favorite. A turquoise zebra? toooo cute.

I love these dresses below, mainly due to the fact that I bought the cutest summer slouch boots from Baby Gap, and I think these dresses are SO perfect for spring, because you can wear them alone or with a cute jacket (like the one below).

And a pink demin jacket? Ridiculously cute. I heart Baby Gap.

XOXO-
KJ

Sweet GRIFFIN!!

My sweet baby boy will be here by C-Section at 11am Thursday, April 1, 2010! I am so excited.

I am carrying around over 9 pounds of amniotic fluid and close to 9 pounds of baby!!

I had a Drs. appointment today and had gained no weight (YEAH!) and my total weight gain is 38 pounds. I am so pleased. Everything with Baby G looks great. His heartbeat was 167 and moving like crazy! Does he look like Stephen or what?!!! The Goode's have some STRONG genes!! HA!! I love you all and thanks for the sweet encouragement and prayers. I have two days and I plan on playing with Paisley for 99% of it!! She is SO excited about meeting her brother. Please continue to pray that everything goes smoothly Thursday and pray for our family traveling. I will update sometime late Friday.

Hugs from Nashville!

XOXO-

KJ

EAT TO LIVE!

Everyone wants to know what we eat on this new "Eat to Live" lifestyle plan. And let me clarify: I try my best to stay on this most days. But being preggo, it is hard. If I cheat, I cheat outside the house (except for my cereal and whole grain waffles). And it usually for ice cream or sweets! Ha!

But most days, this is what we eat LOTS of:

1 . lettuce (spinach, mixed greens, romaine)

2. TONS of vegetables. I buy on bulk from Costco. (cucumbers, red peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, carrots, asparagus).We also eat about 2-3 avocados a week.

3. TONS of fruit . (Strawberries are the best thing you can eat as far as fruit goes. SO I buy two big boxes. Lots of blueberries, raspberries, grapes, kiwis, and bananas. Sometimes other stuff just depending what is on sale. But any fruit).

4. TONS of nuts. Cashews, sunflower seeds, pecans, walnuts, etc. Anything except for peanuts.

5. Goat cheese, Mozzarella, and Parmesan in small amounts.

6. Lean meats. Mostly fish and seafood. I buy this fresh from Costco or in the freezer bags from Costco. Everything from Halibut, Tilapia, Scallops, Sea bass, crab legs, shrimp, and some very lean, organic, antibiotic free chicken. Stephen only eats about 10-12 ounces of fish a week.

7. Lots of beans. We try to add beans to everything! Black beans, red beans, chickpeas, etc.

8. Limit your whole grains to one cup a day.

9. Stay away from refined sugars (Stevia is the best artificial sweetener).

10. Stay away from ALL oils (olive oil is okay in VERY VERY small doses) and high fat dairy. Non-fat dairy in VERY small amounts.

It is strict, but it is a funny thing...I am craving the bad stuff less and less. I still can't give up my Diet Dr. Pepper and the cheese is hard. But the weight loss is incredible. And the other great parts: I am NOT hungry and there is NO COUNTING! You can eat as much as you want of fruits and veggies.

A TYPICAL SATURDAY menu at the Goody household:

Breakfast:

Egg Whites (2 egg whites/1 egg)

1/2 Avocado

Strips of Red Pepper

Dash of Mozzarella

Apple

Snack:

Sabre Hummus

Cucumber

Lunch:

Whole wheat penne

black beans

Amy's all natural spaghetti sauce

sprinkle of parmesan

Snack:

2 Clementine's

Celery and Almond Butter

Dinner:

Spinach salad (spinach, strawberries, goat cheese, walnuts, balsamic vinegar)

Steamed asparagus and garlic

Pan seared carrots

Baked Halibut with sauteed onions

Dessert:

Warmed apples with Cinnamon baked in a whole wheat pita.

I mean, how much food is that?? There is NO way you go hungry on this! My mother-in-law lost 12 pounds her first week. Typical weight loss is around 30 pounds for 6 weeks. Check out the book, EAT TO LIVE by Dr. Joel Furhman. It is wonderful. Not to mention the health benefits.

Hope you all are having a wonderful Palm Sunday.

XOXO-

KJ

Show Us Your Life...Cleaning!

My link was supposed to say that I have a male maid named Enrique!! OOPS!

ANYWAY...

I will be perfectly honest. I have a housekeeper. And it is the greatest money that I spend. I will color my own hair, use self tanner, and paint my own nails before I cut the housekeeper from the budget. HA! The funniest part about Enrique, the housekeeper, is that he is 19 years old and is the best cleaning person I have ever seen! He even wipes down the ketchup bottle in the refridgerator. I highly suggest a cleaning person, even if they only come once a month. They really do help you deep clean. However, I can't really justify having someone else clean my house while I am off, but as soon as I am back to work, he will be back!

In the meantime, here are my can't live without tips and products!

1. I make my bed everyday and I make Paisley's. My house just feels cleaner and neater with a made bed.

2. I almost never leave dishes in the sink and I wipe my kitchen counters down about 4 times a day. A clean kitchen is a necessity. I also clean out the fridge every other day, and wipe down the microwave. I also love the Method Sprays from Target that are above. My favorite is the Cucumber. It smells so good. I also LOVE the Slatkin room sprays that you can buy from Bath and Body Works. My mother-in-law got me hooked on these things. After I spray these, my house immediately smells clean! I love the cinnamon and the vanilla.

3. I have realized that picking up toys more than once a day is a waste. In saying that, if we leave to go somewhere, I have to pick them up. I hate coming home to a scattered house. I also love those big wicker baskets from TJ Maxx. I use those to help with some of the clutter.

4. I feel like the Magic Eraser might be the greatest invention EVER. It has the same formulation as my mama's spit (I know you girls have heard of a spit bath?!). That thing will remove anything off of a wall and it will even get white stuff off of your black dress. I keep these things everywhere.

5. I also LOVE Spray and wash with Resolve for the laundry. I have actually sprayed this directly on a rug, and it removed grape juice in front of my eyes. Crazy how well it works.

6. I also love these Clorox wipes. I buy these in bulk from Costco and keep them under every sink in the house. They are a great way to clean fast if you have company coming and just need a quick wipe down.

7. One of my other rules is that I sort through the mail outside. Junk mail doesn't even come in my house. It goes in the trash can outside the back door. I need to be recycling (make a note).

8. My last product/tip is if you have hard wood floors, the Bissell steam mop is ridiculous!!

This thing only uses water and comes with washable pads that you just throw in the washer. It dries instantly. My hardwoods are the toughest thing to keep clean in my house, between dogs and kids. They are always messy it seems!!

Please leave me your tips! Happy Friday!!!

XOXO-

KJ

A SWEET FROM SALLY!!

Every single day I promise myself that Paisley is going to school. Since I am paying out the wazoo for playschool. And every single day she manages to stay home or go to Grammy's. Yesterday she went to Grammy's and spent the night and Grammy and Pappy brought her back around 4pm. When she got home, we went to Wal-Mart (I would rather have a root canal than go there) to get some screws for Griffin's drawer pulls and a few birthday presents. I had to take a picture of P's outfit. She is so proud of her outfit, and most of all, her toes that are painted OPI Siberian Nights.

When we got home, I checked the mail and this PRECIOUS monogrammed bib was waiting for sweet Griffin. I LOVE IT. My friend, Sally, sent it to me. She has the cutest blog and the two sweetest boys. And she is the cutest thing ever. I miss her! Her blog is here.

Don't you just love little happies in the mail?

Hope you are all having a fabulous day!!

XOXO-

KJ

SPRING IS HERE!!

Some things I LOVE about SPRING:

Um, these things are ridiculous. I cannot get enough of them. How about you? What is your favorite Easter candy??

How cute is this necklace? Doesn't it scream SPRING?! It is from Stella and Dot.

I Love this necklace with a cute white dress and some nude wedges? PRESH.

And what about these shows with some Strawberry Margarita nail polish on your piggies?

My favorite might be these. I LOVE them. They are Michael Kors.

Another cute necklace. How great would this be paired with a white maxi dress for summer and some flip flops?

And last but not least, my favorite item. I won't be getting this.

But a girl can dream and have goals. Right?

What's on your Easter list?

XOXO-

KJ

Movies and Food....What Else???

I feel like all I ever blog about is food. HA!

Today I will add a few movies, since I have been off for a week and feel like I have rented more Redbox than ever. Surely y'all all have Redbox? Anyway, one of my new FAVS are some Chocolate Cheerios. These things are yummylicious. You have to try them out. I even pack them as a snack for Paisley. She thinks they are great.

And since Tuesday, we have watched The Princess and the Frog about 30 times. I LOVE the music in this movie. I think it is so cute. My favorite part of the movie is that the spoiled Southern princess sounds just like Blanche Devareaux from Golden Girls. Cracks me up!!

And how about The Blind Side? Is this not a feel good movie or what? Sometimes I love watching movies and seeing and knowing the ending will be happy. And the fact that this movie is about an Ole Miss Family is really fun, too. I wish they would have shown The Grove a little more, but it still great. And Sandra Bullock's character was great. I can so see myself calling the coach during the middle of a football game. Hysterical.

For me, this movie was definitely

"BUY WORTHY."

And to end, how cute are these carrots? We picked up a few of these yesterday for P's friends. She is going to an Easter Egg Hunt Saturday and a birthday party (well, hopefully. Unless Griffin makes his arrival). I AM SO READY. And so tired of people asking.

Especially the ones that say, "You STILL haven't had that baby? Does it look like I have, idiot?" Bless their hearts.

XOXO-

KJ

HOLY COW CAKE!!

This is definitely Paula Deen approved and your tummy will thank me and so will your husband!!

HA! Seriously, one of my caterers uses this cake and it is sooooo good. My doctors all request it!

Let me know how it turns out!!

XOXO-

KJ

HOLY COW!!!! Cake
Vegetable oil spray for misting the pan

1 package (18.25 ounces) plain devil's food cake mix

1 1/3 cups water

1/2 cup vegetable oil, such as canola, corn, safflower, soybean, or sunflower

3 large eggs

Topping1 jar (8 ounces)

caramel topping1 can (14 ounces)

sweetened condensed milk

4 Butterfinger candy bars (2.1 ounces each),

crushed1 container (12 ounces)

frozen whipped topping, thawed

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, at room temperature

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly mist a 13- by 9-inch baking pan with vegetable oil spray. Set the pan aside.2. Place the cake mix, water, oil, and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping the sides down again if needed. The batter should look thick and well blended. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing out the top with the rubber spatula. Place the pan in the oven.3. Bake the cake until it springs back when lightly pressed with your finger and just starts to pull away from the sides of the pan, 35 to 38 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack. Immediately poke holes in the top of the cake with a drinking straw or chopstick.4. Prepare the topping. Place the caramel topping and sweetened condensed milk in a small bowl and stir to combine. Spoon this mixture over the warm cake so that it can seep down into the holes. Measure out half of the crushed candy bars and sprinkle the pieces over the cake.5. Place the whipped topping and cream cheese in a large mixing bowl and blend with an electric mixer on low speed until smooth and combined, 1 minute. Spread the mixture over the top of the candy. Sprinkle the remaining candy pieces on top.
6. Place the pan, uncovered, in the refrigerator to chill the cake for about 20 minutes before cutting it into squares and serving.Store this cake, covered in waxed paper, in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

DATE NIGHT!!

Let's just be honest. I L.O.V.E having grandparents around and the bonus is a free babysitter!! Stephen and I went to eat Friday night at Sambuca and it was so YUMMY!! If you are ever in Nashville, you will have to try it out. I looked very un-hip, but at least Stephen thought I looked good!! haha!!

Afterwards, we went to see Alice and Wonderland in 3D. It was great!!! I loved the Red Queen and Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter. It was great!!
I am a little too cheap for $27.00 worth of movie tickets, but it was fun to laugh at each other in our glasses!!

Hope all you wives and mamas get dates from time to time.

XOXO-

KJ

Spring better hurry the heck UP!

Spring better hurry the heck up. I mean, seriously. I can't take ANY more cold weather. Except for Friday, this entire week has been cold and dreary. When we woke up Friday and saw the sun and a forecast of 70, I kept Paisley home from playschool. We decided to head to the zoo, along with all of Nashville. Lots of our friends were busy, so we had a little mother/daughter outing all by ourselves.

Like a true southern girl, I decided to stop and pick up fried chicken and corn on the cob so we could have a little picnic at the park. Here are some pics from our fun trip!!

I love this picture, but it makes me sad that my little girl is growing up. She looks like such a preschooler here. She is very proud of her hair, dress, shoes, purse, glasses, and most of all, SILLY BANDS!!
At the zoo having our picnic!

Riding the carousel.

Eating corn on the cob, her fav!!

Hope you all are having some good weather this week!!

Happy Spring!

XOXO-
KJ