Spring Has Sprung - So We Chased A Leprechaun

I was in the car driving earlier this week (who knows where I was going - I drive a lot!) and I noticed that all of the sudden the world seemed very vivid. Like we had gone from regular TV to high definition. And then I realized why. The grass was green. The azaleas were blooming and the Bradford Pears were sprouting their white flowers. Overnight spring had sprung. And that can only mean one thing. Life is about to get crazy! This week was no exception.

You would think a Monday morning at the start of a busy week would feel daunting but it didn't. Want to know why? 'Cause of our new Monday morning play date thank you very much. My friends Lisa and Katy and I have been getting together with the little kids while the big ones are in school. We have coffee - and some sort of yummy breakfast treat - and chat while the kids play. It is the best way to begin the week!

Harper, Liam and Connor enjoy their very own yummy breakfast treat - Fruit Loops!

We rounded our Monday evening out with soccer practice and then I went to my ballet class. 

Tuesday was the usual stuff. I start my grocery store rounds on Tuesday - Trader Joe's and my CSA pick up - while Liam is in school. Then it's lunch, nap, school pick up, homework, dinner, and rush out the door to small group. Where Noah promptly discovered Cheese Puffs. He refused to try avocado at dinner that night, but hand him a bright orange puffy treat (that isn't really a food at all) and he is all about it. I give up with that child.

Wednesday was more of the same. More groceries - and more Liam demanding cookies while in said grocery store. Cleaning my house, more homework. And one very hard yoga class at 7:15 that night. For some reason doing 90 minutes of hot yoga that late at night just makes me want to roll over and die. 

I spent Thursday morning clothes shopping for Noah while Liam was at school. Poor Noah has had a growth spurt (Not in weight - just height. Don't worry, you can still count his ribs.) and none of his summer clothes fit. The weather has been so warm here that he was attempting to wear some short sleeve tops from last year, and was walking out the door looking like a street urchin every morning. Seriously, crop top anyone? (Oh, and he is also really into putting gel in his hair now. He likes to spike it up into a "faux-hawk". So he was basically rocking a faux hawk and a polo shirt that looked like a crop top. It was not a good look. At least I can do something about the ill-fitting shirts. I'm not sure there is anything to be done about the faux hawk.)

And then, last night, Wes and I chased a leprechaun. 

Well, we ran a 5K called "Catch The Leprechaun 5K". Noah informed us that we would have to be really speedy because Leprechauns are really fast and super tricky. He also seemed to think there was a lot we could do with that pot of gold, so we were sent to the race with one assignment. Catch the tricky bastard. 

We meant up with our friends Brandy and Joe and lined up behind the bagpipers and the "Leprechaun". When the guy dressed as the leprechaun took his head start pushing a jogging stroller and taunting the crowd I knew there was no way I would catch him. I informed Wes that getting the pot of gold was all up to him. Sadly, the stroller pushing leprechaun was faster than both of us so we did not get a pot of gold. But we did find some post race beer!

Oh, and I have to include this next picture so you can see how festive we were.

Check out our socks! And it's hard to see, but we were wearing little shamrock headbands. And just in case you were wondering, I was not responsible for any of this festive stuff. Brandy was the one who went to Party City and Target ahead of time and stocked up on green gear for the race. She is so organized! Had it been up to me, I would have spent 3 days thinking, I have no green running gear and then thirty minutes before the race, gone to my closet, opened it up and been very upset because no green running gear had magically appeared. I love having friends who take care of me!

And now it is Friday. The week has flown by and I am ready to relax with the fam over the weekend. But first, I must attend Noah's school for a kindergarten performance. Noah singing and dancing on stage - is there anything better? I think not!

A Grown Up Birthday Party

The weeks have been flying in our house. Soccer has started again, and it just feels as though we seem to have something going on almost every night. It's enough to make you want to stay home and hibernate when Friday rolls around.

Unless of course there is a surprise birthday party for your friend Denise. Then you put all thoughts of hibernating aside, hire a baby sitter and head over to the coolest place in town to hang with some awesome people and celebrate a sweet friend.

                                              Jan, Lisa, the Birthday Girl, me, and Katy

Denise's husband (Brian) and her brother (Derek) own D.D. Peckers on hwy 17. It is a wing place/bar and it was the perfect place to party for Denise's birthday. (A side note... Even I, the self affirmed vegetarian, eat the wings when I am there. So good!) Everyone had a blast eating, talking, and hanging out. Many thanks to Brian and Derek for hosting us all - and providing the great refreshments.

No, I was not totally hammered, even though I appear to be in this group shot.

Oh, and there may or may not have been some dancing.

Let's just say that even thought the live entertainment was of the combat boot wearing, guitar strumming variety - and refused to do "happy" songs - we made it work. You can do the electric slide to any song if you really put your mind to it! Our moves were even good enough to entice Jeff to join us on the dance floor.

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No, not Wes. He doesn't dance in public.

Happy Birthday Denise, we love ya! (Oh, and next time we will surprise you at High Cotton!)

Scenes From Yesterday

Yesterday went by in a blur. Actually the first half of the week did - how is it Wednesday already? Some weeks are just like that I guess.

I didn't do anything all that exciting yesterday but I did take advantage of the fact that The Diva (aka, Liam, the one who has recently decided to throw fits about everything, thus earning him the nickname Diva) was at MMO and I had the morning free to run errands all by myself. I love that kid more than I can say, but he makes any outing so difficult these days. Basking in the freedom to shop without random temper tantrums I hit up Trader Joe's first and loaded up on most of our groceries for the week. I am more and more impressed with that store every time I go. So many cool products at great prices. After that, I hit up Target for a few items - and of course I left with several things that were not on my list.

As you can see, my trunk contained more than one Target bag. I stocked up on really important things like a new hair straightener, new shorts for the boys, chap stick, art supplies to make Noah a costume for Dr. Seuss Day at school (don't ask what I am going to make, I am not sure yet. I am so not that crafty Mom.) Oh and one other completely unnecessary but wonderful item.

Season 7 of Weeds on DVD. I think I actually squealed with delight when I saw it.

After Target I headed over to pick up our weekly CSA vegetables. It made me smile to look at all the pretty colors in our bag this week.

Kale, beets, carrots, and rainbow chard. Not sure what I am going to make with the rainbow chard but whatever it is, I know it will be pretty!

I finally picked up Liam and we headed home for lunch and nap time. Then it was straight to the carpool line to get Noah from school. When we got home it was such a beautiful day that we couldn't resist walking down the street to see some of our friends who were outside playing. Hannah and Connor - or "Han-no and Conny" as Liam calls them, were nice enough to share their toys with us.

The above is a picture of The Diva throwing a fit because he is not good at skateboarding.

Finally, we finished off the night by going to our new small group for Bible study. I never like having to settle into a group with a ton of new people that I don't know, but this group is super friendly and welcoming so they made it easy. I also enjoyed discussing the topic of worship. The idea that worship is the act of presenting yourself to something. Humans are made to worship - we all do it. The question is, what are we presenting ourselves to. What are worshiping? More importantly, what am I worshipping in my life? I'd like to say it is always God but that would not be the truth. Sometimes it's my family or material possessions (read the above paragraph about the Target trip) that I worship. Sometimes I find myself worshipping a clean house and well behaved children or diet and exercise. There are so many things we can give ourselves over to that are not God. It's nice to read scripture and be reminded that I need to present myself to God in all aspects of my life. And that I have the ability to do that not because I am such a good person - I'm not - but because he has brought me from death to life through the grace of His son Jesus.

And I think the above lesson will be really applicable to me right now as I deal with my little Diva. Instead of the frustration and anger that come naturally to me when I experience his tantrums, I want to try and see my being a mother as an act of worship to God. I hope that I can show my children love and grace the way I am called to.

And it looks like I can start right now. The Diva is currently screaming while throwing trains across the room because he cannot get them hooked together to go across his track. Deep breath...Here goes!

Recent Happenings

1. Last weekend Noah had a 4 day holiday, so on Friday my sister and I took the boys to the Aquarium. The boys loved going on an outing with Aunt J and we got lots of cute pictures. And some not so cute ones. Liam makes posing for pictures very frustrating.

See that look on my face in that last picture? You try and take a picture with Liam and your face will look like that too.

2. The best part of the holiday weekend? Wes and the boys went to the lake to see my in-laws, which meant I was home BY MYSELF for 2 whole days!!! I got to do so many things: Clean my house, go shopping alone, drink wine with friends, do my long run, go to yoga, hang with my sister while eating delicious desserts, and drink more wine with more friends. I also got to stay up late reading in my bed and then sleep in the next morning. It was bliss!

3. This is my new favorite meal.

Roasted vegetables and chickpeas over quinoa with a little seasoning and olive oil. So good! And it is so simple to make. And it makes a ton so we have leftovers for lunches the next day. Yum!

4. Liam came home from the his weekend away with a case of Croup. He was up all Monday night barking like a seal. The doctor has given us a dose of steroids to help calm the inflammation in his throat and last night he already seemed a little better. (Good thing my new favorite meal includes a shit ton of veggies - maybe all the magical veggie nutrients will keep me from getting his virus!)

5. I got my hair cut yesterday.

I know that looks like a mug shot but I felt stupid smiling for it. Whatever. Anyway, want to know how I knew it was time for a haircut? On Super Bowl Sunday, at my friends' party, I kept accidentally dipping the ends of my hair into my margarita. Nothing says get a haircut quite like sticky, tequila soaked split ends.

6. Noah is the cutest. His new thing these days is that he likes to buy me flowers. (And by that I mean that he likes to pick them out and then have us pay for them of course.) Yesterday he picked out this bouquet.

The picture quality is terrible but you can see my main point - which is that he picked out the dyed daisies that include an electric blue color. He was so excited about them though, and he carried them around Publix while we shopped declaring how much I was going to love them. So, as any good mom would do, I put those electric blue flowers in a place of honor in my living room and told him I thought they were beautiful! And you know what? They totally are. I love that kid :)

A Tutorial

On how to eat a donut.... By Liam Shealy.

A Night Of Firsts

Okay, let's start with this. Noah lost his first tooth!

His teacher, Mrs. Elsey, pulled it at school and they sent it home in a special little tooth holder. It was probably for the best that she was the one that did the pulling as he couldn't freak out about it quite as much as would have for us. He is very proud of the new hole in his mouth.

Another first for us was our first school dance. Last night Noah's school had a Family Valentine Dance. I will admit, at first I was skeptical. I wasn't sure if he would be interested and I was also nervous about taking Mr. Crankypants (aka Liam) out with us until 8:30 at night. However, we made plans to go with our buddies the Brunsons, and it ended up being lots of fun. The minute we walked into the darkened cafeteria - complete with DJ on stage - Noah, Liam, Abby Grace, and Caleb took off to join the mass of children going crazy in the center of the room. It was very hard for me to just let Liam go off - I mean there were giant 5th grade kids running around. I was afraid he would be trampled! But he would have nothing - I mean nothing - to do with me at all. He just kept running around after the big kids and no amount of coaxing could convince him to stay with us.

Noah immediately took off with his buddies and they played chase around the cafeteria. So much for dancing I thought to myself. Until I looked into the middle of the crowd and saw Liam. He was just standing there, staring at all the people around him and I thought, Oh no, he's going to freak out cause he's all by himself and can't find us. Nope. He observed for about a minute and a half and then just started busting out some sweet moves. And that is where he stayed. Throughout the course of the night he danced with several older women, and he also managed to stalk a little girl his own age and plant a giant kiss on her lips! Holy crap I think I have to worry about that one.

Noah finally joined the dancing when the DJ put on the song "Dynamite" by Taio Cruz. The kids went absolutely wild for that one, coming to the dance floor from all directions to jam. They all knew the words and even had hand motions made up to go along with the song. Apparently it's the anthem of their generation. They just wanna light it up, like it's dyna- mite!

By the end of the night the boys were part of the giant conga-line going around the room and I had to sit on the bench and laugh at myself for ever questioning whether they would have fun.

And, last but not least of the dance pictures, this one of Caleb busting a move. He was in the zone!

And just in case you were wondering, the tooth fairy did pay a visit to our house to reward Noah for losing that first tooth. We left her a note requesting that Noah get to keep his tooth, so when he woke up there was a tooth and a 5 dollar bill waiting under his pillow.

(I know what you are thinking. Five dollars?! All I will say is, it is very possible that when the tooth fairy awoke in a panic at 2am and realized she had not visited Noah Shealy, and then looked in her wallet, it was either the 5 dollar bill or a Target receipt. I mean, it's one of many theories!)

What I Did On Wednesday

So Liam has one of his epic diaper rashes. For real - this thing is scary. Bright red and swollen and extended all over his private area. And guess what that means? Oh yeah, it means that even with Tylenol and Motrin and a fresh diaper 4 times last night there was no sleeping in our house.

All of that to say that there is a reason why I find myself stuck on the couch with a sleeping boy laid out on my chest in the middle of the morning. And for the love of God, I refuse to move and wake him up so I have been goofing around online. Want to know what I learned? Good, cause I'm gonna tell ya anyway!

1. I have a love/hate relationship with Pinterest and I am not even on it yet. I feel like I should love it - everyone else does. And, when I look at it there are all these really cool pictures and ideas....But then, when I spend too much time looking, I start to get an anxious feeling in my chest. How do all these people have time to make/cook/craft/photograph all this stuff?! Then I start to feel completely inadequate and ask myself questions like, Why don't I have time to hand paint a "Time Out" chair for my kids to sit in? One that is covered in cutesy pictures and messages to let them know that even though they are being disciplined they are still loved. Listen, there are enough things in my life that make me feel less than perfect - I probably don't need to hear it from my computer screen too. I don't think I will be jumping on the Pinterest bandwagon.

But I did see this and laugh. (And then I thought of you Lisa!)

2. Okay, what else? Oh, I have discovered that once I latch onto to something I am likely to beat the idea into the ground. Like my love for nautical stripes. I saw about a bazillion things I wanted online this morning and they all had nautical stripes.

                                                                           source

                                                                             source

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Don't worry Wes, I didn't actually buy anything. (I couldn't move to get my wallet without waking up the 25 pounds of sleeping toddler on my chest.)

3. I took a People.com test about celebrities named 'Jennifer' and scored a perfect score. I felt awesome for about a half a second, and then stopped to think about the fact that I was celebrating a perfect score on a People.com quiz. (Higher standards Kelly, higher standards.)

And now I am laughing to myself because when Wes was trying to talk to me about politics the other day I got really mad and accused him of acting all condescending about me being uninformed. I believe I said something along the lines of, "I mean, I just don't have time to sit around and read politic blogs all day Wes! I am doing things!" But apparently I have plenty of time to take People.com quizzes. Hmm...

And that is all. (Well, not really. I did a lot of other stuff online during our random morning nap, but my laptop battery is dying so its time to wrap things up!)