A Little History and A Top Ten List

I came home tonight from Charlotte, where I spent the weekend hanging out and catching up with my good friend Julie. It was so fun - and a much needed break for this worn out Mom.

Before I tell you about all the fun things I did here is a little back story for you. Julie and I have now been friends for a decade! (That's a solid friendship right there!) And even though for most of the ten years we have known each other we have lived in different cities, our connection has stayed strong. I'm pretty sure that is due to the fact that during the time we did spend in the same city we were together almost 24/7. We went to class together, worked together, had the same group of friends, and we even spent many a night at each others apartments. Here is something you should know about us. When we are together, craziness is bound to ensue. I'm not sure what that is all about. In our normal lives we are each perfectly capable - her as a sales rep and me as a "domestic engineer" - but when we get together some latent tendency toward chaos  manifests, and all sorts of things happen. For instance one time, on a road trip from Charleston to Birmingham we managed to make it all the way to Asheville before we realized that we had missed the exit for the major interstate that we were supposed to be heading west on. Or, there was the time we tried to pay for parking in an open lot downtown. We were supposed to put our cash into the little slots of a metal box. Instead of sliding them in one at a time, like the sign said, we tried to cram them all in at once and ended up ripping $10 in cash in half! (BTW, we managed to convince the parking attendant to accept the cash anyway. Did I mention Julie was in sales?) My theory is that we are just always too distracted having fun with each other to pay attention to minor details like exit signs and instructions.

So anyway, this weekend we once again met up for fun and shenanigans. I am going to finish this post with some pictures and my Top Ten Reasons Why I Love Julie.....

#10  We grocery shop the exact same way - meaning we walk through the store throwing in whatever we went without paying attention to the price. I got to experience this as we went shopping first thing when I got there because she had some recipes to make for me. In particular a peanut butter banana bread that she assured me was awesome. (I laughed as she matter- of- factly informed me that the recipe required overly ripe bananas and that she had "been rotting some at home" just for my visit.)

#9  She let me relax with a cold beer while she cooked me dinner on Friday night. Just what I needed!

#8  Event though we planned to go for a run with her running club on Saturday morning, we decided with a quick 30 second conversation that after several beers the night before that was just not going to happen!

#7  She knows all my favorite places to shop, and therefore plans out all the great stores to take me to!

#6  She buys equally extravagant things and carries them around in giant shopping bags to make me feel better.

#5   She is willing to pose for cheesy blog pictures in public!

By the way, we had a good chuckle over the Taco Mac's sanitation rating as we walked in the door.

I was totally unaware that a restaurant could score higher than 100 - guess we could have eaten off the floor!

#4  She is super sweet and took me for a pedicure - and managed to make me feel that it was okay to paint my toenails a shade of green.

#3  She totally understands a girl's need to raid her friend's closet for a shirt to match her new pants.... And the equally important part of being willing to change her own outfit so that said girl (me) would not feel too "party girl" all by myself.

#2  Even though she is a Skinny Bitch (hehe) she consented to eat cheese and drink wine with me on our special girls weekend.

And the number one reason I love Julie? That's easy. Time spent with her is refreshing for my soul. Thanks Jules for a great weekend and for letting me spend time with someone who lets me be me! I hope that we will always be close and that when we are 85 we are still going on shopping sprees together. They make designer orthopedic shoes, right?

Nine Years

Let me tell you a story.

It's about this boy who began his senior year in college with the singular goal of working hard, getting awesome grades, and getting into a really good graduate school. He had no time for nonsense - he was an achiever! But nonsense found him. You see, he met this girl. She was a freshman with not a thought in her head about good grades. Heck, she barely went to class, let alone worried about what her grades were! But, for reasons still unknown, that boy liked that girl and they started dating. Well, dating might be the wrong word. She went out to dinner, movies, various Waffle Houses... with his friends while he studied hard in the library.

Well, one thing led to another and one day that boy married that senseless girl. No, really, he did! See....

That's me and Wes of course. Nine years ago today! I can't believe that he has put up with me for nine whole years. Although, some of his logic and hard working attitude has rubbed off on me along the way and - I'd like to think - some of my sense of fun has been transferred his way. And you know what we ended up with? Two people who are much better together than we ever were apart.

Wes, thanks for picking me - despite all the voices in your head that were probably screaming how bad I was for your GPA. I'm glad you ignored them! The last nine years have been great - not always easy by any means, no marriage is - but I would not want to be on this journey with anyone but you. Thanks for all you do for me (and for our boys!). Happy Anniversary!!!

PS.... You have one more year until 10. I think the present for that one will have to be really good. I'm sure it involves really nice jewelry, right?!

PPS.... And lest all you blog readers are looking at the above picture and thinking,What a great little family!, I will leave with the following. Don't want you thinking our life is too perfect.....

A little dose of reality for this sentimental post!

Father's Day Weekend In Pictures

(And a few words, cause lets face it - I'm a bit wordy!)

Friday night pool and pizza with pals.

Saturday morning downtown at the Farmer's Market.

(Don't you love that we go to the Farmer's Market and buy donuts?! That's why I included the above picture - to show you that we did also purchase lots of fresh produce.)

After the market, Broad Street Barber Shop for Liam's first (much needed) haircut.

Bye-bye baby mullet. We won't miss you!!!

Building sandcastles at Folly Beach

And, finally, Sunday... Church, lunch, and cupcakes. And giving Wes some cards and a couple gifts to let him know how much we love him and think he is a great Dad!

14 Months.....

And if he makes it to 15 months it will be a miracle. In the last 48 hours this child has made it all the way across the street before we could stop him and fallen down a flight of stairs. Lets not even begin to think about the number of times he has almost drown himself at the pool. Seriously?! I am going to be prematurely gray!

I love that picture of Liam because it is so totally him. In the middle of raiding the pantry - which he is NOT supposed to do - and he nonchalantly stops to take a little break to sip some water. You know, before he goes back to playing with the wine.

Liam is no longer a baby. He is all toddler, all the time. Into everything. Convinced he can do whatever Noah does, and already a pro at pitching fits and not listening. Don't get me wrong - he may be the cutest little boy I have ever seen, and he loves to kiss and hug and melt my heart on a daily basis, but it takes all my energy just to keep up with him. In fact there is no energy leftover to divert to my brain apparently. Just yesterday I went to grab a fruit salad that I had cut up earlier that morning from the refrigerator.

"Where's the fruit salad?" I asked Wes.

"What fruit salad?" he said looking over my shoulder into the fridge. No Tupperware container of fruit salad. Weird.....then the light bulb went off.

"Oh Lord!" I shrieked and lunged for a cabinet across the kitchen. I yanked it open and sure enough, there was the Tupperware of fruit sitting in the cabinet - all warm and slimy. Who does that?! Someone whose brain is fried, that's who! (By the way, Wes literally spent at least 2 whole minutes rolling on the floor laughing at me. I couldn't blame him - I totally deserved to be laughed at. Although, he stopped abruptly when he realized how much money in fruit had just been wasted.)

So, how am I going to make it through? Grin and hold on for the ride I guess. This time with Liam will go way too fast so I guess I will just accept all the crazy for what it is.

And my new coffee pot should help things too! For our anniversary (which is next week - yes, I get my presents early) Wes got me a Keurig coffee maker. It is genius I tell you! Perfect for lazy people or those of us whose brain is too full to complete anything other than rudimentary tasks. It works like this....

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Ahhh.... a cup of coffee ready in less than a minute. Fuel for the day!

Old Friends

One of the consequences of moving around to a million different places early in our marriage is the fact that we have good friends spread out all over the place. Having little children makes it hard to road trip around the country visiting them - I hope as the kids get older that will change! In the meantime, we take whatever opportunities we can get to see our old friends. Over this weekend we drove several hours to Clinton, SC (no you are NOT supposed to know where that is) to see our friends the Bedenbaughs. They were there - in town from St. Louis - to visit Jeremy's family. We drove up to attend a surprise party for Jeremy on Friday evening. We had so much fun getting to see Jeremy and Amy, even just for a little while, but the most fun was watching our boys play together!

Liam and Sam (only about 11 months apart). Sam was not so sure about Liam trying to play with his toys. Also, for those of you who know Jeremy.... Is Sam not his total clone?!!!

Jude and Noah (both 5 years old) - I am SURE that if we lived closer these two would be great buddies. They had a blast playing video games, baseball, basketball, and just generally being crazy!

So much fun to watch the next generation hang out. Here's to hoping they have as much fun together as their parents always have!

Hot Child In The Suburbs

Summer is officially in full swing and it. is. HOT.

So, we have been spending most of our free time at the pool. Or near water of some kind. This past weekend my Mom was in town so we took the boys to the beach. Of course, it was high tide at Folly Beach so we had about a foot and half of actual beach to play on but it was still fun!

Between our beach outing and all the time that we are spending at the pool we are all getting just a bit of summer color. I am loathe to say "tan" because I am so NOT trying to tan. Seriously here is a picture of the arsenal of sunscreen that I take with me on all our outdoor adventures.

My children and I are perpetually coated in SPF 85 or above, yet Liam is already dark. Noah and I have some color, but Liam is getting taaannnn! Check it out...

If that is what he looks like after 2 weeks of pool time I am a little scared for what he may look like at the end of the summer. (I am SO not used to having a child whose skin does this - Noah is my little "Casper the Friendly Ghost"!)

Anyway, the water and the sun. That is pretty much what we are up to these days. I will say though, that I have been feeling very blessed lately. I mean, my JOB is to wake up every morning and go play at the pool with my kids. I am very grateful for the opportunity to stay at home with them while they are this age, and get to form all these fun, priceless memories of lazy summer days.

And just in case you think that by the end of the day we have had enough of splashing around here is proof that my kids are water babies....

Summer evenings enjoying our water table! Let the good times roll!

Preschool Graduation

Last Wednesday was Noah's last day of preschool. I remember dropping him off when he was 2 - kicking and screaming, by the way - and I was not emotional about it all. I knew it would be a good experience for him and I was desperate for a little time to myself, and so I was very calm about my son beginning preschool. Fast forward almost 3 years and it was a different story. The ending of preschool was very emotional for me! I can't believe he is moving on to "real" school! That we are leaving behind the innocent days of ABC's and snack time and singing songs about Jesus. I hate that next year I will be forced to pick him up in the car line rather than walk in to get him and chat with all the other families and the teachers. I will miss the fact that in preschool they learn Bible versus and pray before they eat. And the teachers - we will really miss the teachers! Plus, going to Kindergarten next year will be irrefutable proof that my little boy is growing up way too fast. 

His school didn't make it any easier on me. They had a whole Graduation Ceremony complete with cap and gown. (Are you trying to rip my heart out?!) Seriously though it was very cute. They sang some songs first. Even one about an alligator where they wore alligator hats.

That's Noah in the front row, in the blue. (Always in the front row when you're a shorty!) Then they filed out to put on their caps and gowns and the parents were treated to a little video presentation entitled, "When I Grow Up".  This may have been my favorite part. The director of the school interviewed each of the kids about what they wanted to be when they grew up. They all said things like doctor, teacher, princess, superhero, etc. Then it was Noah's turn. The conversation went something like this:

Director: "Noah, what do you want to be when you grow up?"

Noah: "A paleontologist!"

Director: "Wow! I can't believe you even know that word. What is a paleontologist Noah?"

Noah: "It's a dinosaur man who studies dinosaurs and studies fossils and stuff!"

She then tried to say thank and good bye but Noah totally interrupted with some long winded tale about how he had some fossils at home and how his Mom was going to hide them in the back yard for him to find like a real paleontologist. Everyone in the audience was dying laughing - Wes and I had tears running down our faces. It was so adorable!

After that video the kids came in down the center aisle of the sanctuary in their cap and gowns. 

Then they each came forward individually to receive their "diplomas" from their teachers.

After the ceremony we went back to their classroom for cake and punch. They each got a little graduation present from their teacher and the parents got a framed photo of their child in the cap and gown. As usual, we were the last people to leave the classroom (we like to chat!) and on the way out we snapped some pictures with his teacher, Mrs. Lighthart. She is too cute - and will forever be the standard that Noah uses to measure other teachers!

And so preschool is over. It was an awesome experience for Noah (and all of us really!).