Memorial Day Weekend

I am all confused. Because of the long weekend, I keep thinking today is Monday but it is really Tuesday, PLUS Noah is still in school for two more weeks so even though it seems like summer break is officially here it's not! I have got to get my act together!

It's probably harder to get into this week because of all the fun we had over the holiday weekend. Friday night was Freshfields - it was so good to be back there, sitting on my blanket and enjoying the summer evening! Saturday morning we took Noah to get his new bike. He was more than ready to move up a size, and after we picked it out we had to go for a spin!

We ended up going on the bike ride from hell as Noah spent the whole time complaining that his legs hurt and he couldn't do his bike. (Of course, we thought, Our child who hates change is hating his new bike.) And of course Liam just screamed the entire way because that is what he does these days. About everything. Please observe his ESAD face below. (That's "Eat Shit And Die" in case you were wondering.)

I ended up taking a short cut back to the house and carrying him to his room kicking and screaming while Wes stubbornly made Noah finish the ride, threatening him within an inch of his life if he complained.... And then wouldn't you know, when they finally made it home Wes discovered that the hand brake on Noah's bike had been engaged for the WHOLE ride and that was probably why the poor child was complaining that it was hard. Whoops!

After listening to this whole thing play out, I am sure of only one thing. Our neighbors think we are crazy.

After all that, it was necessary to go down the street to relax outside with our friends. It helped immensely that they entertained us with their new jump castle/water slide and some refreshing beverages. And yes, Caycee and I rocked it redneck style by laying out in the back yard.

Sunday we enjoyed some time at the pool while we threw a going away party for our friends the Davises. (More on that later. I am still in denial that they are leaving for New Orleans this week so I am going to gloss right over it for now.)

Monday was more pool fun in the morning and then we crashed hard. All four of us were really tired by last night and ready to wrap up the weekend.

It was a really nice Memorial Day Weekend. And I just have to say, I am so grateful to live in a place where we can enjoy a summer weekend with friends and family, doing whatever we want. I am so blessed to live in this country with all the freedoms that we have, and we are all in debt to the men and women who serve to protect those freedoms for us to enjoy.

So to all soldiers, past, present, and future - thank you. Thank you for all you do for us.

God Bless America.

Summertime, Summertime....

....Sum, Sum, Summertime!!

It's here folks! School is out (well for me and Liam), and the hot weather and excessive humidity are in full swing, and I could not be happier.

In case you were wondering, this is what summer in the lowcountry looks like. Well, this is what it looks like if you just ran 3 miles at 9am pushing a double stroller in the blazing sun.

Photo credit: Liam Shealy

Before I start waxing on about our grand plans for the coming months let me back up a bit. Wednesday was Noah's 7th birthday. (WTF?! 7? Wasn't he just born?) We celebrated with his friends a bit early the weekend before with a party at Monkey Joe's. He and Liam both loved playing on the all the jump castles, and Wes in particular loved being dragged into every structure by a clingy Liam.

On Wednesday the 22nd (his real birthday) Noah celebrated again. Bebe and Liam delivered cupcakes to his class at lunch, and stayed to eat with him which he got a big kick out of. (Also, Liam promptly had a complete meltdown in the middle of the cafeteria when Noah had to go back to class, screaming "I don't want to leave my 'brudder'!" At first I was sad that it was my last day of work, complete with graduation ceremony that I had to attend, and that I couldn't be there with Noah. Now I'm thinking I may have dodged a bullet!)

That evening the whole family came over to the house for presents and cookie cake. Noah had a blast seeing everyone and getting to play with his new Legos and video games. Oh, and the adults may or may not have had a little too much fun when we took the boys outside to play with their bubbles ;)

All in all, Noah had a very great birthday week!

And now it is Memorial Day weekend and we are going to kick off the season right! We are headed to Freshfields tonight for the start of the Friday night summer concert series. I see the pool and some serious relaxing in our future for this long holiday weekend.

Which is good 'cause come Tuesday morning I will want to take up drinking for real when I have to start potty training Liam. Please observe the text I sent Wes yesterday...

For serious, I am expecting some sort of compensation for dealing with whats about to go down next week.

Hope everybody has a fun and safe holiday weekend!!

My Mother's Day

I had to take a minute to recap our Mother's Day weekend. It was so very relaxing that I had a difficult time getting my head back into the daily routine this morning!

First of all, Wes had the whole weekend off which always make things seem a little easier. We spent Saturday going to Noah's soccer game and doing some yard work and house work - getting all the chores out of the way so that we could enjoy Sunday.

Sunday started out with the boys coming into my room to wake me with huge grins on their faces. (They get as excited about gift giving as I do!) They each gave me a card, and then I opened my gift. It was the clutch that I had been eyeing for a while and had "encouraged" Wes to consider as my Mother's Day gift!

Later that morning we meant my family to have brunch up in Summerville.

We enjoyed some yummy food and good company at the Mustard Seed. On the way out I wanted to snap some pictures so we stopped in front of the restaurant for a little photo session.

At this point I should probably mention that Liam is not the most cooperative for picture taking. In fact, he has this weird thing where he will often refuse to face the camera at all. Case in point....

After five minutes of trying to convince him to turn around I just said, "Forget it! Take the picture with him facing the wall." So we did. He snapped out of it long enough to jump in for a picture with Wes...Or so I thought. Would you please take a look at the face he is making?!

Sigh. That kid is so weird sometimes.

After brunch Wes, the boys and I headed to the beach! It was our first beach trip of the season (as it was only the third warm day of the season) and we had so much fun. Despite Noah's disappointment at the water being too cold to swim, we spent the afternoon enjoying soaking up the sun and building sandcastles. And I got to lay on a towel while Wes played with the boys which is really the best present a mom could ask for! And don't worry, Liam didn't want to pose for a group picture at the beach either. But he sure was happy waving around his shovels!

We finished our day off with dinner on the back porch, and then Wes put the boys to bed while I got to read downstairs. It was just what I needed in the midst of these busy weeks. I had the best time just enjoying time with my 3 favorite boys. I love them all so much - even that little one who does the opposite of everything I say ;)