Williams Fam

No Christmas card after all

2012-01-09T17:58:00.000-05:00

The only purpose of this post is to share that Walmart really messed up our Christmas card and so they never went out... So lest you are wondering why you never received yours, now you know. :)

Also I do plan to blog again once things settle down. Having your house on the market for an extended period of time is for the birds.

Merry Christmas Week

2011-12-18T17:02:00.002-05:00

Here is to our 2011 Christmas card that I really didn't think was even going to happen. Thanks Walmart one hour photo. Guilt narrowly avoided. (at least about this). Now if I can just get them mailed. In all seriousness, Merry Christmas - I hope your week is filled with anticipation and lots of family and fun!

My Pink Printhess and Sick Villian

2011-11-01T22:13:00.000-04:00

When we were looking for Halloween costumes this year, I picked out the cutest little Smurf costume you've ever seen for Emme. It was darling - it was pretty much made for my little petite Emme. She really does make a cute little person. (The gnome costume she wore last year still makes me laugh)

The problem is that the only thing she wanted to be was a pink princess and she wouldn't even hear of anything else. For weeks she's been talking about being a pink princess - er... pink printhess. Not any color would do - it had to be pink!

I sat on the floor of the store with her trying to sell her on the merits of the Smurf. At one point, I think I actually had her talked into it. But in the end, she stood firm (aka threw an outright tantrum). I resigned to the pink printhess, reasoning that there will be many many times in her life that I will have to draw a line and stand firm, and this probably isn't one of those times. I give you the pink printhess!!

Poor Noah was sick for Halloween. Strep. Again. No trick or treating here. We typically don't go trick or treating anyway, but there were other church festivities that we missed.

A very sick and irritable Annakin Skywalker.

No worries, he wore his costume everyday for the past two weeks, so we got our money's worth.

NYC and Vegas

2011-10-25T20:33:00.003-04:00

Within the span of a week I was in NYC for a few days and then Las Vegas for five - whew! I missed the babies like crazy, but I will say that I had some much needed 1x1 time both with friends and Mark.

First up, a fabulous girls weekend in NYC for my friend, Katherine's 30th birthday. We stayed at the Waldorf Astoria and between the four of us we managed to squeeze in shopping in SoHo, a Cirque show at Radio City Music Hall, Grand Central, 9-11 Memorial visit, fabulous dining, the Today show, purse shopping in China Town (ha!), the Little Italy food festival and Central Park.

New York City, have I told you lately that I LOVE you?

Times Square

We took this water taxi down to battery park and then made our way to the 9-11 Memorial.

The Freedom Tower. The flag is much larger than it appears and is emotionally stirring as a backdrop to the memorial.

It is hard to show in pictures how massive the fountains are. It is truly moving.

There were many of these that read "... and her unborn child." There really aren't even words...

This tree was taken from ground zero, rehabilitated, and replanted at the memorial site.

On a lighter note - we headed to China Town where I crossed a very important Bucket List item off of my list: Haggling for a knock off purse - ha.

I went back to Balthezar for the Pavlova with berries... YUM. I had been dreaming about it since our trip to NYC last year.

We stumbled past the Kardashian store, Dash. hehe - yeah, I know you know what I'm talking about. There was a long line out of the store. We did not go in, but I did indulge in snapping a photo as proof that we've been there.

Street shopping in So Ho.

Central Park

Thank you Katherine, Sarah and Meagan... what a blast! Let's do it again!

If you're still with me, I'll move on to our fabulous Vegas Vacation. We flew out on Tuesday and took the red eye back on Saturday night. Mark had to work the first two days during day - but me and the other fabulous and fun wives - April and Holly- made the best of it at the spa and the pools while our hubby's slaved away during the first two days. :)

The weather was picture perfect the entire time. This was a ridiculously indulgent resort - definitely the nicest I've ever stayed at (or probably will stay again at for that matter!). I actually felt twinges of guilt my second day of just lounging around at spa and the pool... but I managed to get over it. I didn't actually take that many pictures because between the sauna and the giant pool bed, I couldn't really be bothered.

We ate, and saw, and tried our luck at slots and blackjack. The restaurants are incredible - the lights were bright and there was someone who was always waiting to meet your every request. A strange but fun experience.

One of my favorite nights was the night that Mark and I won ~$200 at blackjack, celebrated by jamming until 2 AM to an awesome 90s cover band, went back to blackjack, lost our $200, and then gorged on "What-A-Burgers" at 3 AM. (Note to my Amanda's: The lead singer would hand me the mic a few times and let me sing the chorus to a few songs... ummm awesome!) It was definitely a flashback to our dating days and it was tons of fun.

View from the spa

There it is! That's my spot. I logged many hours here.

Love these ladies.

The Strip

Dinner at the Bellagio

This was for the benefit of our boys.

Love the fountain show.... !!

William Wellington Williams

2011-10-14T21:36:00.008-04:00

Mark's grandfather passed away on October 4th, 2011. There is a perfectly suitable quote that comes to my mind when I think about Granddaddy Williams, and it is this:

To laugh often and much; To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded. (Emerson?)

He lived a long happy life and he blessed his family and friends in ways too numerous to mention.

Mark gave a eulogy at his funeral. It was one of the few times I've seen my husband break down and cry. It was beautiful and I was so proud of him because I know how hard it was for him. I wanted to share his words here. RIP Granddaddy Williams, we love you.

Thank you everyone for coming today. For those of you that don't know, I am Mark Williams, Captain Billy’s grandson. I’d like to share some thoughts and a few stories about my Grandfather today.

My grandfather was a very special man and he taught by example how to be a hardworker, to love others, to be generous, always help others and most of all to love your family. We all used to ask him on his most recent birthday’s what the secret to life was and he used to tell us, “no stress”. I think we can all take something from that. If you treat people the way he did, if you love people the way he did, if you enjoy life each day the way he did, if you go fishing 3 times a day the way he did, maybe that will put you too on the path to a long and happy life.

Many of my greatest memories are with my Grandfather…..sitting between his lap on the big tractor dragging the dirt road, working the garden, teaching me how to shoot, trips out to eat, letting me drive the lane from the age of 3, Christmas mornings and of course fishing and captaining the Gwen Marie.

Speaking of fishing, Dad and I always remark how passionate someone must be to do something twice a day, every available day for the majority of their life most of their life. As long as Granddaddy was at Horse Point he fished twice a day, for six months of the year, for 50 years. With roughly an average catch of 25 per trip, this totals roughly half a million fish he pulled out of the Piankatank river – Amazing.

There was never a dull moment with Granddaddy. I am sure many of us have been a victim of one of his pranks at some point, including me. I recall one time he and I were out fishing one day on the Gwen Marie - I couldn’t have been much more than 5 or so. I started getting bored of fishing so I decided to start tinkering with all of the electrical gadgets on the boat (now I know where my son gets that from). Granddaddy was watching me closely and told me a couple of times to that I was going to run the battery down which in retrospect was just a setup for what was to come. For those of you who don’t know the Gwen Marie, there as a kill switch on the right side of the boat from a spot that he usually fishes from so I naturally never noticed anything. Unbeknownst to me, he leaned down and turned the switch to off which killed all the power to the boat. I guess at some point I realized that the boat didn’t have power and asked him what was wrong and then told me to start up the boat to head home. Well, naturally the boat didn’t start so he handed me a crab net and told me I better start paddling home. So there I am, 5 years old, paddling a 45 foot deadrise as hard as I can paddle with a crab net and if I remember correctly, he never took his pole out of the water. Well, he finally clued me in on his little prank and just smiled and giggled at me. He was a lot of fun to be around.

Another one of my personal favorite stories was what I call the “fried chicken” story. Grandma had placed on order with the Deltaville Market, I think it was called Park Place at the time, to pick up a bucket of fried chicken at 4:30. Well 4:30 was rapidly approaching and Grandma was getting on him about not leaving. He finally tells me to c’mon so we hop in the truck, start it up, he looks at his watch and says 4:27 we got 3 minutes. Then he precedes to put the pedal to the medal, up and down the hills of the dirt road like a roller coaster the whole time I am laughing as hard as I can. Then we get to 17 and he floors it. We pull into the parking lot, he looks back at his watch and simply says “we made it”. Well the Horse Point lane to the highway is 1.5 miles and it’s another 3 miles or so to get to the market. According to my calculations, that means we had to average 90mph to go that distance in that amount of time. I have to say it was the most memorable fried chicken I ever had. Then there was the trip to Alaska. Well, I better leave that one alone.

You know, I truly believed that Granddaddy was going to live forever, especially with each and every passing birthday and I foolishly never thought this day would come. I am comforted in knowing that he lived a long and happy life, with memories that live on in each of us. There isn’t a single person in this church that he hasn’t affected or influenced in one way or another. We have lost a husband, a father, a grandfather, a great grandfather, an uncle, a fellow fisherman, a fellow gardener but his spirit lives within each one of us. I am going to miss you Granddaddy.

Thanks Alan Davis for many of these photos.

An Upset Mama Vent

2011-10-13T23:06:00.007-04:00

I've been debating sharing this for over a year and decided not to. But tonight I've had it and want to vent.

The topic here is artificial colors in food. What I have learned over the past year and a half is that Noah is sensitive to the dyes in food - especially Red 40.

Before you label me as crazy, know that I know my child inside and out - his heart, his behavior quirks, his routines, habits, feelings, his fears, what makes him supremely happy, etc. I am telling you the truth.

For the most part, we have tried to go the natural and organic route where possible when it comes to the kids. Not Nazi's by any means - just where possible. The first time I started to get clued into the effect of these dyes was shortly after Noah's tonsillectomy. I remember noticing that shortly after he received his hospital issued red Tylenol dose, he would lose his mind and be in hysterics over the most trivial thing. At the time, we attributed it to just being in pain. Looking back, and knowing the episodes that were to follow, I now know exactly what was going on.

As is common following a tonsillectomy, we gave him lots of Popsicles. In fact, we all picked up a Popsicle a night habit. The whole family. We chose a "kid friendly" brand, but didn't pay that much attention to the labels other than to confirm that it didn't have artificial sweeteners. Noah's behavior took a serious turn for the worst after his surgery. He became irritable and super hyper. He was like a cartoon character, bouncing off of the walls, not listening to us. It was awful and I remember thinking "what the heck is going on? The terrible twos are a breeze compared to the threes!" Since we knew that his behavior had drastically changed following the surgery, we racked our brains for what might be going on with him.

His teacher called it out as well. She helped us set up a plan to address this awful behavior. She asked us, what is something that he likes to do that you can take away from him every night if he doesn't have a good day at school (get two stickers on his chart)? This will be his incentive to behave. The only thing we could think of was the Popsicles we were eating every night. So as we withheld the Popsicles, we noticed that his behavior returned to normal - almost immediately - my sweet kid was back. His teacher attributed it to the reward system, but I knew there was something else going on. His thinking was clear, and also the change came too suddenly - like within a few days.

Soon we put the pieces together and have kept him off of anything not natural sense. Sometimes he'll get a hold of something and it becomes evident very quickly as he turns into another kid.. bouncing off of the walls, being very defiant, etc. (moreso than a typical 4 yr old boy). One time he even told me, "Mommy, something is funny with me. I feel so silly".

Also, do you remember these hives?

The doctors were baffled and decided to attribute the severe hives to "just a virus" of some sort. I remember telling the doctor at the time that I was scared it might be an allergic reaction to strawberries, since I had fed him strawberry yogurt that morning. In looking back, that particular brand of yogurt had Red 40 in it! I fully believe that these hives were a reaction to the yogurt that we fed him that morning that had Red40 in it! (I usually fed him YoBaby Organic, but for some reason on this grocery trip had picked up something else).

I could go on with more anecdotes, but I'll get to why I am upset tonight. Mark went to the nearest grocery store on Sunday evening since we were so busy and picked up a bag of apples for the kids. I remember asking him if they were organic, and he said no. I was a little irritated, but reasoned that at least it's a healthy food - and God bless Mark for getting the groceries. We noticed that the apples were bleeding red into the flesh, but I thought, there is no way that they put dye on apples - right?

Wrong. Noah's behavior has been epic the last few days - and he's had at least one of those apples a day. Tonight he was doing swan dives off the stairs onto my friend's couch in between running laps around her house while yelling at the top of his lungs. He had time out 3 times in one hour. Come to find out, yes, they DO put Red 40 in apples. They do this to some "Red and Delicious" apples to make them more appealing. Why? It just makes me so mad that they sneak these things into our food. And of all things produce.

Mamas, read your labels! There, I'm done and I feel better.

Instagram Download

2011-10-12T22:48:00.001-04:00

I have lots of catching up to following a month like no other. For now though - will just share my latest Instagram download from the phone. Amy introduced me to this a few months ago and I've been sucked in. It really is a lot of fun.

Just a Small Town Girl

2011-09-04T18:46:00.004-04:00

"... living in a lonely world..." Those classic words of course in reference to the 80s band Journey. And I had one heck of a birthday weekend seeing them live. Dad and Suma scored us all tickets to the NightRanger/Foreigner/Journey show... a couple of rows back and with VIP tickets to the Foreigner hospitality tent.

Dad says that Journey is in my blood because he would wind up my baby swing in our apartment in Germany and blast Journey records. I believe him because as early as I can remember I've known every lyric to every one of their songs... along with Fleetwood Mac.

The show was incredible... even Night Ranger who I wasn't as familiar with (Sister Christian anyone?) was rockin'. Foreigner was also amazing and they were only a warm up ("I Wanna Know What Love Is", "I've Been Waiting... for a Girl Like You", "Jukebox Hero", and many more).

Note - I wore a vintage Foreigner t-shirt to the show to show my love and later found out that is a "faux pas".. oops, let me just say "Pardonez Moi".. or whatever... to all of those who worry themselves about such things.

I can't stress how super impressed I was with the new Journey front man, Arnel Pineda. He was born to be a front man with an amazing voice and stage presence. His voice is definitely reminiscent of Steve Perry... yet somehow he's just better (It hurts me to say that). WOW. Just a really fantastic concert. We didn't want it to end. SO much fun!

Here are some pics. (I'm having tech difficulties getting my videos to upload :()

Thank you SO MUCH Dad and Sue for an UNFORGETTABLE night. We cannot stop singing!

Getting excited...

Foreigner!

Journey

Daydreaming About Vacation

2011-08-17T17:26:00.005-04:00

As I shared here, we spent the first half of our vacation on the beach. We spent the second half in Horse Point. I haven't had a chance yet to get some of the details about that time posted yet though, and I need to do that before I stop daydreaming about our time spent there or before the memories get fuzzy... so here is a recap.

Those days at the beach - ON the beach - were pretty close to perfect. We had several moments where I would have been absolutely content if life continued on in that state for forever. Not surprising since that's part of the point of vacation. However, there was a stark difference this year...

In previous years' trips to the beach, the kids were wittle beebies - so as much as I love the beach, the time spent on the beach was not exactly relaxing. It was spent trying to keep the babies from eating sand, up and down and up and down, making sure naps stayed on schedule, and dealing with the crankiness that comes with a child spending more than an hour in the sun. Time spent on the beach felt a little forced and with only fleeting, teasing moments of relaxation.

This year, Mark and I marveled at how we could now just plop in the sand with a tasty beverage, lather of the kids with SPF 90, sit back, and watch them play happily in the surf. Watching them run around and play, build sandcastles and chase each other was well, a "moment" for me. It was a taste of their growing independence and while I don't always welcome that thought, we really appreciated this new phase.

We also made time to do some touristy things - one of which was a visit to the Aquarium. The kids LOVED it. They saw huge sharks, touched manta rays, and were freaked out by komodo dragons. I really had to lobby to buy this picture, as Mark just doesn't understand the value of cheesy souvenirs like this.

We were also treated to fireworks over the ocean on our last night there...

The second half was equally enjoyable, spent at Horse Point at our own pace. We slept in, boated, kayacked, spent time on the beach, pool, went on golf cart rides and ate seafood everyday. I also made several trips to the local produce farm for tomatoes, watermelon and squash. We did find time be a little productive and get the kitchen cabinets primed in preparation for painting them soon.

So here's to our summer '11 vacation. It was pretty darn great. The only thing that makes being back not so depressing is planning our next vacation this fall. Vegas, here we come!

Dear GrandDaddy

2011-08-15T18:44:00.000-04:00

I was thinking about a few things...

I am really grateful that I got to hold your hand and tell you bye on Saturday - that meant so much to me. I am also grateful that you are not suffering anymore. You hung in there though, didn't you. You were tough 'til the end.
There is no doubt how much you loved us all... I'm grateful nothing went unsaid.
Your funeral service was really beautiful. From the soloist to the music to the words of remembrance, it was all very special. Clara held up well considering everything and looked so pretty.
Zach did a really great job on your Eulogy. Even though there was one .. ahem... inaccuracy in his speech, overall it was spot on. (We all know I was your favorite)
Mom wrote a letter to you, that Zach read at the service. It was perfect and captured your essence and the love you have for your family. She's so cool, isn't she?
Noah asked on his own to place a flower on your resting place like the pall bearers. He specifically chose blue because it is his favorite color. I know he doesn't really understand all of this, but I promise I will tell him, and Emme all about you in the coming years.
We love you very much... Rest in Peace.

Love Kylie

Here is a very random assortment of photos. Sadly, most of my pics of you are packed in the POD for our future move.

Beach Babies

2011-07-31T22:22:00.000-04:00

I have more photos than I know what to do with, so I'll just start with beach photo segment. So much fun!

It's a Williams Family Vacation

2011-07-23T14:15:00.003-04:00

That title is in reference to our all time favorite movie series, National Lampoons Family Vacation. For Mark's birthday in April, the only thing exciting I could think to give him was a surprise get-way vacation to the Outer Banks - hence the below piece of paper that has been taunting us on our refrigerator since April. Sadly, those plans had to be cancelled due to all of the work we had to do to prep our house for sale.

But alas, the time has come for vacation. And that's what we're doing for the next 10 glorious days. Pack the cooler and cue the "Vacation" quotes, babe.

Emme is Two, Father's Day, and Noah's Surgery

2011-06-26T21:52:00.006-04:00

I considered posting three separate posts on each of these very significant events, but we are moving at the speed of light so far this summer, and if I don't post about these events now, it won't happen. So... hang with me for a bit.

1) First let's cover Emme's 2nd birthday. We traveled to Lake Tillery for some long overdue grandparent and Memommy time, and also to visit with Uncle Zach, Amy and Uncle D and "Header". Crazy work schedules + prepping our house for sale meant that Emme didn't have much in the way of a well planned out and put together party. Who cares though because a couple of banners, rings, wands, and paper crowns from the Dollar Store and Wal-Mart, a lot of love -and voila - a Princess theme party comes to life. Emme is really into anything that is remotely girly so this worked out well. I think Uncle D and Zach enjoyed the princess crowns.

Our present to her was this wooden dollhouse - I think I would have absolutely loved this at her age and beyond.

Mom, Amy and I also had some fun with the grandma and grandpa dolls. Is this bad? I know, I'm sorry. Immaturity at its best.

But c'mon, even Grandma thought it was funny.

2) Father's Day: Happy Father's Day to my Dad, GrandDanny, Papa, Granddaddy Walt, and GrandDaddy Williams. Of course... Mark! Mark is going to be embarrassed that I've posted this on the internet, because he was embarrassed when he read it (esp about the beer part) but it's just too funny not to.

Also, I posted this picture of Dad on Facebook. I think it captures both my Dad's rebel spirit and sense of humor in one shot. Killer rendition ofWanted Dead or Alive, Dad.

Also, I really liked this shot of GrandDanny and Emme that I got last weekend.

3) This Friday, the 24th, Noah went in for the surgery that I mentioned here. It was like deja vu from his last few operations in that he went in happy as can be, and then woke up a basket case. These after pictures are pitiful. BUT - he cried for 45 minutes and then was back to himself!

The diagnosis ended up being what the Dr called a "blood clot tumor" - which sounds MUCH worse than it is. It's very benign, and there is no further cause for worry! Whew! He's done so well in his recovery (that is - once the anesthesia wore off). I love this little crazy dude. Here is him today singing one of his favorite songs.

Here are a few more pictures and there are so many more in the gallery.

Interesting Things Found While Decluttering

2011-06-14T22:03:00.001-04:00

Abercrombie and Fitch Size 2 Bootie Skirt. Eww.

Silver Teenie Weenie Bikini. Also Ewww.

This wouldn't cover my big toe now.

The infamous "Im 21 Today" birthday shirt.

I had a serious well documented obsession with cut off shorts. Truth be told I still love them.

This Rubbermaid box reads: "Kylie's personal Junk. Do not Enter Except Mark, the Amandas, or Nakia" This was written so that if I died, my future children could not see my college photos and think it was ok to follow in my footsteps. I have since remedied this problem altogether and gotten rid of all things I'm not proud of. Children - Your mama was nothing less than an angel - that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Oh Emme

2011-06-11T20:59:00.004-04:00

Oh Emme I've been thinking about this day since the day I found out that I was having a sweet little girl. The technician said, "um, yes, it's a girl! Congratulations". I sat there with my belly exposed thinking, "really?!? Are you sure?" As the reality set in, I got super excited. I had visions of pigtails and pink dresses. I cried. I actually had this vision of you below in my head - I did!!

Emme Caroline, I promise I will try to let you be whoever you are in the future, but for now thank you so much for obliging me with ridiculous pigtails and rainbow bikinis. I love you so.

Anniversary Phone Pics

2011-06-05T21:16:00.000-04:00

There is just no time leftover to blog these days, but luckily there was time to celebrate 6 amazing years married to Mark Williams and snap a few phone photos. Thanks Teenie and Papa for watching the babies so we could celebrate with some friends. Here's to more blessings than I ever imagined. XO

Our own little after party...

For Sale (I think!)

2011-05-30T19:38:00.005-04:00

We had to forgo our original Memorial Day plans so that we could come back early and declutter our house. After weeks of deliberation, we have decided to try to sell our house again. We've gone back and forth several times - and weighed out about 5 different options. I expect the next few weeks to be stressful, but hopefully it will be worth it in the end.

We were still able to squeeze in some rest and relaxation, crab fishing and kyaking an hour away at Horse Point - as well as visit with Mark's grandparents.

Bicycle helmets, as it turns out, are not just for looking cool

2011-05-23T22:07:00.002-04:00

We have been really busy lately. Between traveling, busy work schedules and mulling over a major life decision on whether to give it another go at selling the house, I have a huge backlog of things I want to document.

One thing at a time though. This weekend we traveled to Pop and Sumas to celebrate Noah's 4th birthday!! I'll try to keep the sappiness to a minimum, but don't think you're getting off without a slideshow. Sorry, it must be done. I did Emme's first year here, and so Noah has his coming. Maybe next post - his actual birthday is Wednesday.

First on Noah's birthday wish list was a batcycle and a batman cave. He's been talking about it ever since he played with these toys at Charlie's house. We've probably heard about the batcycle three times a week for 6 months. After a rush order from the internet, Pop and Suma delivered!

We started him off opening his first gift of bike gloves, elbow and knee pads. He was mildly excited. As he put them on, we said, "Man, if you only had a new bike to use these with, that would be so cool". We pulled out his toddler bike that Emme now rides. He actually seemed OK with this.

Then, while he was sitting on the "baby bike", Daddy came around the corner with the shiny new big boy bike, and the look on his face was so cute.

He was brave and rode his new bike several laps around the deck. One problem... we were so proud of our big boy zooming around on his new bike that we forgot to teach him about the brakes.

Ten minutes into his riding, everyone watched wide eyed and helplessly has he flew off of the deck, Evil Kaneval style, and flipped over landing face first only the patio below. His head smacked the pavement, but thankfully was well protected. His brand new pads proved to be a great investment - as they were all scratched up.

This is me wiping his tears and explaining that sometimes we just have to get back on and try again!

It was not a proud parenting moment, but after a good crying session and an ice pack prepared by Suma, we talked him into getting back on the bike. He is still a little traumatized, but he's taken several rides since the fall.

We tried to explain that everyone falls and that is just part of riding bikes... you fall, you get right back on! I don't think that helped his mindset. It's just unfortunate that his first fall was so dramatic.

We cooked out burgers and dogs and then finished the night off catching some catfish down at the pond.

The kids had so much fun... thank you so much Pop, Suma, Aunt Shelbz and Aunt Alex!! xoxo Can't wait to see you guys again soon. Here are some more pics.

Valium and Cartoons

2011-05-09T21:06:00.002-04:00

Noah developed a strange lump on the palm of his hand a few months ago. We got a call from school, where his very observant teacher had spied it as Noah raised his hand. She thought it was odd and so she took him to see the nurse, who was also puzzled and decided to give us a call.

I honestly wasn't overly concerned because it didn't seem to bother Noah, and half of the time, I couldn't even see what they were talking about. Soon though, it did start to bother him, and it did seem to grow. (and sometimes shrink, and then grow). Sometimes it would really hurt him, to the point of needing Tylenol, if he had played hard on the monkey bars or taken a fall on it. Most of the time, and he will tell you this, "it only hurts when you push on it!". Here is a picture of it the day of his MRI.

We eventually took Noah to his pediatrician, who had never seen anything like it before. They referred us to the best pediatric orthopedics in town. Once we got in, they immediately scheduled Noah for an MRI. Mark had to be in the MRI machine with Noah, who was on valium in an attempt to keep him calm. I wish I had taken a picture of the two of them smooshed into this machine together. It was so funny - and at the same time equally not funny - that I just welled up with tears and then laughed them away.

I just knew this particular MRI wouldn't work because working meant that Noah had to keep his hand absolutely still for 30 minutes. Being still is not something that Noah - or most other 3 year old boys are very skilled at. The alternative was to put him under full sedation and do the "tube" MRI - not a desirable option, so we thought we'd give this a shot in the hopes of avoiding him being put under. Well - there's something to be said for valium and cartoons, because he sat perfectly still, zombied out on cartoons and valium (ok, valium and cartoons… Noted, ha)! He was so good, he earned a trip out for vanilla ice cream with fudge on top.

We went back to the orthopedic today for the results. They are still puzzled, because while this looks and feels like a ganglion cyst, the docs have never seen this particular presentation before, and the results are inconclusive at this point, which is obviously frustrating. They've scheduled surgery in June to have it removed (and then sent off to be tested). He will likely wear a cast for a while after.

This will be Noah's 3rd surgery in his almost 4 short years (#1 ear tubes, #2 tonsils). Poor thing! But one thing I know is that he will handle it well and take it like a champ because he is one tough little booger. He just keeps rolling with the punches and smiling - and I've decided to take on his very same attitude about this whole thing.

Best One Yet

2011-05-08T21:48:00.000-04:00

Happy Mother's Day to all of the wonderful mothers and grandmothers in my life... Mom, Sue, Chris, Grandma Flo, Grandma Peggy, Grandma Clara, Sandy, and Grandma Williams. I've certainly had some really special women to nurture me and learn from. I look forward to seeing the ones that have passed again one day.

Today was my third mother's day, and the best one yet. Without too much detail, I'll just say I had a perfect day. Thank you Mark, Noah and Emme. I am so lucky.

Daddy later told Noah that I was 45 years old. I then told Noah that Daddy was 99 years old. Noah laughed.

Noah can't keep a secret to save his life. Several days ago, he described this to me in detail, but told me he wasn't supposed to tell me yet. He was beside himself with excitement this morning when he could finally present this to me. I've never seen him more proud of himself. Throughout the day, he kept bringing it over to me and presenting it to me again, and again, "Happy Mudder's Day, Mommy". What a feeling. Noah I absolutely LOVE this, I will treasure it always.

Emme, I adore this as well! xoxo

My new French Press! Thanks babe. There is nothing like a good cup of coffee, and this baby delivers.

Mark is especially proud of his card. Ha.

This evening I was pooped, and we did some of this.

I've never mentioned this before, and but I've thought about dedicating an entire post to Emme's obsession with my hair. She could twirl it for hours.

Noah loves America's Funniest Home Videos.

My babies are the best. I got plenty of kisses and hugs today.

We've been so busy lately that I am a little behind on keeping the blog up with current happenings and excursions. For example, when we went to Amanda's wedding, we dropped the kids off at Lake Tillery for the weekend. When we came back, we got to spend some time with Nana, GrandDanny, and MeMommy. Such a fun visit!

While we were out for boat ride, we saw a Bald Eagle! Just beautiful.

Hard to resist photo-shopping her hair bows. I love them.

Wendy and Isaac's Nashville Tennessee Wedding Weekend

2011-05-06T23:06:00.000-04:00

Goodness, I could start a wedding blog with the wedding's I've been to in the last year! Whew, what a weekend last weekend was. In fact, between Amanda's wedding and Wendy's, and other travels, I haven't been home on a weekend in a month! My laundry is piled high and I'm looking forward to a relaxing Mother's Day weekend with the Fam. It was all worth it though and I felt honored to be at each of these intimate and special weddings.

For Wendy's wedding, I opted to make the drive to Nashville and leave the kids home with Mark for this one. It was just too long of a trip for the kids.

The drive was long, but I came prepared with my audio books 1) Water For Elephants and 2) Rob Lowe's Stories I Only Tell My Friends. (I don't have the ambition to look up or remember how to correctly site books, so excuse me if I got it wrong) I only finished the latter, and it was really good. I definitely recommend it. Rob Lowe has led a really interesting life - not just interesting because of his celebrity, but interesting by any standards. He's a likable guy, with a hint of an inflated ego, but probably less so than most celebrities. Not that I am judging.

Back to the wedding. The wedding was at the famous Opryland Hotel. The hotel is AMAZING. One needs to never leave the hotel to have all of the dining, shopping and spa experiences they can afford. Every staff member there just walks around eager to please. It was luxurious and beautiful.

The first night we had dinner and live music while a few of us danced, and Zach entertained in ways I can not write about here if he is to have any hope of politics in his future! Those pictures and stories will remain family legend. I pooped out early (relatively early - it was still 1 am!) - weary from a long day's drive.

What a mess

and then there were two....

and then three....

and then five... (that's Wendy in the bottom right hand corner)

It was a super fun night.

Danny with Amy and Heather

Wendy cutting loose a bit before dinner

Me and Wends

The next morning was WONDERFUL. I slept in an in big ol' bed by myself, and when I woke up, I stretched my arms above my head, grinned, yawned, and happily dug myself right back deep into the down comforter for some more sleep. Later, I ordered breakfast and coffee, and rented two movies, and thoroughly enjoyed my solitude. I can't even express how absolutely indulgent and enjoyable it was. What a great way to recharge the old batteries for this introvert. I may have to plan one of these once every 6 months.

The movies I watched were The Dilemma and Blue Valentine. I recommend Blue Valentine. Such a stirring movie... AMAZING actors. For real. Go see it. Like right now. You can't be in it for the resolution though - you have to be in it for the experience.

Again, back to the wedding! The ceremony and reception were absolutely gorgeous. The ceremony took place in front a fountain and under the greenery of the trees in one of the atriums. Wendy was a BEAUTIFUL bride.... GOR- GEOUS!! I probably sound like I'm on repeat after Amanda's wedding, but it's true. Unfortunately, I did not get that many pictures between my camera battery dying and having to use my cell phone. But, here are some with more in the gallery. Congrats to Wendy and Isaac - I love you and wish you a wonderful and fabulous life together!

My newest sisters

Amanda and Scott's Wedding

2011-04-24T22:13:00.002-04:00

Amanda and Scott's outdoor mountain wedding this weekend was insanely beautiful. Set in the Appalachian Mountains near Blowing Rock, NC, this wedding was the epitome of a "romantic, intimate wedding". I was blown away by the details that reflected the special people that Amanda and Scott are. We kept commenting that the setting almost felt like a dream.

It was such a very special weekend, with the best of friends. I'm sad it's over, but have made wonderful memories... and of course... pictures! (much more in the gallery) Congratulations Amanda and Scott - we are so happy for you and wish you all the happiness in the world!

Grandmother McCoy, Beloved Matriarch

2011-04-18T21:32:00.001-04:00

Sunday evening, Grandmother McCoy passed peacefully in her sleep, surrounded by her 7 children, one of which is GrandDanny. She was a very strong woman with an even sharper wit. She always made me laugh. She had 25 grandchildren and several great-grandchildren - and even so, never forgot a birthday card. Even though I was her step grandchild, she never made me feel different, and I remember picking up on that as a child - and appreciating it as an adult. I am sad that she is gone. I'm sad for her children, for her grandchildren, and for the great grandchildren that will not get to know her. I'm glad that she is out of pain and with the Lord. Rest in Peace Grandma McCoy.

A Haircut and a Frog

2011-04-11T21:43:00.002-04:00

What happened to my little shaggy haired over grown toddler? Who knew how big a difference a haircut can make? Well, I suppose that is common knowledge, but I can't stop staring at Noah since his haircut on Sunday. It's like he grew into a boy overnight.

This boy, who not too long ago was speaking his own toddler dialect and using a binky is now really good at soccer and golf, has a strong preference for wearing basketball shorts and flip flops, making his own jokes, and buckling himself into his car seat.

Some of his recent favorite things are his race cars, Chipotle, his Tarheel jacket, his Hokie jacket, and trips to "Old McDonalds". His best friend is Daddy. He runs around the house jumping off furniture, and cries at the scary parts during "Tangled". Growing up right before our eyes... it's crazy.

In other happenings this week, we went to our favorite local Mexican restaurant to celebrate Mark's 36th birthday.

O'le.

Here is,= a short video we made tonight playing with the kids... Sorry for the potty humor - there are many that won't find this as funny as we obviously did. (hint, you have to listen carefully).

Lastly, being resourceful for entertainment, Noah pushes Emme in her babydoll stroller as fast as he can across the room. She loves it.

On this week in April 2011...

2011-04-03T22:34:00.002-04:00

Lately it feels like I just list out the week's main events in this blog - which, I thought, sort of seems boring. Then I remembered how much I enjoy reading Mark's grandmother's journals. Until she got sick, she was so diligent about writing in her journal daily. Even if all it said was "Today it rained", or "Today it was 62 degrees", she documented the day. Her journals are absolutely fascinating to read - even the short, uneventful entries. When you read her handwriting from an entry from March 18th of 1962, you feel instantly connected to that day in her life. I hope the kids feel that way in the future.

In that spirit, I added an archive to the top left of the blog "Looking Back" which I think makes it easier to navigate older postings.

This week was actually crazy busy. Gwen's 40th birthday, a night out with friends, ice skating, soccer, birthday party for Noah's friends, shopping with a friend on Saturday at the Bizarre Bizaar, yoga, Parent Board planning, and then getting the garden planted.

Because Emme now has a small amount of hair, I picked her up some hairbows at the Bizarre Bizaar. She loves them.

She had a tummy bug on Saturday and opted to sleep in a bit snuggled next to Daddy.

We got the lettuces and carrots planted...

Noah was a great helper as usual

Mmmmm.... second week in a row we've gotten really lucky with excellent fresh corn.

Tuesday is Mark's birthday.

I'm overwhelmingly thankful for my best friend. I can't imagine a more supportive, funny, wise, warm, loving, thoughtful, and patient partner in this life.

Listing adjectives to describe what Mark means to me is terribly inadequate.

Reluctant, handsome subject.

Happy Birthday Sweet Husband.

The Sweetest Things....

2011-03-27T21:00:00.001-04:00

of this weekend include...

Snuggling up to a good On Demand Johnny Depp movie on a Saturday night.. The Tourist. Liked it. Mark predicted the ending, which I argued, but in the end was right (as in most things!). Note I said Like, not Loved. Jolie looked amazing in every scene, naturally. Depp on the other hand, looked liked he's been hitting Mickey Dees and the bottle a little.

2. Hubs called me on Sunday afternoon from the airport saying that all of his flights have been cancelled and he's coming back home! Whaaa?!?! YES. Smooch, smooch, smooch!!

3. Coming across old college pictures from wonderful, lifelong friends.

4. Coming in FIRST PLACE for the week and moving up 6 PLACES in our Nascar Fantasy pool!

5. Someone with actual talent helping you design a living space. Thank you Sarah, sincerely. I've already started ordering pieces!

That's all I've got time for right now... :)

Planting Fools

2011-03-20T21:28:00.001-04:00

Spring makes you want to dig in the dirt. Well it does us, and we did a LOT of it this weekend!

First up was a medium level landscaping project in the front yard. Below is the landscaping plan that we had put together last year (front yard showing). We've decided to tackle it ourselves piece by piece. It would be great to finish the front yard this year, but we'll see. This weekend, we did the little piece that shoots off of the driveway up front. I'm happy with the results, but we'll have to wait 4-5 weeks to get the full effect - once the hostas and the azaleas bloom it will look really good I think.

Below are some "before" shots... It looks tired, neglected.

Noah loves to help. He so wants to be useful. He's always asking how he can help, what he can try. I just love that about him.

Here are some "in progress" pictures. I'll take the real "After" shots in a few weeks once all of the blooms come in.

Next up - our new garden! Eating food fresh from Inscore's garden last month sealed the deal for me. I want a garden. I want to go outside and pick my own lettuce, tomatoes, peas, and carrots - and feed all that fresh wholesomeness to my family.

Mark was more than happy to oblige me - complete with a custom built garden box. He will use any excuse to use his tools. He built this today, and I plan to paint it soon. We put the dirt in, but we're not quite ready for planting - which we will do over the next few weeks.

And this one loves to frolic in the yard while we all worked. It was 70 degrees out, but Emme loves hats - so ....

Finally, I'm just gonna put this out there... my boy can play golf! Look at that form! Totally amazing to me.

A little of this, a little of that

2011-03-16T22:52:00.001-04:00

This is going to be a little all over the place. Here are a few things we've been up to lately...

Flu like virus for me this week - yuck! I think I'm on the mend.
Yard sale with our friends and neighbors Allison and Scott (net $54 - not bad considering it was going to go to Good Will) Now we are completely cleaned out! Mark says that I am the extreme opposite of a hoarder. It feels good to purge stuff.
Hokies basketball party with the Nystrom Fam
Guest bathroom makeover inspired by the guest room at Young House Love
Surviving Bikram yoga - I've learned that my first horrid experience was due to the fact that I was holding my breath during each pose - no wonder I felt like vomiting. All subsequent workouts have been good. Tough, but good.

Below are pictures via the phone to accompany the Nystrom Fam visit last weekend

Noah and his good buddy Charlie

Jon, Mark, and an upside down Bims

I got all 5 kids in one shot... from the left, Charlie, Noah, Matt, Emme, Will (and Sally!)

Noah continues to make comments that entertain us...

Daddy, did you hear that frog? (after passing gas)
Mommy, did you have a good day? (I say "Yes") Well I'm going to give you two stickers!

Here is a short clip of Noah in his wild state. I call this clip "Hey Mommy, put that camera out of your face and watch me"

If you are still with me, here are some recent pics...

Mark picked these for me this weekend... a sure sign of spring!!

and finally, a photo download from the phone. Some of these are a few months old....

My husband, ~~Clark Griswald~~ Mark, decorated our car as Rudolph for the Christmas season. I would be lying if I said I wasn't embarrassed a few times riding down the road. His saving grace is that Noah LOVED it. The things you do for your kids....

I wanna go to Friendly's!

Piankatank River

Can't beat the Vanilla milk at Starbucks

Right before his most recent haircut. He's been mistaken for a girl a few times recently, so we decided it was time for a trim.

Noah and his friend, Ainsley. She told him that she loved him. He seems ambivalent about this fact. I suspect he will come around in time.

Ice Skating Lessons

2011-03-04T20:42:00.001-05:00

Two months ago, after being introduced to ice skating at school during the Christmas season, we promised Noah that we would take him ice skating on at our local outdoor mall. He was so pumped the morning of - but when we got there, they had taken the rink down for the season. Wa wa wa. He was so disappointed. It wasn't all that hard to shift his attention to something else, but ... he did continue to bring up ice skating for a few weeks.

Coincidentally, Teenie thought it would be fun for Noah to take some ice skating lessons. So one day this week, Teenie and Papa picked Noah up from school early and took him to the local ice skating rink for his very first in a series of eight lessons. Noah learned to fall the right way, stand up correctly and balance. He had a blast. After that, he requested a happy meal and cookie from "Old McDonalds" before the grandparents brought him back home. Sounds like a great time to me!

Thank you Teenie and Papa! (Papa took these pictures on his cell phone.)

Weekend Update - Redneck Volume

2011-02-28T21:45:00.002-05:00

(well, at least the Monster truck show and Nascar part of it!)

Saturday, the Monster Truck show came to town. Mark and Noah went with one of his oldest friends Jon, and his son, Charlie to the show. (Last year for this tour, GrandDanny was in town - so this was Noah's second run at the show). Mark said that the show itself was almost painful to watch, but the experience of sharing this uber-male event with one of his best buds and their two sons was priceless. Noah and Charlie had a great time- complete with plenty of snow cones and dip'n dots.

Jon posted the picture above on Facebook and somebody thought Noah was a girl! :( That is what happens when you put your son in women's sunglasses! (and also maybe the hair :))

I'll be honest, Monster trucks are not my thing - and they certainly are not Emme's. So while that was going on, and while I was fighting off a cold with Motrin, Emme and I did some shopping and then some serious spring cleaning - 4 boxes and 3 garbage bags to Good Will. Friends and family, no more toys allowed in this house - we are at maximum allowed capacity. :)

Sunday morning Mark and I helped with Noah's Sunday school class. As I finished reading the story of the Good Samaritan to 13 three and four year olds in a 12 inch high wooden chair - I looked up and Mark gave me a look that said "I'm proud of you" and then he mouthed the words "Good job babe". I realize that I was reading at a basic level to small children, but in that moment, and with the kids listening intently and with their eyes glue to the story, my husband managed to make me feel like I had hung the moon. That little moment will stay with me for a while...

Following a visit to Chipotle , Sunday afternoon was all about the race. After analyzing and agonizing over our Nascar Fantasy picks all week - we had a respectable finish and moved up two spots. I can't believe how fun this is. I can't believe I uttered the words "Denny Hamlin and Ryan Newman are doing us right - but Joey Lagano and Bobby Labonte need to step it up!" I love it.

So in that same spirit of being open and trying new things - I started a Bikram Yoga class. If you aren't familiar with what this is, it is basically Yoga in a hot room. I've spent a lot of time over the years in gymnastics, track, stationary cycling classes - but without a doubt this is the hardest most intense workout I've ever ever ever done. Ever. I had my first session, and I actually thought I might die. A few times during the 90 minute session I thought I would throw up. And then pass out. All while the trainer was telling me how good I was doing.

I've got 10 more sessions in the next 30 days. I'm not sure this is a good thing for me. I hope it is - but at this point, I'm just determined to keep trying. I'm determined to not lay on the floor motionless for a quarter of the class wondering if I will make it. If this lady can do it - so can I!

Glorious Long Weekend

2011-02-21T21:29:00.000-05:00

We made the most of ours with a trip down to Horse Point, just the four of us. Noah impressed us with his budding soccer skills, Emme roamed and played, Mark took in the great weather and fresh air, and I took TWO naps. Also on our agenda was salmon, crab dip, three buck chuck, a visit to the local petting zoo and also with Grandma and Grandaddy Williams.

The only downside of the weekend was our disappointing last place finish in our fantasy Nascar pool. Driving back, Mark broke the silence, "Sucks that we are in dead last place" (out of 20) "I know. I am embarrassed for us" It's a long season though so we are going to keep our heads up.

I'm loving some of these pictures of Noah and I can't wait to see him out of the field in his first season of soccer! I love watching him and he is completely obsessed with it. I just might be a soccer mom after all.

11 years, 2 Husbands, 1 Fiance and 4 Babies Later

2011-02-18T22:35:00.002-05:00

What a difference a decade makes - in a good way. The Amanda's wrote about our little road trip to celebrate Score's upcoming wedding here and here, so I won't rehash - but I will add in some pics.

These 2 pictures were taken almost exactly 11 years ago at a completely different time in our lives. We were in college and on spring break. No, I'm sure those are not alcoholic beverages that are blurred out - I am sure that it is chocolate milk.

Singing a girl anthem most likely...

These pictures are taken 11 years, 2 husbands, a fiance and 4 babies later (between the 3 of us, ha!).

This round was a lot tamer than the days of our old shenanigans - thankfully.

and a few more.. sadly, we didn't get that many good ones. I think it was a case of everyone thinking that everyone ELSE was taking pictures.

Good times. But I can't even tell you how much I missed these three faces below... I could actually feel it in my bones. Reuniting is so sweet - all the way around.

Just A Virus

2011-02-16T19:43:00.003-05:00

When Noah was born and up until the age of 2ish, we took him to the Doctor for every little symptom. We quickly learned that 75% of his ailments were due to "just a virus". The docs would say, "you've just gotta treat with TLC and let it run its course".

This answer was not satisfying at all. For a virus, there is really nothing you can do - no action or medicine to take to make it all go away. It also felt unproductive that we had even made the trip to the doctor when the end result would have been the same whether we went or not. In the last 2 years, we've learned to be a little more discriminating when deciding on whether or not to take he kids to the Doc vs just calling them.

Anyway, I was looking through some old pictures and found these of Noah. He's around 7 months I estimate. He broke out in this insane rash that completely freaked me out. Turns out, all that the peds could offer us what that it was hives brought on by "just a virus". Really?! I half think that is something they throw out there when they haven't the slightest clue what is going on. Looking back, these pictures are both pitiful and funny. (I can laugh about them now, but know that I was not laughing then).

This is all I got...

2011-02-06T20:25:00.007-05:00

Today I went out for a rare mani pedi sponsored by Mark. This is usually my time to tune out the outside world - including the lady getting very familiar with my feet, and retreat into a good book or at least a good celeb magazine. With my face buried in a People mag, I came across this advertisement and it made me laugh out loud.

On Wednesday of this week, a rare coincidence happened. A last minute recruiting trip for work landed me at an NCSU Engineering Career Fair. With two siblings, and one cousin that are current NCSU students (bro Dustin, sis Shelby, and cuz Nick), I was excited that I might be able to possibly see them at one point during the day. My other brother Zach was also there recruiting engineers for his company. Dustin was there looking for an internship this summer. Although I missed Nick and Shelby - we were able to snap this picture of Dustin, Zach and me and we were all able to catch up. Yay. I may have recruited more engineers for my company than Zach did for his... I mean, not that it was a competition or anything.

Random things that I recall being said in our house today...

I just stepped on that friggin peice of Ravioli
Daddy, Mommy said "hate" and she shouldn't say that - Noah (After I said "I hate when you travel" to Mark)
Mommy, this is a mat that we carry God on - Noah (No clue what's going on in his noggin sometimes :))

Real time... watching the superbowl - just finished the fab ribs that Mark made. Watching the halftime show. Love the Peas... and that Usher can dance.

The House That Built Mark

2011-01-30T20:52:00.002-05:00

This weekend went to Horse Point to paint and start some light home improvement projects. While the improvements are a good thing, I am also glad that I was able to get some "before" shots of the place this summer. As I've mentioned numerous times on this blog, Mark's grandparents' house is full of good memories, and there are many more to come. With a little help from Miranda Lambert - I've made a little musical tribute for Mark and his sister. My husband doesn't easily cry, but Miranda and I may have gotten him with this one. (Other pics below and in Photo Gallery)

Photo Download, Etc.

2011-01-23T15:41:00.001-05:00

Nothing major has transpired in the last week or so, but there are a few things worth mentioning...

1) Both Noah and Emme are taking a more active role in dressing themselves and picking out their outfits. Noah likes to cram all of his toys into this backpack and take it on every outing. We've tried to put the nix on this though because 10 minutes in he wants us to carry it. His teachers banned these boots from school citing that they were too distracting... oops!

Also, even though his stitches are completely healed, he LOVES to wear bandaids anyway. I seem to recall that I used to like bandaids too.

Emme likes boots and hats, and if she doesn't have them on, then she's looking for them. It does't matter if the boots and hats aren't hers - she's putting them on. Try stopping her at your own risk.

2) Emme is getting a little bit of hair, but it's coming in so inconsistently that it always looks like this in the mornings. Maybe this is why she likes hats, hehe.

3) Last Monday, I took both kids up the road an hour to the Woodbridge Ikea. This sounds crazy... and it totally was! As soon as we got there an while I was trying to get Emme out of the car, Noah dropped his pants in the front of the Ikea and started to pee. As I freaked out and ran over to pull up his pants - he calmly told me, "Mommy, it's OK to pee outside! Daddy told me so". Nice. I won't even go into the craziness of the next three hours - mainly because I have blocked it from my memory - but "me and Ikea against the kids" will probably not happen again :) I'm sure the kids would agree - and for the record, I'm sorry kids that I put you and me through that. On a positive note, I picked up some things to make the kids room a little more cheerful. These are just a few details - not done with their room yet. It's challenging to balance boy vs girl - so I'm working through that. We want to keep them on the same floor as us though so for now, they will share a room.

4) Talk to me Goose

5) The kids are picking up a mean Starbucks habit that we are going to be to nipping in the bud!

Slider... You Stink.

2011-01-08T20:51:00.005-05:00

Have you ever realized that it's five o'clock in the afternoon and there is something that you have forgotten to do all day? Maybe you are like I was today, and you realize that you haven't changed a diaper since like... before noon?

Parent of Year, watch out.

I got Mark some Raybans for Christmas. The pair I picked out ~~looked ridiculous~~ weren't really Mark's style so we exchanged them for the "conservative" version of the aviators. Now we have a new dilemma in that we are trying to decide if they are too cheesy. While they appeal to me in the Top Gun volleyball scene sense, I'm not so sure they go with his personality. Then again, maybe that's exactly why we should keep them. Crash and Burn, Mav?

You Better Work It, Girl

2011-01-05T20:34:00.002-05:00

Amanda Inscore took the pictures below of MJ and Emme a few months ago during our SC visit with the other Amanda. Her friend Laura made these adorable hats and sells them on Etsy, so Inscore (soon to be Whittamore - yay) passed the pictures along to her. Laura is using them to model her merchandise at her online Etsy store. I predict her sales to go through the roof.

Seriously though, check out Laura's store here - lots of cute things.

(Oh also - If you are a mom go here for some Undeniable Truths)

~~Cindy~~ Emme Caroline

~~Gisele~~ Mattie Jane

Happy New Year

2011-01-01T20:37:00.002-05:00

Poor Mark spent New Years Eve hunkered over the toilet. We picked up a virus from the Davis Fam on Wednesday and Emme and Mark have been having serious gastro-intestinal issues. Noah and I are hoping that we have escaped this one this time... we shall see. Mark commented that this may have been the worst New Year's Eve ever. That's a little dramatic.

For now - wanted to post a picture of my Bims tonight - her resolution is to spin more tracks in 2011. Happy New Year Y'all.

6 Christmases and the Santa Dilemma

2010-12-31T22:46:00.007-05:00

There was a movie a few years back called "4 Christmases" - I never saw it but the trailers indicated that it was a comedy that focused on the chaos of a couple trying to make it to 4 separate Christmas gatherings. I remember thinking, "4 is a cakewalk!". This year we attended 6 Christmas gatherings. It sounds exhausting - and it was - but also totally worth it to get to spend time with family. My only regret is the length of each visit, I wish we had more time to spread around.

Regarding the Santa dilemma: When Noah's first Christmas came in 2007, Mark and I experienced our first tradition clash - Santa.  This was an interesting one for us to sort out because we had totally different experiences of Santa growing up.

For me, Santa left all presents unwrapped - and in a glorious display like the windows in New York. Well maybe not quite like that, but... it was an exciting display! There had to be symmetry, usually with one major gift as the centerpiece. A good display might incorporate lights, the major gift, some games, an intellectual toy or two amongst a few other toys- maybe even some clothes - and then of course the stocking.

Santa was a little more conservative with Mark.  He woke up, opened presents from family, and then - after all presents were opened - Mark's parents would locate some WRAPPED gifts hidden by Santa around the house. It would be the best present(s) of the day. If this sounds funny to you, then you are in my camp - and probably from the South.  My theory about the North and South was double confirmed by Suma - who also found the whole display thing strange.

Then came Noah's first Christmas. Would Santa follow my tradition of unwrapped, or would he be wrapping Noah's gifts?  I really hoped that Santa would leave a fantastic display for the kids.

Mark thought this was silly. Of course when he told me his experience of Santa, I thought his version was silly. The excitement of awaking and seeing immediately all of your toys was most of the fun when I was a child. I can't even imagine it any other way. I pleaded with him. "Let's encourage Santa to do this my way pa pa please."

Of course displays of toys is not what Christmas is about and ultimately - this is no big deal. I hope to find that balance between capturing the magic of Christmas for the kids while they are young while preserving the true meaning. I will say it is 10 times more fun experiencing Christmas through a child's eyes though - and Mark and I were pretty giddy as we admired the displays that Santa set up. (Santa is a reasonable guy)
Pics from the 6 Christmases

"It's Not that I Enjoy Torturing my Kids, But..."

2010-12-22T19:36:00.004-05:00

Today we went to the Children's Museum of Richmond to see Santa with cousins Sam, Eloise, and Wells. Santa at CMOR is a first rate Santa in my opinion. We were hoping once again that Noah would have changed his tune about Santa Claus. I realized that this would not be when we entered the room and Noah's hands were cold and clamy and he was already freaking out before he had even caught a glimpse of Santa. So, how did he react this year to coming face to face with Ole St. Nick? First, a quick recap of how these visits have gone in the past - because, I'll be honest they crack me up.

Below: this is Mark - Dec 1977 or 78

His sister Gwen (pictured) shared with me today that she clearly remembers Mark freaking out over Santa over the years and thinking, "What is your problem?!"

Below: Noah - Dec 2008

Below: Dec 2009 which I wrote about here.

So today we confirmed that Noah's position has not changed - and Emme has inherited Mark and Noah's dis-taste for Santa. They were both screaming and crying, and what you can't see in the picture below are the tears streaming down Noah's face. It's not that I enjoy torturing my kids, but I do think that one day they will appreciate these photos....

Below: Today - Dec 2010

and some more....

Sam and his tie

The Snow Queen was tolerated...

The Davis Fam - Wells inherited the anti-Santa gene too!

It took them a while to get over the trauma

Eloise and Emme writing their letters to Santa

Sam's letter - Boy loves his legos

Adding insult to injury, they had this animal walking around from the Children's hospital, Noah wasn't impressed.

the boys... all in navy sweaters

The babies, Emme and Wells

Emme's Marilyn Monroe

Mark is a regular Clark Griswald, and no, this is not our house, but Mark did insist on a tacky light tour following the Santa visit

Please grow some hair for mommy! :)

Old Spice Commercial - Zach Adams Style

2010-12-19T19:13:00.000-05:00

For those of you that know my brother Zach, you will love this video he did. I am told that he did this for a work function. I am speechless.

One Hand in the Air for the Big City

2010-12-06T21:07:00.000-05:00

Neither Mark nor I have ever been to New York City before. We've both been to a lot of cool places and different countries, but for whatever reason, never NYC. We decided to take a mini-vacation up to the Big Apple this week. We both had our own notions of what it might be like, and it has exceeded every expectation and then some. Let's hear it for New York, New York!

Note: My biggest regret of this trip was to leave the "good camera" at home. I thought that it would stress me out to lug it around the city due to its bulkiness, and I am definitely regretting that decision. We brought our old Canon point and shoot, not realizing that it has beach sand in it... ugh. What this means is that most of my pictures are really bad quality... either that or I'm just spoiled with the nicer camera. Oh well, live and learn I guess. There WILL be another trip to NYC!

Day 1: We walked up the steps of Penn station straight into the bustling streets - wide eyed with grins from ear to ear - looked at each other with the "this is INSANE" look. We felt like a couple of small town bumpkins in over our heads as we navigated the streets to our hotel. Our hotel is near the Empire State Building, so I thought we could jump in and mark that off our list before we met Mark's aunt in SOHO for cake and coffee.

Once in the Empire State building and on the way to the top, my anxiety level started rising. We got to the 80th floor where they make you wait in a series of lines before taking you up to the observatory. As I felt the building sway, (that's right, SWAY - I'm sorry, this might not be a big deal to some people, but it doesn't really work for me) I felt my breathing get shallow and my knees get weak. I had to talk myself down from passing out! I told Mark that I didn't think I would be able actually look out at the city once we got the top. Well, when we finally made it to the observatory, I walked out onto the observation deck, felt the cool clean fresh air on my face, and a total peace came over me. The view was breathtaking... incredible.. humbling... inspiring. We were on a total high as we left the building. Looking back, this experience set the tone for the rest of the trip.

Looking out at this view, I couldn't help but think of this : The earth is the Lord's, with all its wealth; the world and all the people living in it. Psalm 24:1

Next up was cake and coffee at SOHO with Mark's Aunt Marylyn and Uncle Geno at a French Bistro called Balthazar. We were late so we hailed a cab and experienced our first of many white knuckle cab rides. The cab rides are an experience to themselves. Once we arrived, we laughed and visited and ate dessert. I had the Pavlova with berries and it may have been the best dessert I have ever had in my life. The atmosphere was fantastic... people packed in to the brim, all busy and pleasant. It felt like another country.

Next, we decided to get a taste of Mark's family history. Mark actually has a interesting family heritage in New York. Both sets of his maternal great grandparents were immigrants and New Yorkers. We walked over past Little Italy to a shoe store that used to be a butcher shop owned by Mark's great grandparents. They made their living as butchers and once his great grandfather passed away, his great grandmother was able to survive by renting out rooms in this building. It was so cool to visit the very building and get a sense of his family history. This is Mark standing in front of the very building ... it's a shoe store now.

Next we gave the subway a whirl back to our hotel. I'm completely amazed at the subway system - safe, efficient, relatively clean and overall very pleasant.

Due to our Broadway show, we had to grab a quick dinner and our concierge booked us at a very authentic Italian restaurant. I thought Tony Soprano was going to walk in at any moment. We had to rush to make the show, so we opted for drinks and appetizers. I will not soon forget the eggplant with smoked mozzarella and arugula. Fantastic. Another lesson learned: Do not willy nilly ask for a glass of wine without having some indication of the price. :)

Next was the Broadway show, Rock of Ages. What I am about to say it utterly ridiculous - but I actually cried during this show. I am really embarrassed - in fact, when Mark asked me if I was crying, I said "No". The show is set on Sunset strip in the 80s and is all hair bank rock. It was hilarious - with awesome music and a decent back story. It's just that while they were singing "Don't Stop Believin'", I was reflecting on how in awe I was of this city and how talented the actors were, and just how happy I was to be here. Pretty darn cheesy, huh?

Broadway

After the show, we walked to Times Square and I have never seen anything like it. "These streets will make you feel brand new; big lights will inspire you" - couldn't have said it better, Alicia. What an experience. We then hit up a cafe for a late night NY sandwich before finally turning in for the night. An amazing first day.

Times Square

Day 2: Since we are Today Show fanatics, the plan was to get up early and go try to see Matt and Meredith at Rockefeller. Unfortunately, we opted to sleep in a bit given our late night out. We WILL try again tomorrow morning though!!

Once we got going, we had breakfast at a charming little cafe with excellent coffee, hipster servers, and good music. We then made our way to south Manhattan to the World Trade Center site. We checked out the preview site of the monument that is under construction. It was honestly difficult to be there. It was very emotional. Mark commented that it made him very angry. I was just sad.

We walked down Wall Street, saw the NY Stock Exchange, Tiffany and Co., the Trump Building, etc. All of these places we've heard about our whole lives and it's sort of surreal to actually be there looking at them in real time.

Wall Street

World Trade Center Site

Next we wanted to visit Ellis island and the Statue of Liberty - in particular, because one set of Mark's maternal grandparents came through on Ellis island from Germany and his Grandfather has his name on the wall at the Immigration museum. Standing in line for 2 hours in the frigid cold was kind of sucky, but at least now we can say we've done it. We had amazing views of the Statue of Liberty - and we were able to find Mark's grandfather's name on the immigrant wall.

For dinner we had reservations at swanky restaurant, but we didn't have time to shower and change into our nicer clothes, so when we walked in straight off the ferry, we quickly realized that we were a bit out of place. I didn't want to spend my dinner feeling self conscious of my matted hair and jeans, so we decided to chuck that and go have some sushi and beer on the corner with a window view of the busy street - it was ab fab. New fave: Green tea ice cream.

Now, we are unwinding in the room before we go out again for dessert!

Day 3: We made a better effort than yesterday to make the Today show, but we still couldn't get our lazy bones out of bed in time to get on TV at the plaza. We did see the last 5 minutes of the show live though... AND check this out - Daniel from Days of our Lives asked to get his picture taken with me - (or was it the other way around?) .. anyway here it is.

Next we wandered around Rockefeller plaza looking for Tina Fey and watching the people ice skate. Then we strolled down 5th Avenue checking out all of the amazing window displays. We spent some time in F.A.O Swartz, before eating lunch at the world famous Carnegie Deli.

We then strolled through Central Park before visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

It was in the museum that we realized that we had totally over-extended ourselves and that we were about to crash. We were very close to laying on the floor of the museum and taking a long nap next to the Greek marble statues and Picasso's. We left in a hurry and hailed a cab back to the hotel. Well, to be honest, we make a quick stop off at a wine and chocolate bar for a little rest and indulgence.

teehee

We finished our third night off at a very nice restaurant in a cozy romantic window in the Flatiron district. The night didn't end very romantic, however, with Mark glued to the ACC championship and me zonking out at 8:30.

The trip to New York was amazing. I didn't expect to LOVE it and feel so inspired and connected to it. Mark proposed that we go back every year and I am going to take him up on that!

As soon as I recover...

"Awww..."

2010-11-29T21:23:00.000-05:00

...is what I said when Mark showed me this on his phone and reported this was the view the entire ride home :)

Milestones of the Rough and Rowdy: Vol 1

2010-11-21T19:29:00.000-05:00

Today's milestone: a first visit to the E.R. We were sitting in church, when I was tapped on the shoulder and told that "...there has been an accident, there will probably be stitches needed and you need to leave now"

In short, Noah tried to occupy the same space as a wooden pole on the playground, and the pole won. There was blood, tears, ice, sweet nurses, 4 stitches and 1 Popsicle.

Noah was actually a trooper about the whole thing and I can't thank our friends at Third Pres who helped him and us enough. The nurses and ER staff at St Mary's Hospital were WONDERFUL.

I hope that there are no more volumes to "Milestones of the Rough and Rowdy" but that is probably unlikely.

Pics courtesy the phone.

Christy and Will and Pictures for my Emily

2010-11-16T22:02:00.000-05:00

My cousin Christy got married to Will this weekend in Pinehurst NC. It was a beautiful wedding and a beautiful couple. Congratulations Christy and Will!

I will highlight a few of the things that I thought made this wedding really special (Amanda Inscore, take notes!):

There were posters "He" and "She" that listed out what each of them loved about the other - from "she does weird ballet moves in the kitchen" to "he loves my family" to "she cares about how people feel" to "he likes to go to church with me" It was such a sweet touch and they really captured each others' personality well.
They gave a bamboo shoot to all of the guests - it said "Lucky Bamboo is said to be lucky due to it's peaceful vitality and strong growth... both characteristics we wish for your lives and ours - Christy and Will" Loved it.
I was told that Grandmother Smith made the tablecloth decorations and they gathered the centerpieces from the woods.... it was simply lovely.
Christy took the mic at the reception and spoke off the cuff to the guests and it was so heartfelt and sweet - tearful and yet poised.
The bride and groom's first dance was to Sugarland's "What I'd Give"... which I would describe as slow, raw, passionate, sexy... perfecto!
The Father's toast is always touching - and this was no exception. Well done Uncle Timmy.
The reception was so much fun... my feet felt like someone had beaten them with hammers the next day due to the high heel dancing and jumping around. Totally worth it.
the gown... breathtaking

OK, so as I said, the reception was fun - and Emily is hounding me for pictures, so I'm going to post some below and much more in the gallery. Quick Disclaimer: Mark and I had babysitters (go here for the lowdown on that - Thank you sweet Ashley, Taylor and Aunt Tracey!) - so we cut loose a little. For some reason I was making this weirdo face for pictures - in my head, I think that I thought that this was going to be hot. Friends, family - someone really should have stopped me. All Mark said was, "I love when you drink wine - it's so entertaining" Nice.

First of many pictures that I ruined that night...

Oyster Fest 2010

2010-11-09T21:14:00.000-05:00

Last year, I posted about Oyster Fest 2009 here. We took Friday off again this year and headed east to the Rappahannok and Piankatank rivers. What a nice relaxing fun weekend with the Davis and Williams. Don't even get me started on the food...

Above: Pure bliss for Noah, but not so much for Emme

Above: So hard to get a shot of all of the cousins looking at the camera. Alan took some too so I'm hoping that he had better luck than I did.

Above: This is Mark's grandparents. They celebrated 70 years of marriage on Nov 12th!!!! How inspiring. Grandma Williams' advice to me at our wedding was "never let the sun go down mad at each other". Admittedly, I don't really follow this because I find that I am a more rational person after a good night of sleep. But the point is well taken - don't let a fight linger on for too long.

Above: I used the editing tool to whiten my teeth on the bottom photo hehe.

Above: Handsomeness

Above: YUMMM. Fresh from the Rappahannok river! We had quite the oyster roast. Not to mention blue crabs, oyster stew, brunswick stew, crab dip, ham biscuits, hot apple cider, etc etc

Above: The Tedster is getting on up there in age... :(

Above: Papa and Emme

Above: Wells and Emme. Note cast on Wells' leg :( They are 4 weeks apart, but he weighs almost twice as much.

Above: Feel so badly for him, but that cast is too cute.

Above: Crossing the Rappahannok River

Above: Wells and Emme

Above: That coat that Noah is wearing is 30 some odd years old - it was Mark's!

Looking forward to Oyster Fest 2011!!

Hodge Podge

2010-10-31T21:59:00.000-04:00

I've got a lot to document since the last post!

First up is my trip last weekend to SC to meet Mattie Jane and hang out with the Amanda's. At the last minute, I decided to take Noah along with Emme and I, and drop him off in Pinehurst to get in some quality grandparent time. Emme and I continued on to SC for a girl's weekend in Murrell's Inlet. You can read about Mattie and the trip and see some precious new baby photography here and here. (and a story of sweet young love between Emme and Evan here) It is always good for my soul to spend some time with great friends, and Emme loved her some Evan! Noah had a super time with Nana and Grand-Danny and I was glad that it worked out that we could squeeze that visit in. Mark didn't mind the kids free weekend either.

Some pictures from the weekend... most of these I did not take by the way - they were taken by one of the Amandas.

(I did take this one... sweet Mattie)

We came back through Pinehurst Sunday night.

Next up - Trunk or Treat. Before I even had time to object, Mark signed us up to participate and decorate our trunk in an event sponsored by our church. Our trunk was a hodge podge of Walmart and Target Halloween paraphernalia. Even so, I was sort of proud of it. We had a spider that dropped down on the trick or treaters' heads as they came in for the candy - which most of the kids found amusing.

Not doing our trunk any favors, we were parked next to the most extravagantly decorated car you can imagine. It was a beautifully hand painted scene of the Yellow Brick Road leading up to the Emerald City. They had Dorothy, Glenda, the Lion, Tin Man, Scarecrow - you get the picture.

The only thing they did not have were the munchkins. Fortunately, we brought Emme dressed as a Garden Gnome and she fit the part perfectly! Noah was Buzz Lightyear. Shocking, I know.

Lastly, tonight marked an incident that I knew was inevitable. Really, I can't believe it lasted this long. Mark called down to me from our bedroom this evening,

"umm... Have you been up here lately"

"No. Why?"

"I think you need to come up here"

"oh No", I said, immediately regretting that I let Noah take his afternoon nap in our room. This is what I saw.

Noah took a RED marker and drew all over our bedroom walls. My personal favorite is the gi-normous alien head (?) above my side of the bed. He didn't spare our duvet either.

I laughed as I recalled one of my earliest memories with vivid detail of me coloring on the wall of my mom's apartment and feeling so proud of my artwork. I love those moments when you realize you have come full circle - even this one.

Oh well - I really wasn't thrilled about my choice of wall color anyway.

Real Quick

2010-10-20T20:44:00.000-04:00

Two things that made me smile in the last 24 hours...

1) After Mark came out of the bathroom, Noah asked him, "Daddy, did you wipe your bottom?"

2) Emme's note from school today says, "During transitioning to naptime, Emme tried putting Charleigh (one of her friends) to sleep. She sat next to her and rubbed her back, then gave her a hug and a kiss! It was so sweet :)"

(Emme is truly a little mommy)

and one thing that did NOT make me smile...

3) Noah's note from school today says, "Noah was asked to leave Spanish class today by the Spanish teacher because he would not listen to her and was being very disruptive. He then was screaming 'No' at his teachers because he did not want to leave. Noah lost his book this morning as an instant consequence but, I discussed with him he could try to earn it back after nap"

Oh dear.

Priceless Memories Captured on a Phone

2010-10-15T22:17:00.000-04:00

I'll begin this post by saying that today marked the arrival of a special little girl - Mattie Jane Stinnett. I am so excited to meet this baby next week when Emme C and I take a road trip to SC. I waited in anticipation all morning to hear updates as one of my besties was in labor. I'm am certain that there will be many beautiful professional grade photos that will be taken of this child - but the photos below are all I have at the moment, taken on a phone, and sent via text message. It made me smile! Beautiful features that are new, yet totally familiar at the same time. As far as I can tell, Amanda and Evan's mouth, Kathy's eyes. The whole thing almost makes me want another! :) Welcome Mattie Jane! Love to Robert, Amanda, and Evan. We love you all very much!

As as I was admiring with permagrin the photos above in my phone, I started to go through all of the past photos on my phone. I realized how many memories I have hanging out on my phone that I need to retrieve! I had totally forgotten about most of these, and in actuality, most of these have much better stories to go with them than the pictures I've taken with my big bad camera. For me, the pictures I usually take on my phone are more random - more spur of the moment. So here is a photo download from my phone.

Above: Oh dear Lord. Noah's first Christmas recital. His job was to walk in, the first in line before everyone else, and say "Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas!!" We practiced this line over and over at home. When the time came, he walked into the room filled with unfamiliar parents and froze. Nothing. Fingers went in mouth, head went down and that was it! I will say though, this was about the cutest thing I've ever seen - 12 two year olds singing Christmas songs to their parents. Adorable!! Great job Noah. I actually cried this day.

Above: Emme and I - she was 6 months old or so, on a trip out to the grocery store. I remember this day, it was cold and I had both kids by myself. In the grocery store, I had her in the Baby Bjorn and him in the grocery cart. What a trip - I thought I was so brave, and I was really proud of myself for making an outing like that with both kids by myself. I felt super grown up. As I was loading her back in the car, I thought she looked so cute in her jacket and I texted this to the grandparents.

Above: New job = New view. First day in my new role back in Jan. So excited that I texted Mark a picture of the view from my desk.

Above: Emme 4 months old. We're getting to age when they can share tummy time together without hurting her... well too much anyway. Noah is beginning to really take notice of her.

Above: Mark was on a business trip to Vegas and asked for me to send him a photo of us. It was late, we were asleep. Emme slept in our bed until around 6 months...

Above: This is typical of a Friday or Saturday night with wine.

Above: Repeat above caption - but without glasses - ha. Kids in bed. Wine. Blue Steele.

Above: This was Emme's 9 month old well doctor's appointment. I'm always bored waiting on the pediatrician. I have pictures on my phone every well appt from 4 months on!

Above: Emme at the Doctor again, this time with RSV and an ear infection.

Above: I took this picture after I received the "Save the Date" notice for my other bestie's wedding - and I sent it to her telling how excited I was for her upcoming wedding. This is one of the boards in our kitchen that we put up favorite pictures, announcements, kids art, ect. The top right is one of Noah's masterpieces. Top left: Emme Caroline Bottom left: Noah & Mark; Bottom right; Amanda and Scott; Middle, Amanda and Scott's wedding announcement

Above: This is Noah on every long road trip we take. He's watching his movies, in his own nirvana.

Above: Emme's second favorite baby doll at school. This baby doll has been used and abused - the hair is a rats nest, but Emme loves her unconditionally.

Above: If you follow this blog, then you know what this picture is all about! Rough day. Would do it all over again though!

Major Parenting Triumph Alert

2010-10-05T22:35:00.000-04:00

I would like to announce that Noah no longer plans to take his binky to college with him. Yep, we have successfully bribed our child.

I've read a few parenting books that look down on bribing your children. In this case though, I violently disagree. (Sorry Dobson)

Our problem was that Noah was still insisting on using his binky every night at bedtime. We let it continue at night only in the hopes that he would just outgrow it. In fact, the opposite was happening. He was insisting on more and more binkies at night. One in his mouth, one for each hand and then a fourth one just for good measure. His dependence was only increasing. He would wake us up in the middle of the night only to tell us that he couldn't find his binky. I started to have visions of Noah on his wedding night pulling out binkies from under his pillow.

Noah never had a chance though. Mark and I both used our binkies until we were three-ish. I'm not sure how I kicked the habit, but for Mark, it was pure old fashioned bribery. One summer, he went to spend the week with his Grandmother at Horse Point. She told him that if he went the whole week without his binky, she would buy him a Big Wheel at the end of the week. Turns out, that was all the motivation that he needed. (I can totally picture Mark riding his Big Wheel down the sidewalk so proud of himself!)

So that got us thinking: What does Noah love SO much that would even come close to his love for his binkies?

Buzz Lightyear, duh. Even though he already had two Buzz's, they were small and not particularly compelling, and Noah frequently complained that his Buzz's didn't have their wings. Shaa!

The proposal: Go one week without your binkies and we will get you a large Buzz Lightyear - "one with wings". This goes against our "no more toys that make obnoxious sounds" rule, but we decided to make the exception. The proposal was considered, and then accepted. He put the binkies in Emme's crib, told her that she could have them, and he never looked back.

After his week sans binkies, we presented him with his reward and his excitement level was off of the charts hilarious. The "Big Buzz Lightyear" is a hit and his new constant companion.

I'm proud of my big boy, and I would have done this a year ago if I had known it was that easy!

Next task: Emme's finger sucking.

The Prez in Our Backyard - No Really

2010-10-02T14:09:00.000-04:00

I don't expect anyone to be impressed by this, but I am documenting it for historical purposes anyway.

Wednesday morning as we were getting ourselves groomed, dressed, and ready to face the world, we heard the local morning news guy say that President Obama would be at South Hampton Recreation center this afternoon. We looked at each other, jaws dropped, checking to make sure that we heard this correctly.

"Did he just say ...?"

"Yes, that's exactly what he said"

"Well, we have to go!"

"Oh absolutely"

South Hampton Recreation is our neighborhood tennis club, pool, and park. We joined last year and it literally right around the corner. It is walking distance (under a mile), but we normally pack up the Pilot to the brim with towels, swimmies, sunscreen and pool toys and make the 1 minute drive. The pools are awesome, the people are nice, and Noah loves the park.

Why our little neighborhood of all places? No idea.

So I googled the event that morning and it turns out that the event was closed to the public. Boo. (Maybe we should have attended at least one of our community meetings.) That didn't stop us from doing a drive by that morning though. There were 8 huge public buses with their windows blacked out so you could not see a thing.

Here is what the AP had to say:

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is embarking on a four-state tour featuring three more of the backyard visits with American voters that have become a campaign staple of his. - Associated Press

(From Richmond Times Dispatch)

President Obama discussed politics and the economy yesterday at the Southhampton Recreation Association in Richmond

BFFs

2010-09-26T21:58:00.000-04:00

There are a million things on our list to do these days and I'm a little overwhelmed, but we decided that watching football on the couch and relaxing is the most pressing to do on our list at the moment. I thought since I'm laying here anyway, I may as well mess around on the computer. Emme is napping and Noah is sitting on Mark making small talk and eating an apple. Among other things, Noah just shared with us that "God made Emme".

I've been thinking lately how good those two are together. They love each other so much and often are hugging and laughing and sharing. I'm sure this may not always be the case, but I am really enjoying it for now.

Yesterday , we were leaving the park and Emme was not cooperating when we wanted to leave. In an attempt to get her to follow us, we said, "Bye Bye Emme! See ya later!" Emme was totally un-phased by this and would have been happy for us to leave here there to frolic in the grass, but Noah flipped out. He was near tears when he shouted, "NOOO!!!! Don't leave Emme!! Don't leave her because I love her!"

This morning when Emme was crying in the car, Noah said, "Emme, it's OK, I'll give you a hug when we get home. Don't cry, Emme."

Noah is a pretty sweet kid anyway, but much more so with her. For example, he told me that he only likes to share with Emme. Otherwise, he's not big on sharing. His teachers have told us over and over how excited they get to see each other when their paths cross at school. Noah is so proud of her.

Which brings me to another thought. Obviously, there are pros and cons to having kids close and spreading them out, and people just have to do what works for them. I'm not sure which camp I am in on that - I could argue both ways probably - but I **think** that this closeness between Noah and Emme is one of the benefits of having children close together. (Emily, I'm throwing that one in for you to share with Patrick! ha ;))

Anyway, so I have hundreds of hours of film accumulated over the years and I'm trying to come up with ways to ensure they are put to good use. Here is a silly video of these partners in crime.