It's been a Monday

Today started off with me in serious Mama Bear mode.  As I mentioned, the boys have had coughs, and I decided that maybe it was time to take them in to see a doctor.  Of course, being out of town, away from our usual doctor, I was a little uneasy but figured surely there’s a pediatrician or two close by and I’m sure it will be fine.  I mean, my brother lives here and has 3 kids, surely I could see his pediatrician.

Wrong.  It turns out no pediatricians in the ENTIRE town were willing to see my boys.  This is a very uncomfortable feeling.  Helpless feeling, really.  I was told by everyone that no one is taking new patients and to take them to a walk in clinic or the ER.  I was told that I would have a wait of a minimum of 2 hours.  I’m sorry, but (a) that sounds like a nightmare and (b) I was afraid we’d leave with something way worse than we went in with and (c) I don’t think we’re ER material yet.  They don’t have fevers, I’m certain they have colds, and I really just wanted to rule out the possibility that they may have developed ear infections.  If I’m honest, I had to bite my tongue and I just felt so angry! 

SO.. we are hanging in there but I am seriously counting my blessings that we have great healthcare back in civilization.  I’ve taken it for granted!  Today I’m thankful for it and for the boys’ wonderful doctor back home who always says, “Just bring them right in.. no problem.”  We really missed Dr. P today.  We’ll have to give him a high five next time we see him!

Well here are a few pics from N’tended for Kids, the little boutique where I used to work.  I always go visit when I’m back in town and I just walk around and drool.  Smocking…

butterfly sleeves….

Peter Pan collars, dolls, bunnies, bows, ahh!

I realized when I got home that I didn’t take any pictures of the boys' clothes!!! What am I thinking?? I think its because I never get to buy girls’ stuff so I’m just enamored with it.  But spring for the boys is capital A-dorable and I’ll share soon..

It’s been a Monday for sure.  I am looking forward to Tuesday and we sure miss Dada.  Hope everyone is well!



Double date, road trip, and PG martinis

Saturday we went on a double date! It’s our first double date in probably close to 4 years! Unbelievable.  We are overdue for some fun!! We went with some friends to a great fusion restaurant and we just had a ball!  We had some funny moments and here is one of them. 

Since Jennifer is expecting a sweet little baby boy in July she asked the waiter, who proclaimed himself also a bartender during his introduction, for a fun non-alcoholic drink.  This really threw Brock for a loop (waiter = Brock).  He seemed confused at the idea that a drink could possibly not have alcohol in it.  He thought…”Hm, um, well, yeah, I can see what the HEAD bartender thinks but I’m not sure…um…I’ll have to see if we have something…”   Poor Brock came back after his discussion with the Head bartender and still seemed perplexed by this request. In my mind, I'm thinking, uh, okay Brock,  it's really not that hard, how about you throw something sweet and fizzy into a pretty glass, k?  So… I have googled PG martini’s and there are a couple of yummy ones at the end of this post.  Brock, we’ll forgive you but really?? Bless his heart.

Switching gears, today we took a road trip to Virginia.  It’s where I grew up (and my parents still live) and since Big C has meetings in North Carolina this week we thought it was a good time to visit the fam.   It was a 9 hour trip and we took 2 cars, Big C was with the boys.  Well after 9 hours in a car, even though I had some alone time, not even Keith Urban sounded good anymore.  Nine hours is a long time to sit!! UGH—I was so happy to finally arrive!

Unfortunately, my sweet boys are coughing and they just can’t seem to shake the funkiness that has plagued us recently, so we will probably be making a visit to the doctor tomorrow.  I’m hoping they just have the remnants of a cold and not an ear infection or the like (you know how those pesky coughs just linger on..)and I’m hoping and praying they will awaken tomorrow feeling better. Poor little things!

Its Sunday night, bye bye weekend! 

Jennifer, here are some "Baby 'tini" cocktails we will try!! Take that, Brock!

White Sangria:
4 cups white grape juice
1 cup pink grapefruit juice
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 bottle club soda
pink grapefruit slices

Preparation: In a large pitcher, combine all three juices.  Refrigerate.  Just before serving, add the soda water and grapefruit slices (and other fruit, if you'd like).  Makes about 12 servings.

Baby Bellini
Take 1 1/4 cups of peach juice, add a tablespoon of lemon juice, and split that mixture in two flutes.  Then top off with sparkling apple cider.  OR:   2 oz peach nectar and sparkling cider.

Mock Mojito
4 or 5 sprigs of fresh  mint
1 lime
1 ounce simple syrup
6 to 8 ounces soda water
Garnish: Lime wedges and mint sprigs

Muddle the mint (reserve one sprig for garnish) with the simple syrup in the bottom of a tall glass.  Add ice cubes.  Squeeze half of one lime into the glass, reserving the other half for garnish (slice it into 3 or 4 wedges).  Top with soda water.  Stir, drop in lime wedges, and decorate with the last sprig of mint.

Found these recipes on BabyCenter and BabyZone=)

A little dose of everything

*You’ll be happy to know I got the pants I’ve been wanting from Ann Taylor (not Loft, oops) and I got them for 50% off and free shipping.  It was a sign. See how cute? I know they're not everyone's cup of tea but I love them.

*I want this lens for my camera, sooo badly...

In doing research to improve my skills, I’ve discovered this lens will improve my skills. Or perhaps make it so that I don’t need to learn any more skills.

*My children slept late this morning.  This is good.  See, one morning a week or so ago (maybe longer) little CJ got up around 6:15 and Daddy hadn’t left for work yet.  So every day since then C has programmed himself to get up early to see Daddy. Aww.  While that’s sweet, I prefer my babies sleep till 7 or beyond, so today, I hope we’re back on track!  I get up early anyways, almost always by 6:30, but I like to have my personal time in the morning to drink coffee from my favorite mug...

and read my favorite blogs.  It’s my moment of peace before the natives start chanting.  I need this moment.

*Last night was Mom’s Night Out.  It was so much fun!  A fun evening eating delicious yummy Mexican food and hanging out with the girls.  This place has the best guacamole. Yum!

*Back to my boys. I took pictures of them getting up this morning because it is such a sweet little time of day.  They love their little lovies so much and their hair is all over the place and they are just plain sweet!  So sweet I tell you! 



Have a happy weekend!

Turn that frown upside down

The day started with a Frustrating Mama Morning.  The kids were bickering and not listening to me and I had a short fuse because my computer has been sick since last night and I’m annoyed with it.  Then I felt guilty for having a short fuse.  Then I opened the trash can to throw something away and it was full to the brim, the brim, my pet peeve.  Then I notice CD is eating something I haven’t given him.  It’s a bird food necklace that was in my desk drawer that CJ made at school (that birds are supposed to eat, not children!).  Gross!! Germ city.  Then I hear a crash and CD has now gone in my cabinet, gotten out one of the glass jelly jars I like to save (that I thought was out of reach), and slammed it on the floor into a million pieces.  He’s calmly saying “it breaks, it breaks”.  Thank the Lord he didn’t get cut *gasp*; that could’ve been bad. So scary.  Oh it’s a morning.

On top of that it is raining cats and dogs and it’s a school day.  Looks like I’ll get a shower on the way into school.  No more good hair day!

To balance my negativity with something positive, these arrived yesterday from here.

I am so happy! I think they're so cute!  Now I’m waiting on my “Sunshine” prints and we’ll be close to finished with at least gathering all the “stuff” to assemble their rooms.  It's so fun decorating their rooms.   They are the first rooms that I feel like I’m taking over the finish line.  No stopping at 95 percent of the way to save money, I'm dotting the i’s on these rooms.  It feels good.  I wanted them to have super fun, adorable rooms.  I’m planning to share when they are done (I still have a duvet to sew).  Oh, and bedskirt to make.  Oh, and curtains. But I have all the fabric so the battle is half won.

I’m turning my frown upside down and I’m vowing to have a good day! Hopefully CD will do the same!

My mind is racing

My laundry room is the coldest place on planet Earth. 

I take that back, Pennsylvania was pretty cold.

I am drinking lots lately, lots of coffee! But it is making me bounce off the walls.

I love good makeup.

I wish I had not plucked my eyebrows completely off when I was 20. Thank the Lord for good brow pencils.

My eyebrow pencil was missing this morning and therefore, so are my eyebrows.

There’s a pair of pants I MUST own from Ann Taylor Loft.  I’m a repressed clothes horse.  I try to be frugal but I really want these pants.

I’m having anxiety that Loft will sell out of these pants before I break down and buy them.

I love Tennessee.  It’s delicious and beautiful and friendly and musical and has lots of horses.

I force myself to eat apples but I prefer French fries.

I am loving ValSoCal’s recipes.  They have an easily attainable amount of ingredients and look so yummy.

I love being a mother more than anything in this world.  Love love love to be called Mama.  Nothing could be sweeter.  It melts my heart. 

My brother’s father-in-law once said he always dreamed of being surrounded by girls (he has 3 beautiful daughters).  His prayers were answered!   I thought that was a cute comment and that’s how I feel about my boys!!  I’m a lucky girl.

Family is the greatest thing ever.



Confessions

Last night I was hopelessly glued to the TV.  Have you been watching The Bachelor?  Don’t hold it against me but I’m enthralled.  I can’t stand to miss it.  I’m invested now, you know? I feel like I know these crazy people.  And here’s a juicy tidbit:  I know a gal who was supposed to be on Brad Womack’s first season of The Bachelor.  Yep, but she backed out last minute.  Isn’t that crazy? So sometimes when I watch I’m thinking, what if??  It's so annoying though how Brad is constantly saying how amaaaaazing the women are. He says it so often that it makes my husband gag out loud.  But it IS good TV.  And he does at least have good manners “yes ma’am, no ma’am”.  So I wish I could find out already who he picks so I can quit watching, it’s ruining my marriage!  I'm kidding:)

Tonight husband was working and the boys wanted bagels, so we had bagels and beer for dinner.  The boys had bagels and milk, I had a bagel and a beer.  It has a nice ring to it, bagel and beer.  I’ve never had bagels and beer and it was a fun dinner.

Since painting my cabinets this weekend I’ve been recovering and I just don’t want to do a thing!  I’ve gotta snap out of it!  More projects await!!

What We've Been Doin'

Riding giant ladybugs

Talking to cute girls,ha! Doesn't CJ look like he's driving a motorcycle! This makes me laugh! Hang on tight Evie!

And more playing.

Friday, we were tired from a busy week.  I actually can hardly remember what we did. Must not have been much, ha!

Saturday I decided to buckle down and get our kitchen cabinets done. We’ve (I’ve) been in the process of painting them white and they’ve been halfway done for weeks.  Time to wrap this project up!!  I also spray painted our hardware oil rubbed bronze, 76 handles to be exact (and a billion hinges).  I have inhaled far too many fumes this weekend.  The cabinets still need a few touch ups but are done for the most part, so yay! And they look great if I do say so myself, our kitchen is much brighter.  But I did some major complainin’ let me tell you, ugh, I didn’t think I’d ever get finished.  It was not a fun job!

Sunday we ran to Target and to the park.  We were super excited to see Evie arrive and she and the boys had a blast running around playing.   Mama enjoyed some girl conversation with Evie’s mom while Daddy caught up with Carl and watched the boys (kind of).  Sunday afternoon we watched the Daytona 500, napped, played in the yard, etc.  Big CJ decided he didn’t want to cook (guess he wasn’t in the mood for the BBQ I had planned) so we headed to Carrabba’s for pizza.  It was great and it’s just about the only thing that little CJ will eat (other than mac & cheese or pb & j) so it is rapidly becoming a tradition for us. 

Well, it’s Monday, gotta clean this place up and get this week going!  Hope you have a happy Monday:)

I dressed them like teen-agers, very unusual for me, but CJ wanted to wear his "Nashbill" shirt.

Ode to the South

A few weeks ago when Big CJ and I went out to eat we noticed an interesting sign hanging behind the bar at the restaurant.  It was one of those pretty painted weathered signs and it had the cutest sayings about the south.  We laughed and I said I’d love to hang it in my house of course.  I decided to memorize what it said (my nickname is Rain Man, after all) and paint it myself.  If you know me you know I am as proud as a peacock to be a Southern girl.  I lived up north for a few years and while it’s a great place, there’s just no place like home.  But let me also say the greatest person I’ve ever known (aside from Mama and Daddy) happens to be from the north, my sweet husband.  So you can see that the north and the south are common topics of conversation in my home!

So Thursday while CD and I (CJ was at school) were shopping at the fabulously fabulous Fabric House I ran across this “southern saying” again!  I had to buy it—here’s how it goes:

The South (Thee South) noun.

“The place where tea is sweet and accents are sweeter, summer starts in April, mac and cheese is a vegetable, front porches are wide and words are long, pecan pie is a staple, y’all is the only proper noun, chicken is fried and biscuits come with gravy, everything is darlin’, & someone’s heart is always being blessed.”

Now if that isn't the cutest thing! My husband has always said we Southern girls think we can say anything about anybody as long as we end the sentence with “Bless her heart”.  We’ve been trying to come up with a northern version but as you might imagine have been unable to agree on the particulars;)

Hope Y’ALL have a wonderful weekend, bless your hearts:)

Lucky

Today is one of those days when I wonder how I got so lucky.  I feel so happy and thankful for my life; we've just had a good day.  The weather has been perfection today, sheer perfection; sunny, a slight breeze, mid 60’s… aahh.  The only thing missing is the sound of the ocean, but soon, oh so soon….

This morning at Old Navy, in spite of my children’s attempts to keep me from shopping (just like their daddy:) I scored a fabulous new jacket and 2 scarves for next to nothing! Oh I feel so springy now.

*Then*, the boys and I met hubby for lunch and they were so well behaved.  *Then*, hubby said, “Hey, there’s that fabric store across the street you’ve been wanting to go to.  You can go in and I’ll stay with the boys so you can look.”  Huh?  Um, okay…  Well SCORE again! I found the perfect fabric for CJ Jr’s room, love it love it love it!  And love this fabric store.  Oh it is a dreamy fabric store, nothing ugly, no searching for a needle in a haystack.  Everything this store had was beautiful and at some seriously reasonable prices (for the most part:). 

*Then*, we came home and put CD down for a nap and CJ and I played outside in this glorious weather. I'm discovering that weather has such an effect on my mood!  Today has been fun and fabulous!  Tonight I plan to top off my day by eating something sinful and watching disgustingly entertaining reality TV.  Toodles!!

Randomness

Yesterday my neighbor left these for me.  I thought they were so darn pretty! And they were deeeee-licious too! Don't you wish you had a neighbor like that? 

We've had a good day.  As usual lots of different things going on.  CJ had a Valentine's party at school and mama's got to stay.  It was so fun!  It's a hoot to see him in his element, playing and hanging out with his pals.  They learn stuff too, of course. 

So the boys and I surprised Big CJ with a new video camera for Valentine's Day! We've been saying we need to get one and start videotaping all the hilarious things they do.  Now we have one!  Can't wait to use it!  (Big C laughs and thinks this present is more for me than him, ha! I'm really not that selfish...)

And for the last topic of the day, let me admit that I watch The Bachelor and I am so very glad Michelle did not get a rose.  I cannot help myself, I just can-not stop watching and my poor husband has resorted to reading a book while it's on so that he doesn't have to watch.  A book about oysters.  He says The Bachelor makes him uncomfortable and I think that's hysterical!  Poor thing! That's what he gets for all the years I've spent watching American Chopper.

We are having some seriously pretty weather here! It's about time!!