A night at the Opry

Tonight Big C and I went to the one and only Grand Ole Opry.  It.was.a.blast.  I am a country music fan from way back.  As luck would have it I was sitting next to some fiddle player's girlfriend and she gave me the scoop on getting good pics.  Our seats were between good and great but it's a little known secret that you can walk up to the stage anytime you feel like it.  Say no more.  I mustered up my courage and followed this crazy girl up there. Left my poor husband sitting all alone.  But he didn't mind.  I think he was even proud of me!! Normally I'm a big chicken--no more!!

So I'm starting with the best...

Ladies and gentlemen, Blake Shelton...who happened to be nominated today for a slew of CMA awards, and he's oh so deserving.  He was fa-bu-lous.  Fabulous! (And he's not half bad looking either:)

Blake kind of snuck out on stage before the announcer finished introducing him and was shushing all the screaming girls...

Blake fist pumping his CMA nominations...

We also saw Rascal Flatts...they were pretty great, though they didn't choose my favorite songs this evening.. hm. Wish they had consulted me before the show. We were hoping for the Lightning McQueen theme song.  Oh well!  I'm still a fan...

 

Also saw David Nail. He was terrific, has some fabulous songs out, and oh, we share the same hair stylist! I got my hair cut last week and told my girl that I was going to see David Nail at the Opry and she laughed and said, "I cut his hair!"  She did the hair on the set of his video "Let it Rain".  Get out!!!!

This is Steel Magnolia.  They were fantastic too! Big C thought she sounded like a young Cindy Lauper--her voice was pretty awesome (his is too).  I'm definitely downloading more of their music.  Loved them!

We.had.a.ball.  WOW!

Summer's winding down?

We squeezed in some swingset fun while waiting on Daddy to get home from work. I guess summer is winding down but you wouldn't know it by the weather. It is so hot here I keep looking out the window expecting tumbleweeds to blow by.  We will welcome Fall with open arms this year:) It has always been my favorite season but this year I just can hardly wait.

I love the crusty peanut butter on these sweet little cheeks! 

It is a Mama's dream to watch these two be close pals and play together. Sweetness! 

Off to school

Yesterday I sent both of my little rascals off to school.  What a milestone!  I'm so proud of them. I'm a little sad but I know I shouldn't be because they are healthy and growing and smart and precious.  We are moving forward and cherishing every little step.  And that's a good thing.

I dropped my youngest off first and he did just fine.  There were no tears--there was honestly no time for tears!  There were so many other moms, each with multiple kids, so we said a quick goodbye and I was off to CJ's room for drop off.  He did fine of course, he was so excited to be there.  I went back down the hall and tried to peek into CD's class and see how he was doing.  The teacher saw me and started laughing. I decided that might have looked a wee tad crazy so I left.

Since this was my first taste of freedom in years I went straight to the salon to get a pedicure.  Kennebunk-port is a lovely color.  I then went to the Loft sale to get something cute to wear on my date next week (to the Opry!) but when ladies started elbowing me out of their way I moved on, I don't fight over sale clothes. I then went to TJMaxx and there were no parking spaces left.  So I went home and ate lunch in a very quiet house.

Pick up went well.  I got little guy first and when he saw me he screamed "Mom!" and ran to me.  His eyes were red and puffy and his teacher said he cried a couple times, just out of the blue, but was easily consoled.  Aw, my sweetie missed me (it kind of felt good to be missed)..but I'm also sad that he was sad.  I'm sure that next week will be better for him though.  His teachers said he took a nap and was a great helper.

When we got to CJ's class, true to form, he looked at me like "already?"  He didn't want to leave because apparently he had just gotten his turn with the playdoh! Ha! So typical, my little loner.

We then hustled off to swim lessons and returned home exhausted.  And then I went to Target late night and spent a small fortune in organizational goodies to keep up with all the soccer balls, cleats, school papers, shoes, life jackets, and goggles floating around our tiny mudroom.  Life is busy right now and it's all I can do to keep up and get a warm dinner cooked occasionally!

Action packed day!

We have had an action packed day! We started off the day by meeting up with our favorite gal Evie at Monkey Joe's. The boys get so excited to see her and the combination of both jumping and Evie really sends them into happyland.  I did not take my camera because I was excited to get to talk to Jennifer and it's so hard to get pictures there with kids flying around. But of course it was the least crowded I've ever seen it and I wished (just like always!) that I had my camera with me. Lesson learned! We had a great time.

I should mention that before we even got out the door the boys, who have apparently taken notice of mama painting her eyebrows on every morning, decided to do the same to CD's.. picture is out of focus but you get the idea. HA!

  And he tried to hide it from me...

Well moving on to day's end, we switched gears and headed off to soccer.. I'm officially a soccer mom.  I think CJ is the cutest thing ever dressed up in his soccer garb. Since last week we practiced in Bailey Boys seersucker embroidered shorts and matching T-shirt, we were prepared this week with more appropriate attire.

C is doing a great job considering it's his first team sport and the first time he's ever played soccer.  He does spend some time in his own little world and wanders off a bit from the action but I know it will be like all things and he will soon catch on quickly.  Big C and I think he's a lot like his Papa O, he never gets in a hurry for anything and that's true on the soccer field too.  It's sure to be a fun season though and a learning experience for all of us.  One of the mom's warned me that when the real games begin I will start to see some of the "crazy soccer moms" get pretty intense.  Oh boy--this should be interesting! My husband is scared I will be part of the "crazy" category--let's hope not!

PS I totally swiped this off my friend's blog--SO CUTE!

Cutest little T-shirts

I've mentioned a few times in the past, here and here, that I rarely buy my boys any clothes. My mom has a friend in the children's clothing business and bless her soul, she just picks out all the boys clothes for each season and sends them to me.  It's such a huge blessing and I'm so grateful because my husband would never in a gazillion years let me dress them this way without her help--kid's clothes are expensive! So I'm always giving mama little shout-outs for this:) Love you mama!

Anyhoo, on to my story; the only things I really ever look for for the boys are cute t-shirts to play in.  A while back my sister in law, who visits Charleston occasionally, gave the boys these adorable silhouette t-shirts from a store there.  They are my favorite t-shirts they've ever had, softest cotton, classic looking, and they wash well.  

Would you believe while blog surfing I ran across an etsy shop based in Charleston and yup, here were those exact t-shirts.  (I saw them mentioned on Holly Mathis Interiors via 3 Peanuts, just to give credit where it's due!) Anyways, I may splurge on a few of them for fall.. Are they not the cutest? They have adorable girl ones too, but this household is all boy. And we are so ready for fall..

These photos are from this Etsy shop..

Hobbies

Over the weekend my husband surprised me with a new bike! First new bike I've had since I was 14 and I felt just as giddy when I saw this one as I did back then. Fun! I loved the color, I'm so surprised he got this cutie pie blue/green one since he laughed me out of town when I said I wanted to put a basket on it.  He called me "froo froo".  Hm.  Anyways, we're trying out some new family hobbies and so far everyone seems happy with biking--that's pretty unusual! We put the boys in a bike trailer stocked with snacks and water and headed off for the trails.  Then when we get home the boys like to practice on their own little bikes.  It's pretty cute.  They really liked it.  CD even slept for a while!

The boys have also been having fun painting and coloring outside (a little trick we picked up from Evie!). 

And speaking of hobbies, little CJ started soccer last week too. We went to buy his gear today and it's just the cutest little stuff ever.  Little miniature cleats, shin guards, those little slicky shorts that remind me of Umbro's, oh it's all so cute.  Can't wait to snap some pics this week.  We are also wrapping up swimming lessons and starting school this week.  These boys keep me busy!!

Anniversary

My anniversary is coming up and looking at wedding pictures brings back sweet memories. C and I have been married for 6 years! WOW!

We got married by the water, very casual and non-fussy.  I made my own wedding invitations.  We had a little tower of cupcakes instead of a cake.  It was the best day of my life (tied with the 2 birthdays of my boys of course) and that's just what I'd always hoped for.

It's been a really fun ride so far.  We first met at a restaurant in Davidson, North Carolina called Brickhouse Tavern.  I was there to meet someone else, ha! And that someone else brought a friend, who turned out to be my future husband!

But it was Halloween when we first really paid attention to each other and considered dating. CJ's the nun and I'm the 60's girl (I used to be blonde, long story..) For this reason I look forward to Halloween every year, I love it, it's kind of an anniversary of sorts too.

I loved that he wasn't afraid to dress up for that Halloween party and he didn't take himself too seriously.  Who doesn't love a good sense of humor?

Fast forward a while later: C was in the garage working on his jeep and I was hanging out with him studying for a nursing exam. He asked me to hand him an air filter. I hissed at being interrupted, put down my books, got the air filter and handed it to him, saying "Here, and a little white box just fell out of it." Gasp! He looked at me kind of strange and I think we both laughed. That little white box had my ring in it. C proposed and pulled champagne and flowers out of his jeep.  SO cute! Great memory. And we laugh now at the fact that I was so mean right before he proposed, oh funny:)

So that's the quick version of our story.  Two precious boys later he's my partner in crime and I would choose him again and again. He's a great catch:)

PS This was last night on our way to our celebratory dinner. Had our babysitter snap a quick pic and I felt like a total dork but so glad we finally have a halfway current photo together! Dinner was Mills Creek Sauvignon Blanc (yum), pan-seared scallops over lobster mac-and-cheese (me),  veal 3 ways (husband), dessert coffee, and molten lava cake  = 10,000 calories but who cares:)