Things are changing....

We are getting ready for Kindergarten around here...little C is ready to go to a "big" school and I am quietly coaching myself through the process of letting go a little. I have a hard time thinking about my baby being away from me for 8 hours a day, in others' care, around lots of (great folks I'm sure) but frankly, strangers to me.  I wanted to be brave and "together" through this process but instead, when I think about it, my heart jumps into my throat and I want to cry! I need to get a grip.

We went to Potterybarn Kids the other day and I let him choose a backpack.  Normally I keep the choices carefully paired down but this time I only had one rule.  "No faces please." In other words, I am not buying a backpack with Darth Vader on it. Is that bad?! He's only 6!  I'm just not that into you, Darth Vader.  As I figured, his choice and my choice were a little off. I loved the navy and red nautical stripe (I even told him he could put the scary pirate patch on it!) and while he did point out the Darth Vader one, he chose blue skateboard camo.

I guess it could've been worse -- for some reason PBK put snakes and spiders on many of the backpacks this year (gee thanks!). What's next, a machete and a Budlight? How about a soccer ball or some cars and trucks?

Yesterday, on our way home from school, he says,  "Mom, I don't want to wear these CUTE shirts anymore." Oh no, my heart is sinking.

"Well, what do you want to wear?" I say.

"COOL shirts", he replies. "My friend had on a shirt with a giant squid wrapped around a building."

Oh dear. I'm just not that into giant squids wrapped around buildings... I'm carefully choosing my wording these days and have eliminated 'cute' from my vocabulary. I'm hoping I can still sneak in a few *cool, awesome, manly* appliques without too much opposition. We shall see:)

In the meantime, let me also say I'm counting blessings. I'm thankful they are healthy, happy, and spunky with their little opinions.  I'm thankful for these conversations we have together, because I still see them as the teeny tiny little babies I brought home from the hospital (and I remember dreaming of the days we'd have conversations and they could tell me what they want!). But they grow up way too fast y'all.

5 on Friday

1~ We've been at the pool 4 days this week and the boys are doing amazing with swimming. They are now running and jumping into the pool, fearless (which means I have heart attacks daily). This has been such a fun summer. I squeeze them tight every chance I get because just look how big they are!

2~ Shopping for back to school shirts. I'm picking up a few cute heat press shirts and these are on my list. The first is by Preppy By Design on Etsy and the second is A Simple Stitch on FB. So stinkin' cute!

3~ I went back to Mizuno sneakers after developing heel pain in my Brooks. I'm in the Wave Inspire 9's and so happy with them. It took a few tries to find the shoe for me.  I have the orange pair and am going to pick up the turquoise pair this week since my running friend says I need 2 pair for marathon training (twist my arm;).

Also loving.loving.loving the Lululemon Track Attack shorts. The waistband is SO comfy and they are looser in the leg than both the Groovy and Speed short. I'm a fan of all but I'm living in these right now. 

4~ I'm still pining over a monogram necklace...need something cute for everyday and this is it. This one is on sale (Etsy), it may jump into my jewelry box! 

5~ I'm fiiiinaaaally getting around to having some of my photos printed. I think this is going to be a monstrous size canvas:)

although I was tempted to go with something more casual...

Which would y'all go with?

Or maybe this one?

Happy Friday!

This week's meal plan

I've missed y'all! I have no excuses, just trying to keep up with a busy summer routine which means my poor blog gets neglected.

After doing a terrible job getting dinners on the table last week, I sat down this morning and actually looked at a few of the thousands of recipes I've pinned and never made.  I'm vowing to get some good meals on the table this week.

The plan:

Monday: Cheddar jalapeno chicken burgers (via What's Gaby Cooking) and oven baked fries

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Tuesday: Greek chicken (via Savoring the Thyme) and roasted potatoes

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Wednesday: Miso salmon and corn on the cob via Elise Bauer on Simply Recipes
This is an easy recipe with 4 ingredients: 2 tablespoons each of red miso, sake, sugar, and soy sauce. We never have sake and substitute either white wine or mirin (which I've read is too sweet as a substitute but it works for us).

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Thursday: Chipotle grilled chicken tacos found via The Pioneer Woman's blog

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Friday: Pasta and potatoes for some carb loading fun, marathon training on Saturday;)

This is ambitious since hot dogs and scrambled eggs have been happening lately so wish me luck!

Bloglovin'

Good morning! Just a reminder that Google Reader is going bye-bye as of tomorrow and you can follow along on Bloglovin'...

Have a happy Monday:)

Summer fun

June has been chock full of fun activities, including a trip to New York, my fourth half marathon (Mr. C's second), time with grandparents, and, of course, a meeeeellion kid activities {pool, swimming lessons, summer school, etc}. Hope to be back soon to share details!

The most amazing meal of my life

Last Wednesday Mr. C and I went to The Catbird Seat in Nashville for dinner with good friends. It took us a month to get reservations and we were pretty excited. Catbird Seat has a very cool concept: only 32 seats surround a U shaped kitchen and the chefs prepare the meal as you watch. The two co-chefs, Jeff Habiger and Erik Anderson, have pretty impressive resumes. It's such a unique restaurant and we loved how each plate was served and described by the chef himself. I felt like I was on Food Network.

It was amazing to watch them prepare each course. If you're a foodie this is your heaven.  And I forgot to mention it is a 10 course tasting menu with alcoholic or non-alcoholic drink pairings. I opted for alcoholic (no surprise there) while Mr. C opted for non-alcoholic.

Let's get to the good stuff.

The menu:

Dinner begins and ends with versions of these little guys...

While they may look like oreos, at the start of the meal they are a porcini and parmesan concoction. At the end of the meal they are chocolate and peppermint. Interesting and yummy.

Below, chef's version of a bologna sandwich, an island creek oyster, and his take on a local favorite, hot chicken. Following that was salmon tartare (that word makes me laugh) with rhubarb and curry, then a cold potato soup with white caviar, garlic flowers, crispy potato, and dill (I ate it so fast it is the only plate I didn't get a picture of). Last was monkfish with sea urchin sauce and a bunch of other fancies. It melted in my mouth and was a favorite.

Next up, duck with lavender yogurt, morels, peas, and something I can't pronounce. Then came lamb with red pepper and raspberry (delicious together) and onion and potato. Last, scharfe maxx cheese (a cow's milk cheese from Switzerland) with caraway, rye, onion, and ham.  Thank heaven above they wrote this down for us (although I still had to google).

Finally time for desserts!! The first was a strawberry cornmeal crumb ice cream thingie, then an egg custard with maple, bacon, thyme, and salt, and my favorite, vanilla cake with pineapple something and bourbon beads. See that thing that looks like a marble? It is a teeny little shot of bourbon. How'd they do that?!

I wish I'd taken pictures of the drinks because they were phenomenal, both the non and alcoholic versions. Particularly memorable, a Prosecco drink with orange liqueur and lemon, a 2009 Evening Land Vineyards Chardonnay, and a 2009 Vin des Seigneurs Mayolet (must've been a good year).

Mr. C and I eat like this every night. Just kidding. There will be no Christmas presents for the children after this dinner.  It's true I could have had a Tory Burch handbag instead but it was an experience I'll never forget.  If you're a foodie and you're traveling to Nashville put Catbird Seat on your list:)

Sunday Snapshots

Sunday seemed like a good day to share this little message we stumbled upon on the beach.

Y'all, I lied. I said no more vacation shots but I couldn't resist. 

Quite exciting to see some dolphins playing. They literally swam back and forth for hours.

A critter on our fence....

Family feet...look how cute the wittle toes are:)