Sunday, September 29, 2013

IOPa

This is our 3rd year spending our beach vacation at Isle of Palms, SC. In fact, this is our 3rd year in the same condo. We went with my parents and brother. I love going mid-September. It's less expensive, less crowded, and you miss that steamy summer heat. The temperatures were just right! We went September 15th-22nd. 


This is Adelyn wading in ocean about 30 minutes after we arrived!

Adelyn would have gotten this wet anyway, BUT a lady and her dog helped her along. I'm not kidding- this chick was chasing her dog and not paying attention and completely knocked Adelyn down. Luckily, Adelyn didn't seem to mind too much!
I have been telling James for months that he can take his dump truck to the beach. He was so excited to bring it down!

This boy does not mind getting dirty. 
Day 2: 6:45 a.m. James woke up around 5:45. He and Adelyn were sharing a room, so she was up as well. Might as well hit the beach, right?? Side note, James woke up at 6 a.m every.single.morning. I just put his John Deere documentary on to buy 45 minutes more rest time. 
Here is James experiencing the tide pulling the sand beneath his feet away. Priceless facial expressions!

The fam

We ate dinner at Morgan Creek, which has a great marina for the kids to look at. 

Saige joined us for dinner


Big sister teaching James how to jump in the waves

Downtown Charleston Date night! Seth and I had an oyster appetizer at Amen Street, DELICIOUS dinner at Husk, and gelato at waterfront park. We stayed at the Vendue Inn that night. So fun!

The next morning was very breezy with cooler temps, so we took the kids to Patriots Point to tour the Yorktown (an aircraft carrier)

Getting briefed on our next mission 
My sweeties

I got a kick out of the food prep in the kitchen- feeding 3,500 people a'int easy. 

On top of the aircraft carrier

Protecting those baby blues
Seth, kids, and I met Cory (plus Nick and Lucy) and Stacy for dinner one night at Red's at Shem Creek. So good to see my old roommates from sophomore year of college!

This is the first half of our fabulous week....to be continued!








Sunday, September 22, 2013

My Best Friend's Wedding

Couple's Shower (August 24): Heather is one of my dearest girlfriends and I was thrilled when she asked me to be her Matron of Honor. Seth and I threw Trevor and Heather a couple's shower. We had about 20 people over for barbecue, drinks, and a fun evening on our deck! We love to entertain....and having a party makes us get our house in order (like staining the deck the DAY before the party). 
Whistle, whistle! Check out that deck floor!


Trevor and Heather, the lovebirds
Seth and I
Friends for 22 years!
Heather and Trevor have the BEST "how we met" story. When she moved to Atlanta, she bought Trevor's house. They started dating and fast forward one  year later, he moved BACK into his old house! The key theme is fitting. 
Opening their gifts for entertaining/stock the bar
Wedding Weekend (September 14): The rehearsal dinner was at Sugo in John's Creek (YUM!). The wedding was at Flint Hill in Norcross. The weather was perfect and the wedding was beautiful....good food, fun music, stunning bride/handsome groom, and family and friends to celebrate this couple.
This is Heather with her beautiful mom. I have so many fond memories of Mrs. Crawford. Going to Heather's house was one of my favorite places to spend time in my teen years!

Gotta protect the wedding dress! We covered her in tissue paper so she wouldn't get crumbs on her gorgeous dress!

My handsome date and me
Yikes! Here I am toasting the newlyweds. I really dislike public speaking. I'm sure my voice was so shaky!

Congratulations, Mrs. Ross! Love you, girl!
Signing off on this note....a few pictures from fun in the photo booth



Sunday, September 8, 2013

Blueberry Muffins

We have to leave the house around 8 a.m. to get the kids off to school. Trying to get us all ready and fed something that won't leave you hungry in an hour is a challenge. I am trying Blueberry Oatmeal muffins tomorrow. Hopefully the combination of Greek yogurt, eggs, oatmeal and blueberries will be tasty and filling!

While James was napping, Adelyn and I made them. I love baking with my girl!

Here's the recipe if you're interested: 
They said it makes 12 large muffins. I don't know how they define large, but I was able to make 12 large and 12 minis. 


official stirrer

A little raw egg never killed anyone.

Fingers crossed this makes breakfast a little smoother! 

Thursday, September 5, 2013

First Day of School

Adelyn started Pre-K. She's going 5 mornings and her teacher is Mrs. Nancy. I'm really excited about her teacher this year. She seems really nice and at Open House, I felt like it was the middle of the year- very comfortable with the other kids, parents, and teacher. 
Adelyn had a great first day! 


Always dancin'!
James is in the 2 year old class and his teacher is Mrs. Teresa. Again, I feel great about his teacher! She is super sweet. I signed up to be room mom for my first time. James goes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. He was NOT a happy camper when we dropped off Adelyn on Tuesday. He kept saying he wanted to go to school or go pick up Ada. 
He had a great first day too! 


I love how they're looking at each other




Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Am I the only mom (kinda) not ready for school to start???

Don't get me wrong...I will love the "me" time I'll get when my kids are at school. Getting more things done at home, grocery shopping solo, and going to the doctor without finding a sitter is a major plus. However, I'm not counting down the minutes for my kids to go to school.  This summer has gone by SO fast. TOO fast. It's been weird weather-wise. I feel like we're just getting into the warm weather. Here in Georgia, it's been rainy or downright cold on some days. Plus, we've traveled a lot so we haven't had many the endless, back to back days at home. I just can't believe we're in September already.
These days/week/years go by in the blink of an eye. That statement is so true. My time with Adelyn and James is a blessing, and when they're at school 5 and 3 days (well, until 12:30) per week, it's a lot of missed time with them. I'm turning into a sappy mom. 
There are going to be days that I bypass the school and take my kids on our own adventure on a random school day. :) They start back the day after Labor Day. These past couple of weeks, I've been soaking up either a lazy morning at  home or special trips to fun local places. Before I know it, we'll back on a schedule and these lax days are done. 

Playing Old Maid
Chillin' in Lightning McQueen shades
We met Randy and Bella at  Central Park. Adelyn rode her bike around the track. Afterwards, we played on the playgound.We were at the park for over 2 hours. 


My girl can finally do the monkey bars


Adelyn and Cullen relaxing in the pool 
James in Adelyn's old swimmies

We met some friends from ballet, Randy, and Bella at the Splash Pad. We'd never been and it was so much fun!


James's first movie: Planes! He actually sat through the whole thing (granted, he ate popcorn, goobers, a lollipop, and drank some Icee)

Randy, my girlfriend from college (and we lived together after college in Atlanta), recently moved back to the Atlanta area from Deleware. More precisely, she moved 7 minutes form my house!! It's wonderful to have my best friend just minutes away. James and Bella are 9 days a part. We've done playdates, grilled out at their beautiful new house, and gotten together just us. It's fabulous. How lucky am I? 
Labor Day weekend was spent in town, all four of us! We grilled out with the Guarinos Friday night, hung out at home Saturday, and went to Whitewater in Marietta on Sunday with the Pombos. It rained/thundered off and on, so we really only got to ride 2 or 3 rides. Luckily, they gave us passes to return next season. We'll be back for sure! We spent the night with them and played in their pool, ordered pizza, and all hung out. 
James kept playing peek a boo in the hot tub
Adelyn and Eli playing with water guns on the floats
Movie time: Epic