Another week.

Well, it has been another week.  This one might have been just as insane as the last, except we didn't start with being out of town, so that is a bonus.

Saturday we celebrated our anniversary by getting a babysitter (Thanks Teruko!) and going out for martinis.

Sunday we went to Oak Mountain for a mini-cookout with Aimee and Steven (Franklin), the ones without kids.  They are in stark contrast to Amy and Steven (Castello), the ones with 3.75 kids.

We had grilled pork chops, butterfinger brownies, grilled asparagus, and au gratin potatoes. It was pretty chilly, though.  And windy!

Em hung out on the table and explored gravity by dropping her toys over and over again.

I think Rob is explaining fire to Aimee.  But I can't be sure?

I learned that Steven doesn't go anywhere without his guitar.

Aimee looks so healthy in her workout gear and holding a strawberry.

If I were nice, I'd leave out the part where we all gorged ourselves on butterfinger brownies.

Em is so cool with her hat pulled low as she learns a few chords :)

Sunday night Rob and I celebrated our anniversary some more by cooking steaks at home.

Rob had been complaining of a sore throat and generally crappy feelings.  So Monday he went to the doc and found out he had bronchitis!  (You might remember him having strep about 6 weeks ago.) He got TWO SHOTS, and a 10 day course of antibiotics. 

Monday night Em woke up and entertained the whole house by alternately puking and screaming.  No one tells you that the first time your baby pukes for real...PANICPANICPANICPANIC.  Rob and I tried to take her temp, but couldn't find the thermometer.  Then when we did, it was on Celsius!  Celsius!  It was crazy times.  But we got her feeling better and she slept in her swing for the remainder of the night.  

Tuesday, Rob and Em stayed home with each other and I went to Stillman to teach.  

Wednesday was our actual anniversary, and we celebrated by ordering Hungry Howie's Maui Pizza and exchanging cards. I think I was asleep by 10:30.

So.  On to other things.  

Rob hung up our bird feeder last week in honor of spring!  He has been very concerned that the birds won't want to eat at our restaurant because of the cats hanging around all the time.  But this morning!  A cardinal was having some food and I got pics!  

I can only assume that the other bird is his wife.  And she wasn't camera-ready.

Or perhaps she is mad, because she was hungry like, TWELVE HOURS AGO, and they got lost on the way here.  And he wouldn't ask for directions.  Hope it is not their anniversary.

Or maybe it is his mistress, and doesn't want to be on camera for obvious reasons.

The obvious reason being that he is running for office.
Of course, if he is an "I HATE THE GAYS" politician, the other bird is probably his intern/boytoy.


You can decide for yourself.

Yes, I just made up a story about the birds on our feeder.  

Actually two stories.

Can you hear the tennis balls on my walker scraping the floors as I shuffle around the house?

This weekend it is Amy's baby party (the one the 3.75 kids).  I have MUCH WORK TO DO.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Doing Laundry in Style

1st.  Happy Anniversary to Rob and I :)  We have been married for three years!  I still remember our wedding day like it was yesterday, all the planning that I did, how much fun I had, and how I felt when our officiant (my godfather, Tommy) said, "You may kiss your bride!"  And when Rob told me at the hotel that night where we would be going on our honeymoon!

These are among my best memories, and I hope they never ever fade.  

Mush alert.  This is us on our honeymoon, after a hike through the Armstrong Redwood Forest in CA.

We did not make someone take this picture of us.  We set the camera timer.  For the record.

Now that we have been married for three years and we have a beautiful baby, our relationship, while still fantastically fun, has taken a turn for the practical.  

Case in point:  Rob revamped the laundry room this past weekend and I could not be more excited to not have to cram  my body in between piles of recycling, laundry baskets, mops, brooms, vacuums, tools, and various cleaning supplies.  Not to mention all the crap that needs to be stored in the attic or under the house.  

I don't have any "before" pictures, because they would be far too mortifying to show.

Now that we have a laundry sorting "station", 

I don't have to be responsible for sorting all the laundry.  

It's so easy, even Mr. Homie could do it.

This is the new shelf that Rob built, and the pegboard he put up for the mops.  

The rod in front of the shelf is for hangers so I can air dry clothes--

without hanging them on random doorknobs throughout the house.  

Better for everyone's mood.

So.  Happy Anniversary to us.  And Happy Wednesday to the rest of you.

"What are you doing?" "Just SITTIN around!"

Guess who can sit up with (little to no) help!

You got it. It's Robert. And we've almost got his little chewing problem under control too.

I kid.

It's Emerald!  She still needs a little help because once she realizes she is sitting up....well, she gets super excited and falls over.  These pictures were taken yesterday, the first time she sat up!  She is already stronger today. I know because the number of faceplants has decreased between yesterday and today. 

Keeping my foot behind her...just in case.

Look how proud (or surprised?) she looks!

"Crap I have these rings tangled around my feet!"

She is also trying her best to get (and stay) up on all fours. And will be crawling before I know what happened! Guess it's time to baby proof.  Or at least get the cords for the blinds out of reach. I won't be one of those to put bumpers on the coffee table.  I'm sure my approach to minor accidents will be much like my parents' approach--"Guess she won't do that no more..."

These pictures look shockingly like my yoga class.

The yoga class I used to have before my schedule turned to mush.

Check out the concentration on her face.

"You can do ANYTHING for two more seconds!"

When it rains, it floods.

I'll start with the weekend, then tell you about the disaster(s).

We went down to Picayune to visit my parents!  We had a great time (Bells went with us, and it was the awesomest time of her life!) and got to see my sister, nephew, godmother, Dorothy, and Rich & Eileen!  We failed a little at taking pictures of people looking decent (or even clothed, in some instances), because we were having such a good time visiting and going to the street fair (the biggest deal in Picayune!) and having chicken on a stick.  Chicken on a stick--is just what it sounds like. The best thing ever. Until 1 hour later, when you feel like you swallowed a whole watermelon full of grease.

Anyway.

Tye is like me.  He goes until he crashes.

Em sitting on Tye's lap.  "This baby sure is heavy!" 

Em investigates what the Easter Bunny brought to Memere and TPa's house.

That reddish hair! Never thought I'd be a mom to a ginger baby.

In reality, I investigate what the Easter Bunny brought.  

Em was enamored with Tye the whole time.

She got some great outfits!

Fun in the sun at the street fair!  We lasted about one hour before everyone was melty.

Back at home, cozy with Uncle Colby.

He sure knows his way around a baby.

Best toy in the world, a water bottle.  Go figure.

The big kid with the little kids.

A sweet picture of Em with Memere and TPa.  

They will kill me for posting this one, so hope you've enjoyed reading my blog up to now.

Lee was wearing pants, just so you know.

When we got home, look what we found! Blackberries growing in our yard! Volunteer blackberries!  I was able to bring in a giant harvest of 3/4 cup.  We made a tiny compote and put it on vanilla ice cream.  Looking forward to more. Maybe by the end of summer, if we freeze them religiously, we can make a cobbler.  If we also add peaches.

Yesterday was quite possibly the worst day ever.  First, we submitted our taxes.  So that was pretty great.  We owed MUCH less than the 2500 we paid last year, but only because I had a kid in 2011.  Guess that was a good move for more than one reason.  

Second,  it has been raining for the past few days.  I got in my car to go to the gym, and every time I made a turn, I heard this waterfall sound.  Not like a trickle waterfall on a white noise machine that makes you feel nice.  Nope.  A waterfall like possibly your car is filling with water.  It was. So I'm working on getting that fixed right now, and have an appointment for a "water test" on Monday.  I can save them the time and say, "Hey, guess whose car is going to super-fail the water test?"

Also, while distracted by the fact that my car was flooding, I backed into a parked Mercedes (yes I did!).  Just bumped it, but left a note anyway.  And really I was motivated by an extreme fear of being arrested, not by the goal of being a good person. I mean, there was ZERO damage to my car (not even a smudge in the paint), and damage to theirs that looks way too bad to have been done by me, so I think it was there before. Waiting to hear back, but hoping no one calls. I'm sure that if they do, I will end up paying for a replacement Mercedes bumper, or at least my collision deductible which is 500 bucks. Rob didn't yell at me, but probably only because it is almost our anniversary.

And while we are talking about things that suck, Monday had a fail, too.  Rob dropped Em off at daycare, and I was going to pick her up.  He dropped her off in his car, took her out of her seat, and carried her into the daycare.  I went to the daycare in my car.  Done the math yet?  I got outside with my baby, and had no carseat.  Do you have any idea how tempting it is to drive with a baby in your lap under those circumstances?  Especially when it is only 1.5 miles? 

But I called Rob, who had to ride his bike home, get his car, and meet me at the daycare, where we just switched cars since he had somewhere else to go.  Meanwhile, I sat outside with my baby for about 30 minutes, and everyone looked at me like I was homeless.  Anyway, I was not really motivated by being legal with the car seat and all, but I did figure that if I drove with a baby in my lap, it would be the day I would get rear-ended. And then if it didn't kill my baby, I'm sure I would be getting arrested (noticing a theme?) and my baby would be taken away from me. 

And finally, we are home, hoping to get our lives under control.  The next person that suggests I go on a weekend trip is getting punched in the face.  FYI.

Also...

I just got this picture from Rob's mom, who has been wonderful to email me pictures of this past weekend. Lots of the ones in my previous post were from her.

Anyway, I finally got to meet their sweet family friend Ms Annie.  She dropped by with her grandchildren for a visit.  Emerald LOVED her!

Somehow Dietz was behind the camera all weekend, but I do have this cute pic of he and Emerald:

Okay, I think that FINALLY rounds out all the pictures from last weekend!  Just in time to head out again tomorrow afternoon.  

You should SEE the layer of dust on my mantle...at least we are leaving so I don't have to look at it!

The Princess and the Bunny

This past weekend we went to Gainesville FL to see Em's Gigi and Dietz and to celebrate Granny Mans' 80th Birthday!

We drove there on Saturday and came home on Sunday night.  If you are like me, you might not be that great at geography of places that are over 100 miles away.  But I can tell you that the Nissan odometer says we drove 890 miles in 26 hours. But what are you to do when Granny turns 80 and you have no time off work? It was totally worth it to see how thrilled Granny was to see us at the party:

Em and Granny Mans.

Gigi and Dietz picked out her Easter Dress, 

and I'm trying to find a place she can wear it again-too cute for words.

We were only slightly worse for the wear when we arrived just in time for dinner on Saturday.

Just more evidence that I am NOT, in fact, as tall as I think I am.

Granny's party was a smashing success, with all her kids, grandkids and great grandkids present.  I mean, most of them live right there in Gainesville.  But still, it's nice to have a family that loves to get together and celebrate life's milestones.

Quite possibly the worst picture of me, EVER.

But everyone else looks nice.

Us with granny and grandpa.

Ally is probably showing the spot where Granny mistakenly sprayed her with 

HotShot Ant and Roach Killer....instead of mosquito repellant.

The Weavers entertain the crowd of cousins.

Thomas explains the world, while Chris cracks up.

Aunt Sherry, the Weaver Matriarch, entertains her siblings.

You can only see the back of her head, but trust me, she is a trip. 

Or, as my mom would say, a long journey :)

Em napped through the first part of the party, but you'd best believe 

Gary was there to intercept as soon as she woke up!

And Aunt Lori!  No longer crawling with stomach flu germs from our first visit with them,

she finally gets to hold Em!

There were tons of old pictures of Granny.  Of course! 80 years of photos!

Granny loves to fish!

Just like my granny.

Granny and Grandpa with their five (!) children!

Love this pic of Granny and Grandpa.

Finally a photo shoot with Cooper and Jake, Em's cousins!

Cooper has to show the little ones how it's done.  He has tons of practice in front of the camera.

Before the party, we celebrated Emerald's first visit from the Easter Bunny!  She must have had a great five months, because she got tons of stuff!

A pic with the spoils.

Dad helps her explore each item.  

What is Mozart doing this Halloween?  Decomposing.

HAHAH.

She is examining this very seriously.

A developmental interactive toy for the crib!

I swear it keeps her entertained in the morning so I get more sleep :)

Gigi and Dietz got Em some adorable puppets for her basket.

No word on why Rob looks like his puppy just died.

That's better Dad :)

PLAYING WITH MY NEW TOYS!

Am I as pretty as my Gigi?

Gorgeous girls in pink.

A great weekend!  Now we have just one more weekend trip and then will be stationary for quite a while!  You are welcome to come see us, but we are not leaving!
Happy Wednesday :)

A gaggle of milestones

Yesterday I picked Emerald up at Daycare to find out that she has been promoted to the next class!  Already!  I guess I didn't realize that she is the oldest in her class (definitely not the biggest...) and has hit all the required milestones for moving up!  I suppose I should update all of you and say that she did finally master the art of rolling to her belly to her back.  So now I no longer have to go rescue her from a fit of rage when she gets stuck on her stomach.

I celebrated Em's big promotion by taking her right home and giving her some real food!  Off a spoon!  It was baby apple/banana oatmeal cereal mixed with some pears for added flavor.  She did a great job, but was an epic mess at the end of the process.

Plus, she is hilarious and tries to chew the spoon.

Some photos!  Plus a video.  I sure am super annoying on camera though, so you might just prefer to watch it on mute. I'm no stranger to Emerald being the star of the show :)

OHMYGOSH I LOVE OATMEAL!

She especially loves it all over her face.

Give me that spoon, I'll just do it myself!

I have no idea why her hair is pushed over like that.

Also, she is still distracted by the camera, I see.

This is okay, I guess.

I suppose it goes without saying that everyone needed a bath after this little adventure.

And now a video!  I realize this video is not the best camera work in the world. Or even the best camera work on my street.  But you try feeding a five-month old with your dominant hand while manning a video camera in the other.  Really.  Come over and try it.