Cajun Country--Bayou Bound

***new post below too***

This past weekend, Patrick, Addison, and I flew down to New Orleans, Louisiana. Cool people call it NOLA. We had a blast, and Addison traveled beautifully. [Thanks to all of you who responded to my facebook query.]

We were able to use up some of P's free tickets that he acquired during his days of travel last year, and we got to visit with Steven and celebrate our upcoming 5th anniversary--all before our life changes again!

Here are some highlights of our trip:
[Eating beignets at the famous Cafe Du Monde--sign in the back. These delicacies are the texture of funnel cakes, the look of toaster strudels, covered with copious powdered sugar. Tastes like heaven. Topped off with a Cafe au Lait and completed with me devouring spoonfuls of leftover powdered sugar, this meal started off our venture in the city. Fun fact--the last time my mom ate at Cafe Du Monde she was pregnant with me, and I will get to share with Ansley that I was pregnant with her in this pic.]
[Walking around Jackson Square in The French Quarter--capturing some of the prettiest balconies that we saw--complete with the jazz and Mardi Gras influence.]
[Pictures of us walking around in the heat. Steven warned us how miserable it would be. We thought we were tough, but it soon became unbearable. So, then, we would just pop into a shop, and our little person coped with the heat through napping!]
[Where we ate lunch. Previously seen in John Grisham's The Runaway Jury where the jurors see the judge eating]
[The Famer's Market and Open Air Market]
[Our face in the hole picture. We didn't realize at the time what it was promoting, just wanted a face in the hole picture... Oops.]
[Our favorite t-shirt company: Crawdaddy's T-Shirt Company... and my favorite t-shirt: "Who's Your Crawdaddy?" Patty Crawdy, that's who! :)]
[family pic at LS Who's campus]

[We forgot our camera the last night when we went to Boutin's--could have kicked ourselves because it was the quintessential cajun experience--full of alligator eating, dancing to local music, and feeding the turtles in the pond. Addison was in her element. Steven took some pics with his iphone that I hope he'll send us.]
[It was a great trip, and Steven was a great host! Addison sure does love her Uncle Steven.]

We enjoyed immersing into the cultural experience--especially dining wise with all of our crawfish--crawfish po'boys, crawfish etouffe, crawfish enchiladas, boudon balls, alligator, and red beans and rice. Thankfully we took enough Tums!

***More pics on my upcoming facebook album.***

***new post below too***

This past weekend, Patrick, Addison, and I flew down to New Orleans, Louisiana. Cool people call it NOLA. We had a blast, and Addison traveled beautifully. [Thanks to all of you who responded to my facebook query.]

We were able to use up some of P's free tickets that he acquired during his days of travel last year, and we got to visit with Steven and celebrate our upcoming 5th anniversary--all before our life changes again!

Here are some highlights of our trip:
[Eating beignets at the famous Cafe Du Monde--sign in the back. These delicacies are the texture of funnel cakes, the look of toaster strudels, covered with copious powdered sugar. Tastes like heaven. Topped off with a Cafe au Lait and completed with me devouring spoonfuls of leftover powdered sugar, this meal started off our venture in the city. Fun fact--the last time my mom ate at Cafe Du Monde she was pregnant with me, and I will get to share with Ansley that I was pregnant with her in this pic.]
[Walking around Jackson Square in The French Quarter--capturing some of the prettiest balconies that we saw--complete with the jazz and Mardi Gras influence.]
[Pictures of us walking around in the heat. Steven warned us how miserable it would be. We thought we were tough, but it soon became unbearable. So, then, we would just pop into a shop, and our little person coped with the heat through napping!]
[Where we ate lunch. Previously seen in John Grisham's The Runaway Jury where the jurors see the judge eating]
[The Famer's Market and Open Air Market]
[Our face in the hole picture. We didn't realize at the time what it was promoting, just wanted a face in the hole picture... Oops.]
[Our favorite t-shirt company: Crawdaddy's T-Shirt Company... and my favorite t-shirt: "Who's Your Crawdaddy?" Patty Crawdy, that's who! :)]
[family pic at LS Who's campus]

[We forgot our camera the last night when we went to Boutin's--could have kicked ourselves because it was the quintessential cajun experience--full of alligator eating, dancing to local music, and feeding the turtles in the pond. Addison was in her element. Steven took some pics with his iphone that I hope he'll send us.]
[It was a great trip, and Steven was a great host! Addison sure does love her Uncle Steven.]

We enjoyed immersing into the cultural experience--especially dining wise with all of our crawfish--crawfish po'boys, crawfish etouffe, crawfish enchiladas, boudon balls, alligator, and red beans and rice. Thankfully we took enough Tums!

***More pics on my upcoming facebook album.***

"Forever Friends"

[The only picture I could get of all the kiddos. Zac Ayer (22 months), Rylee Watson (10 months), Addison Crawford (22 months tomorrow), Jack Steele (up front, 3 1/2), Reese Watson (behind, 10 months), Austin Weatherford (behind, 4 1/2), Knox Steele (9 months), Peyton Weatherford (15 months). More below.]
I stole this title from Amy. Unabashedly. I always categorize my groups of friends like you do on your wedding program for your bridesmaids--you know, high school friends, college friends, sorority friends, ACSC friends, UCM friends, work friends, Bunco friends, church friends, neighborhood friends, etc. Have I exhausted all categories yet? You get my point...

I am thankful that I've come to a point in my life where many from each of these groups have become LIFELONG FRIENDS, or forever friends, as Amy titled her last post. These friends are the ones who have layered over during many seasons of life, and the ones that you know you will still make effort to connect with through future layers--my favorite kinds of friends.

Today, I got together with friends who have been in my life since I was 11 years old. That's 20 years, and I think definitely establishes these women in the "forever friend" category. Most of us have reestablished ourselves as Nashville-based, but Mindy and Kristen traveled from Kentucky and South Carolina. Austin, Mindy's oldest at age 4, took some Mommy pictures that I can't wait to get through email, but the ones I have to post here are of the 8 kiddos that we claim (plus 2 more who just aren't here yet).

Just like I described in my Chi O reunion post, these women are ones whom I respect and admire and can pick up with instantly. We still refer to our first car's nicknames and make fun of our Senior Spring Break, and laugh at who we were while celebrating who we've become. We can move from belly-laughing over memories to talking about our marriages, careers, child-rearing philosophies, nutrition, you name it! It's a fun journey to be on with them. We sure missed Kelly (and Baby Georgia, as Addison refers to her), Jenny, and Tara (+her three).

[The only picture I could get of all the kiddos. Zac Ayer (22 months), Rylee Watson (10 months), Addison Crawford (22 months tomorrow), Jack Steele (up front, 3 1/2), Reese Watson (behind, 10 months), Austin Weatherford (behind, 4 1/2), Knox Steele (9 months), Peyton Weatherford (15 months). More below.]
I stole this title from Amy. Unabashedly. I always categorize my groups of friends like you do on your wedding program for your bridesmaids--you know, high school friends, college friends, sorority friends, ACSC friends, UCM friends, work friends, Bunco friends, church friends, neighborhood friends, etc. Have I exhausted all categories yet? You get my point...

I am thankful that I've come to a point in my life where many from each of these groups have become LIFELONG FRIENDS, or forever friends, as Amy titled her last post. These friends are the ones who have layered over during many seasons of life, and the ones that you know you will still make effort to connect with through future layers--my favorite kinds of friends.

Today, I got together with friends who have been in my life since I was 11 years old. That's 20 years, and I think definitely establishes these women in the "forever friend" category. Most of us have reestablished ourselves as Nashville-based, but Mindy and Kristen traveled from Kentucky and South Carolina. Austin, Mindy's oldest at age 4, took some Mommy pictures that I can't wait to get through email, but the ones I have to post here are of the 8 kiddos that we claim (plus 2 more who just aren't here yet).

Just like I described in my Chi O reunion post, these women are ones whom I respect and admire and can pick up with instantly. We still refer to our first car's nicknames and make fun of our Senior Spring Break, and laugh at who we were while celebrating who we've become. We can move from belly-laughing over memories to talking about our marriages, careers, child-rearing philosophies, nutrition, you name it! It's a fun journey to be on with them. We sure missed Kelly (and Baby Georgia, as Addison refers to her), Jenny, and Tara (+her three).

A New Blogger to Check Out

My friend, Rebekah, just joined the blogging world, and you should go read about her story here:

Life is so much more than it appears to be.

She was a sorority sister and roommate during my Auburn days, and I have so many memories of laughter and silliness with her. She has a beautiful family with her husband, Roddy, and their precious sons, Tate (3 1/2), Jon Walt (15 months), and Mills--who has gone to be with the Lord.

God has written a special story for her family, and she shares her heart beautifully. I am thankful for the many seasons of our friendship I've experienced with her and for all aspects of her fun and Godly character. Pop on over if you get the chance.

My friend, Rebekah, just joined the blogging world, and you should go read about her story here:

Life is so much more than it appears to be.

She was a sorority sister and roommate during my Auburn days, and I have so many memories of laughter and silliness with her. She has a beautiful family with her husband, Roddy, and their precious sons, Tate (3 1/2), Jon Walt (15 months), and Mills--who has gone to be with the Lord.

God has written a special story for her family, and she shares her heart beautifully. I am thankful for the many seasons of our friendship I've experienced with her and for all aspects of her fun and Godly character. Pop on over if you get the chance.

Current Projects... and the first of many matching outfits...

After our FM jaunt Saturday morning, we couldn't avoid stopping by the Little Cottage's end of season 50% off sale. The frugal one, I kept putting things back on the rack--albeit reluctantly. Patrick is a sucker (in a good way) for his girls though, and when we saw these 2 matching outfits, how could we resist?
We got Ansley a 6 month romper (on the left) and Addison a 2T 2-piece shirt/pants set (right)--both for next spring/early summer. Can't wait to see these girls together. [But I promise I won't make them match ALL the time.]

Since I will not have to do too much changing to the nursery (just pictures and clothes mostly) originally pictured HERE, I have been focusing on making Addison's "Big Girl Room" into something special. I am excited about that for 2 reasons. #1--I love the nursery, and it's been a sweet nurturing space for my sweet girl. I am thankful for the economy of getting to use that stuff for a couple more years. #2--I am excited about making the transition of Addison into this new space something special and fun! I'm hoping to have it ready by her birthday, so that she can start getting used to it for a few weeks before she becomes a big sis.

Disclaimer: I don't typically like kiddie themes. However, I love all things owl. I'm excited about incorporating my personal owl collection begun in my Chi O days into her room, and I fell in love with this Target bedding, so here we go. [I originally fell in love with this PB bedding, but there was no way I could justify the price difference when I equally loved both!]

When we found out we were having another girl and I didn't need to redecorate the nursery, I went back and went a little accessory crazy--totally disregarding my usually eclectic, anti-matchy-matchy tendencies. What is happening to me? Maybe I'm the sucker... I'll find some ways to change it up a bit with other accessories, I'm determined.
Now we are working on paint colors, and we think we've found our winner with Benjamin Moore's "Sundance" yellow
Her Big Girl room currently serves as a guest room, and for now, we are going to pack up my white iron bed for her to use when she is older. She's just not ready for it yet. For the next few years, we are going to use Patrick's childhood bed that his parents are giving us. It is a low twin bed with built-in bookshelves behind it that we plan to paint white to go with my white wicker furniture from my former "Big Girl" room. I'm excited!

Most of my sewing projects have been baby gifts lately, but I am working on this dress for Addison that I hope to have ready in the next week! I'll post back with updates and final products soon, I hope.
Next up--redoing (at least repainting) the girls' bathroom upstairs!

In the meantime, I'm having fun and scouring the internet for 2nd Birthday Party ideas. I'm thinking that since her Big Girl room is a big part of her gift, I might go all out with my owl theme. If anybody has any ideas or resources, I'd appreciate your help.

After our FM jaunt Saturday morning, we couldn't avoid stopping by the Little Cottage's end of season 50% off sale. The frugal one, I kept putting things back on the rack--albeit reluctantly. Patrick is a sucker (in a good way) for his girls though, and when we saw these 2 matching outfits, how could we resist?
We got Ansley a 6 month romper (on the left) and Addison a 2T 2-piece shirt/pants set (right)--both for next spring/early summer. Can't wait to see these girls together. [But I promise I won't make them match ALL the time.]

Since I will not have to do too much changing to the nursery (just pictures and clothes mostly) originally pictured HERE, I have been focusing on making Addison's "Big Girl Room" into something special. I am excited about that for 2 reasons. #1--I love the nursery, and it's been a sweet nurturing space for my sweet girl. I am thankful for the economy of getting to use that stuff for a couple more years. #2--I am excited about making the transition of Addison into this new space something special and fun! I'm hoping to have it ready by her birthday, so that she can start getting used to it for a few weeks before she becomes a big sis.

Disclaimer: I don't typically like kiddie themes. However, I love all things owl. I'm excited about incorporating my personal owl collection begun in my Chi O days into her room, and I fell in love with this Target bedding, so here we go. [I originally fell in love with this PB bedding, but there was no way I could justify the price difference when I equally loved both!]

When we found out we were having another girl and I didn't need to redecorate the nursery, I went back and went a little accessory crazy--totally disregarding my usually eclectic, anti-matchy-matchy tendencies. What is happening to me? Maybe I'm the sucker... I'll find some ways to change it up a bit with other accessories, I'm determined.
Now we are working on paint colors, and we think we've found our winner with Benjamin Moore's "Sundance" yellow
Her Big Girl room currently serves as a guest room, and for now, we are going to pack up my white iron bed for her to use when she is older. She's just not ready for it yet. For the next few years, we are going to use Patrick's childhood bed that his parents are giving us. It is a low twin bed with built-in bookshelves behind it that we plan to paint white to go with my white wicker furniture from my former "Big Girl" room. I'm excited!

Most of my sewing projects have been baby gifts lately, but I am working on this dress for Addison that I hope to have ready in the next week! I'll post back with updates and final products soon, I hope.
Next up--redoing (at least repainting) the girls' bathroom upstairs!

In the meantime, I'm having fun and scouring the internet for 2nd Birthday Party ideas. I'm thinking that since her Big Girl room is a big part of her gift, I might go all out with my owl theme. If anybody has any ideas or resources, I'd appreciate your help.

Farmer's Market Finds

It seems like everyone in our grass-roots generation raves about their particular farmer's market or CSA. I am no different. I enjoy going to the Franklin Farmer's Market on Saturday mornings, sipping on a Frisky Berry coffee beverage, listening to some blue grass, and letting Addison pet all of the fancy dogs. This past Saturday we actually ran into my mom there and enjoyed shopping with her.

The first of my finds was this beautiful bouquet of flowers for $5. I love fresh flowers. I especially love mixing sunflowers into pretty summer bunches, and these have made me happy all week. (Thanks to mom for standing in line so long to get them. Those guys were hopping! And next time I am hosting a party, I will go there for floral decorations, no doubt.)
Then we stocked up on vegetables, and I've been enjoying using fun summer recipes that incorporate all of the summer veggies I love to eat like squash, zucchini, peppers, tomatoes... The first thing on our menu for the week was this: Baked Penne with Roasted Vegetables from the Food Network that my friend April sent me. (She recommended using the Italian Cheese bag from Publix, and I also add 2 cups of cooked, shredded chicken. I leave out the mushrooms--yuck.) It makes so much! I love taking it to new moms, and I really love the leftovers!

Today was one of those "stay-at-home-in-your-pjs-all-day" today. Addison is working on her eye teeth--story of our life. It is way too hot to do anything outside that doesn't involve being under water. So we created a "Dora-Elmo-Disney" station on Pandora, and rocked out to it while we cooked and colored all day all day. My little helper really made it fun.

Tonight our menu was Veggie Night. Tomato Pie, Squash Casserole, Crispy Okra Spears, Tossed Salad, and Bread. Yogurt Pie for dessert. So yummy!
We even decided to have a little impromptu dinner party for this one and enjoyed our time with our dear friends, the Stephens.

Yesterday, I took this little girl to her first movie: Charlotte's Web.
[BTW, staying in your pajamas until dinner also warrants minimal hair fixage. Loving these headbands for a quick fix to her curly mop. :)]

We dressed up in dresses, packed our diaper bag full of fruit snacks and goldfish, and made our way to the free showing at Green Hills. I was hesitant to take her, not knowing how long she could make it. The "free" incentive got us there. Since there was no cost involved, the risk factor went down drastically, and I figured even if we made it just 15 minutes, we could head to the mall and do something different afterward. She totally surprised me and lasted the whole time. It was packed, and she was so interested in watching everyone around her. I will not say that the movie raptured her, but she stayed engaged during the duration. My favorite part was her running commentary. Everything began with, "Oh, Mommy, look..." (really drawn out and dramatic) "... at the big TB." "that pig Wilbur--he crying." "that bug soooo nice... that web soooo pretty." When she got restless, we snacked. When it was over, she clapped. We went to Pottery Barn Kids and picked her out a new lunchbox, and then I treated us to grilled cheese sandwiches at Panera. When we got into the car, she said with sleepy eyes, "Mommy, I had fun at the moobie." Melted my heart, and was the perfect Mommy/Addison day.

It seems like everyone in our grass-roots generation raves about their particular farmer's market or CSA. I am no different. I enjoy going to the Franklin Farmer's Market on Saturday mornings, sipping on a Frisky Berry coffee beverage, listening to some blue grass, and letting Addison pet all of the fancy dogs. This past Saturday we actually ran into my mom there and enjoyed shopping with her.

The first of my finds was this beautiful bouquet of flowers for $5. I love fresh flowers. I especially love mixing sunflowers into pretty summer bunches, and these have made me happy all week. (Thanks to mom for standing in line so long to get them. Those guys were hopping! And next time I am hosting a party, I will go there for floral decorations, no doubt.)
Then we stocked up on vegetables, and I've been enjoying using fun summer recipes that incorporate all of the summer veggies I love to eat like squash, zucchini, peppers, tomatoes... The first thing on our menu for the week was this: Baked Penne with Roasted Vegetables from the Food Network that my friend April sent me. (She recommended using the Italian Cheese bag from Publix, and I also add 2 cups of cooked, shredded chicken. I leave out the mushrooms--yuck.) It makes so much! I love taking it to new moms, and I really love the leftovers!

Today was one of those "stay-at-home-in-your-pjs-all-day" today. Addison is working on her eye teeth--story of our life. It is way too hot to do anything outside that doesn't involve being under water. So we created a "Dora-Elmo-Disney" station on Pandora, and rocked out to it while we cooked and colored all day all day. My little helper really made it fun.

Tonight our menu was Veggie Night. Tomato Pie, Squash Casserole, Crispy Okra Spears, Tossed Salad, and Bread. Yogurt Pie for dessert. So yummy!
We even decided to have a little impromptu dinner party for this one and enjoyed our time with our dear friends, the Stephens.

Yesterday, I took this little girl to her first movie: Charlotte's Web.
[BTW, staying in your pajamas until dinner also warrants minimal hair fixage. Loving these headbands for a quick fix to her curly mop. :)]

We dressed up in dresses, packed our diaper bag full of fruit snacks and goldfish, and made our way to the free showing at Green Hills. I was hesitant to take her, not knowing how long she could make it. The "free" incentive got us there. Since there was no cost involved, the risk factor went down drastically, and I figured even if we made it just 15 minutes, we could head to the mall and do something different afterward. She totally surprised me and lasted the whole time. It was packed, and she was so interested in watching everyone around her. I will not say that the movie raptured her, but she stayed engaged during the duration. My favorite part was her running commentary. Everything began with, "Oh, Mommy, look..." (really drawn out and dramatic) "... at the big TB." "that pig Wilbur--he crying." "that bug soooo nice... that web soooo pretty." When she got restless, we snacked. When it was over, she clapped. We went to Pottery Barn Kids and picked her out a new lunchbox, and then I treated us to grilled cheese sandwiches at Panera. When we got into the car, she said with sleepy eyes, "Mommy, I had fun at the moobie." Melted my heart, and was the perfect Mommy/Addison day.

Chi Omega "Mansion Girls" Reunion

Well, we did it again. Thankfully. Last year I posted about our reunion (with a fun "before picture"), and we said we'd make it an annual one, and 2 years in a row is pretty good for us! This year, 6 of our original 9 came with our 11 [and growing] kids in tow. It was a wild and eventful day, but we managed to breeze into instant comfortability with each other as always...

(all of our motley crew!)

This year we met in Huntsville (coming from Nashville, Atlanta, Florence, Birmingham, and Tuscaloosa) at Amy's abode, and her house was completely wrecked by the end of the day. Our kids all became fast friends and got along great. Every parenting style is so different, but the six of us were on the same page, and it made things so much more relaxed. These women are ones whom I respect and admire, and I'm so glad to have (and for Addison ~and soon Ansley~ to have) relationships with their precious children.

We laughed and cried and talked and talked. None of us could believe how fast our time together flew. It was encouraging, humbling, and refreshing to hear their individual stories of what God is doing in their sweet families' lives. From adoption to child loss, to job struggles, from staying home or working or trying to do some of both, these women are strong mothers and wives for their families. I'm thankful for them, Here are a few photos--that I took and borrowed--of our fun-filled day!


The kiddos (from top): Bennett Green, Eli Stapler, Henry Debardeleben, Carter Brown, Mary Taylor Debardeleben, Addison Crawford, Grace Brown, John Walt Methvin, Tate Methvin, Bennett Green [Not pictured: a sleeping Caroline. On their way: Melissa and Dee's little boy, Charles Tucker, who they are adopting from Uganda this fall and Ansley Crawford. Missing: Turner Armstrong and Ceely Bateman]


The roommates: Christi Ikerd Green, Amy Kyle Stapler, Kelley Brown, Kristy Dean Crawford, Melissa Jackson Debardeleben, Rebekah Wright Methvin. [missing: Sarah Stone Armstrong, Mary Cook Bateman, Kimper Cannon Thomas--missed you girls!]

(I have many more action shots in my summer facebook album!)

Well, we did it again. Thankfully. Last year I posted about our reunion (with a fun "before picture"), and we said we'd make it an annual one, and 2 years in a row is pretty good for us! This year, 6 of our original 9 came with our 11 [and growing] kids in tow. It was a wild and eventful day, but we managed to breeze into instant comfortability with each other as always...

(all of our motley crew!)

This year we met in Huntsville (coming from Nashville, Atlanta, Florence, Birmingham, and Tuscaloosa) at Amy's abode, and her house was completely wrecked by the end of the day. Our kids all became fast friends and got along great. Every parenting style is so different, but the six of us were on the same page, and it made things so much more relaxed. These women are ones whom I respect and admire, and I'm so glad to have (and for Addison ~and soon Ansley~ to have) relationships with their precious children.

We laughed and cried and talked and talked. None of us could believe how fast our time together flew. It was encouraging, humbling, and refreshing to hear their individual stories of what God is doing in their sweet families' lives. From adoption to child loss, to job struggles, from staying home or working or trying to do some of both, these women are strong mothers and wives for their families. I'm thankful for them, Here are a few photos--that I took and borrowed--of our fun-filled day!


The kiddos (from top): Bennett Green, Eli Stapler, Henry Debardeleben, Carter Brown, Mary Taylor Debardeleben, Addison Crawford, Grace Brown, John Walt Methvin, Tate Methvin, Bennett Green [Not pictured: a sleeping Caroline. On their way: Melissa and Dee's little boy, Charles Tucker, who they are adopting from Uganda this fall and Ansley Crawford. Missing: Turner Armstrong and Ceely Bateman]


The roommates: Christi Ikerd Green, Amy Kyle Stapler, Kelley Brown, Kristy Dean Crawford, Melissa Jackson Debardeleben, Rebekah Wright Methvin. [missing: Sarah Stone Armstrong, Mary Cook Bateman, Kimper Cannon Thomas--missed you girls!]

(I have many more action shots in my summer facebook album!)

Terrible 2's renamed Bipolar 2's??? (and some more summer fun)

As most of you parents will share these sentiments, I will start by saying that I absolutely adore my daughter. Her individual spirit. Her laugh. Her joy for life. Her love of reading. I could go on.

We've reached a junction in her life that is commonly referred to as the "Terrible 2's." Doesn't that have a negative connotation? Sure, but it has been widely accepted as a rite of passage in a restrospectively laughable way.

I want to propose something--perhaps with even more of a negative connotation, but I hope equally laughable.

I think Addison has entered into the "Bipolar 2's."

Let me explain. She goes from one extreme behavior to another. Adorable to deplorable. Thankfully, mostly adorable, but the contrast is striking.

85-95% of the time, her adorable behavior, curiosity about life, body of knowledge, developing vocabulary and imagination is absolutely delightful. She can make me laugh and smile more than any person I know. She can cuddle and make me feel so loved. Basically, most of the time, I want to bottle up this little individual, squeeze her cheeks, and gush (even though, as a rule, I. Do. Not. Gush. Period.)

The other percent of the time, it's as if some force has entered her that is completely inexplicable. She can go from 0-90 with no warning or obvious stimulant and completely. melt. down. She will exert her strong will and collapse in defeat when she is corrected.

As a parent, I'm left scouring my books, praying for patience, asking for guidance. What do you do? How do you curtail the behavior without crushing the spirit? I know and have read most of the answers to these questions, but you still stop and ask. Most of the time I have to stifle a laugh. Ignoring usually works best. Last night, I just threw my hands in the air as we were just "THAT family."

Man, I love that girl.

Here are some recent pictures of our latest summer adventure. We enjoyed a poolside evening at Richland with great company and great food. Of course, I forgot my camera, so these pictures are courtesy of Lindsay. (Sidenote: Right before dinner, someone "tossed their cookies" in the pool, so afterwards we enjoyed some sprinkler fun.)

As most of you parents will share these sentiments, I will start by saying that I absolutely adore my daughter. Her individual spirit. Her laugh. Her joy for life. Her love of reading. I could go on.

We've reached a junction in her life that is commonly referred to as the "Terrible 2's." Doesn't that have a negative connotation? Sure, but it has been widely accepted as a rite of passage in a restrospectively laughable way.

I want to propose something--perhaps with even more of a negative connotation, but I hope equally laughable.

I think Addison has entered into the "Bipolar 2's."

Let me explain. She goes from one extreme behavior to another. Adorable to deplorable. Thankfully, mostly adorable, but the contrast is striking.

85-95% of the time, her adorable behavior, curiosity about life, body of knowledge, developing vocabulary and imagination is absolutely delightful. She can make me laugh and smile more than any person I know. She can cuddle and make me feel so loved. Basically, most of the time, I want to bottle up this little individual, squeeze her cheeks, and gush (even though, as a rule, I. Do. Not. Gush. Period.)

The other percent of the time, it's as if some force has entered her that is completely inexplicable. She can go from 0-90 with no warning or obvious stimulant and completely. melt. down. She will exert her strong will and collapse in defeat when she is corrected.

As a parent, I'm left scouring my books, praying for patience, asking for guidance. What do you do? How do you curtail the behavior without crushing the spirit? I know and have read most of the answers to these questions, but you still stop and ask. Most of the time I have to stifle a laugh. Ignoring usually works best. Last night, I just threw my hands in the air as we were just "THAT family."

Man, I love that girl.

Here are some recent pictures of our latest summer adventure. We enjoyed a poolside evening at Richland with great company and great food. Of course, I forgot my camera, so these pictures are courtesy of Lindsay. (Sidenote: Right before dinner, someone "tossed their cookies" in the pool, so afterwards we enjoyed some sprinkler fun.)

Beach Vacation 2010

Oh, it was wonderful...

I cannot believe that our beach trip has come and gone... Time flies. We had a wonderful time in Destin and were blessed with beautiful weather with a clean beach and ocean. We were nervous to go because of all of the oil hype, but it turned out great. Patrick said it was the best vacation he'd ever had, and that made me smile! Addison had a blast, and still asks every day to go see the ocean and beach. Bless her.

Castaway Cottage is truly our home away from home. After going there for 14 years, the memories are brimming. (We counted up, and in our 8 years together, this was P's 11th trip.) Of course, we always reminisce over our special wedding day. We love our times of hoping and dreaming, planning and imagining. It is crazy how some of the things we've imagined have now become reality. We are now so excited to build new memories--new hopes and dreams--there with our growing family.

I posted a picture album on Facebook, but I'll post a slideshow here too for family and friends who can't see it otherwise. Excuse the cheesy background music--there weren't many free options. :)

Personalize a digital slideshow

Oh, it was wonderful...

I cannot believe that our beach trip has come and gone... Time flies. We had a wonderful time in Destin and were blessed with beautiful weather with a clean beach and ocean. We were nervous to go because of all of the oil hype, but it turned out great. Patrick said it was the best vacation he'd ever had, and that made me smile! Addison had a blast, and still asks every day to go see the ocean and beach. Bless her.

Castaway Cottage is truly our home away from home. After going there for 14 years, the memories are brimming. (We counted up, and in our 8 years together, this was P's 11th trip.) Of course, we always reminisce over our special wedding day. We love our times of hoping and dreaming, planning and imagining. It is crazy how some of the things we've imagined have now become reality. We are now so excited to build new memories--new hopes and dreams--there with our growing family.

I posted a picture album on Facebook, but I'll post a slideshow here too for family and friends who can't see it otherwise. Excuse the cheesy background music--there weren't many free options. :)

Personalize a digital slideshow

This and That... thanks to the GOD OF HOPE (and where else I've been writing)

Whoa, when I logged into this thing, I couldn't believe my last post was June 24. That is not being true to my summer blogger self... I feel overwhelmed to recap the last month of summer, but I'm going to put together a slideshow at some point.

More importantly, I guess I've just been caught up in living in the moment. Something I seem to often take for granted. I usually look too far ahead of me and miss things along the way. We've had a busy yet fulfilling summer as a family--and while reality is deep-seeded within us, we've been trying to approach each day as its own entity, asking God for our daily bread and trying intentionally to celebrate something each day in this life we've been given.

We've vacationed--our last time as a family of 3. We've played. We've talked, you know really talked. We've hoped and dreamed. We've read and written. We've adventured. We've fallen to our knees in prayer, and we have laughed (and even cried) our hearts out. I love my little family.

In a conversation with a friend this summer, I came back to one of my old favorite verses, one that I used to inscribe on every card I ever wrote anyone. It has been a rich morsel to my soul:

" May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
~Romans 15:13

Until I have time to catch up on this thing in words and pictures, I'll direct you over here where I've written a "guest post." Holly asked me to write from the perspective of a working mom about balancing work and family. It was an interesting assignment that made me take a closer look at my life and what I do. Balance? Is there such a thing? Most of the time I think all of us are trying to make it day-to-day. The harsh reality is that we cannot be all things to all people all the time--perfectly. So we look at our lives, make decisions, and do the best with what we've been given. Through my stint as a mom, God has definitely been teaching me to rely on Him every step on the way, and He's the one who gently reminds me, when things get topsy-turvy, to seek Him for balance. When I was writing this post, I got long-winded, but when speaking [writing] from my heart, I realized that my heart was long-winded. If you have the time and interest, pop on over to the Mom-tage to see what's going on.

Whoa, when I logged into this thing, I couldn't believe my last post was June 24. That is not being true to my summer blogger self... I feel overwhelmed to recap the last month of summer, but I'm going to put together a slideshow at some point.

More importantly, I guess I've just been caught up in living in the moment. Something I seem to often take for granted. I usually look too far ahead of me and miss things along the way. We've had a busy yet fulfilling summer as a family--and while reality is deep-seeded within us, we've been trying to approach each day as its own entity, asking God for our daily bread and trying intentionally to celebrate something each day in this life we've been given.

We've vacationed--our last time as a family of 3. We've played. We've talked, you know really talked. We've hoped and dreamed. We've read and written. We've adventured. We've fallen to our knees in prayer, and we have laughed (and even cried) our hearts out. I love my little family.

In a conversation with a friend this summer, I came back to one of my old favorite verses, one that I used to inscribe on every card I ever wrote anyone. It has been a rich morsel to my soul:

" May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
~Romans 15:13

Until I have time to catch up on this thing in words and pictures, I'll direct you over here where I've written a "guest post." Holly asked me to write from the perspective of a working mom about balancing work and family. It was an interesting assignment that made me take a closer look at my life and what I do. Balance? Is there such a thing? Most of the time I think all of us are trying to make it day-to-day. The harsh reality is that we cannot be all things to all people all the time--perfectly. So we look at our lives, make decisions, and do the best with what we've been given. Through my stint as a mom, God has definitely been teaching me to rely on Him every step on the way, and He's the one who gently reminds me, when things get topsy-turvy, to seek Him for balance. When I was writing this post, I got long-winded, but when speaking [writing] from my heart, I realized that my heart was long-winded. If you have the time and interest, pop on over to the Mom-tage to see what's going on.

God Gives You What You Need...

We are so excited about welcoming

another baby GIRL

in early November.

ANSLEY CAROLINA

sure will be lucky to have Addison as her big sister.

Yesterday was the big ultrasound day, and my heart was filled with all of the hopes, dreams, fears, and anxiety that comes with seeing your baby for the first time. In my experiences with friends and family, I have learned to not take anything for granted--especially the health of a precious child in the womb. Unfortunately, and ashamedly, I am usually distracted by fear in the preceding days. Thankfully, this time, with the Lord's help, I was better able to submit those thoughts to Him. It was still a long few days before... :)

I know that people say things and throw preferential desires out there, but at the core of every mother's, every parent's desire is the simple prayer for a healthy child. I truly believe this. My prayer during this pregnancy has been for another healthy child and for God to give Addison the sibling that she needs as well as the child that he chooses for Patrick and me to raise to glorify Him.

All I have known as an individual is the joy of having a sister, a built-in playmate/best friend. I adore my sis, and I knew that I would love for Addison to get to experience that same joy. On my husband's side, he had the experience of both a brother and a sister, and I wistfully desired that for Addison too. We do not know what the final picture of our earthly family will look like, and we try to approach our growing family blessing by blessing. God graciously blessed us with Addison, and he found favor with us in blessing us with this second child.

I cannot express the overwhelming joy that came when we saw our daughter on that screen yesterday. The same joy that I know would have been there if we were seeing a son. However, with this joy came an unbelievable sense of peace that THIS is the child that God chose for us. He is so good.

So, now comes the fun part of officially preparing for baby Ansley. A couple of weeks ago we confirmed her name selection. Lying in bed one night feeling the baby move, Patrick said, "Kris, this baby needs a name." What followed was a fun and agreeable discussion. We love A names for little girls, and Ansley was one that we had thrown out there when naming Addison. Carolina is special to us for several reasons. I lived in Charleston the summer after my sophomore year of college with 3 of my high school best friends. It was a transforming, magical experience. Sounds dramatic, I know, but I learned a lot about what I wanted my life to be like while living there. It is also special to Patrick and me as a couple because it is where we spent our 6 month honeymoon vacation. Thirdly, when Patrick was traveling for work last summer, he spent 18 weeks in North Carolina. Addison took her first plane ride with me to visit her daddy there, and we made such special memories. We are excited to give our daughter this name. We also love that our girls will have the same initials. Plus, English teachers and alliteration go hand in hand. (We equally loved our boy name too, but this now just feels so right!)

I have loved Addison's nursery, and I am excited that with just a few minor changes, I can turn it into Ansley's nursery. Now, I also have the go-ahead and freedom to plunge full-force into decorating Addison's big-girl room! It's off to a cute start.

In addition to decorating, Patrick and I have some reading to do. I'm starting my mother's day gift from my mom, Bringing up Girls. Patrick is rereading Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters. We are humbled and honored that God has entrusted us with daughters to raise.

We are just giddy with excitement, and we hope we cherish these 4+ months of waiting and preparing.

P.S. Little Ansley was a WILD CHILD. She hardly stopped moving, and she's already long. Her legs were measuring late October!!! November 8th is my due date, but my c-section has not been scheduled yet.

Thanks for all of your prayers and encouragement.

We are so excited about welcoming

another baby GIRL

in early November.

ANSLEY CAROLINA

sure will be lucky to have Addison as her big sister.

Yesterday was the big ultrasound day, and my heart was filled with all of the hopes, dreams, fears, and anxiety that comes with seeing your baby for the first time. In my experiences with friends and family, I have learned to not take anything for granted--especially the health of a precious child in the womb. Unfortunately, and ashamedly, I am usually distracted by fear in the preceding days. Thankfully, this time, with the Lord's help, I was better able to submit those thoughts to Him. It was still a long few days before... :)

I know that people say things and throw preferential desires out there, but at the core of every mother's, every parent's desire is the simple prayer for a healthy child. I truly believe this. My prayer during this pregnancy has been for another healthy child and for God to give Addison the sibling that she needs as well as the child that he chooses for Patrick and me to raise to glorify Him.

All I have known as an individual is the joy of having a sister, a built-in playmate/best friend. I adore my sis, and I knew that I would love for Addison to get to experience that same joy. On my husband's side, he had the experience of both a brother and a sister, and I wistfully desired that for Addison too. We do not know what the final picture of our earthly family will look like, and we try to approach our growing family blessing by blessing. God graciously blessed us with Addison, and he found favor with us in blessing us with this second child.

I cannot express the overwhelming joy that came when we saw our daughter on that screen yesterday. The same joy that I know would have been there if we were seeing a son. However, with this joy came an unbelievable sense of peace that THIS is the child that God chose for us. He is so good.

So, now comes the fun part of officially preparing for baby Ansley. A couple of weeks ago we confirmed her name selection. Lying in bed one night feeling the baby move, Patrick said, "Kris, this baby needs a name." What followed was a fun and agreeable discussion. We love A names for little girls, and Ansley was one that we had thrown out there when naming Addison. Carolina is special to us for several reasons. I lived in Charleston the summer after my sophomore year of college with 3 of my high school best friends. It was a transforming, magical experience. Sounds dramatic, I know, but I learned a lot about what I wanted my life to be like while living there. It is also special to Patrick and me as a couple because it is where we spent our 6 month honeymoon vacation. Thirdly, when Patrick was traveling for work last summer, he spent 18 weeks in North Carolina. Addison took her first plane ride with me to visit her daddy there, and we made such special memories. We are excited to give our daughter this name. We also love that our girls will have the same initials. Plus, English teachers and alliteration go hand in hand. (We equally loved our boy name too, but this now just feels so right!)

I have loved Addison's nursery, and I am excited that with just a few minor changes, I can turn it into Ansley's nursery. Now, I also have the go-ahead and freedom to plunge full-force into decorating Addison's big-girl room! It's off to a cute start.

In addition to decorating, Patrick and I have some reading to do. I'm starting my mother's day gift from my mom, Bringing up Girls. Patrick is rereading Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters. We are humbled and honored that God has entrusted us with daughters to raise.

We are just giddy with excitement, and we hope we cherish these 4+ months of waiting and preparing.

P.S. Little Ansley was a WILD CHILD. She hardly stopped moving, and she's already long. Her legs were measuring late October!!! November 8th is my due date, but my c-section has not been scheduled yet.

Thanks for all of your prayers and encouragement.

Recipe Review

At the bottom of my last post, I wrote about new recipes I was going to try out for dinner that I got from May's Southern Living. Both were out-of-this-world in the delicious category, and I am so glad I tried them. It was quite the convoluted culinary experience though, involving many non-staple items and lots of dicing and chopping. Patrick went on and on about how delectable everything tasted, and I had to break the news that the harsh reality was that they were once-a-summer type dishes. (Good thing we have leftovers for tonight!) The first dish I made was this: (Click on title for a link to the recipe.)

Black Beans and Coconut Lime Rice:
This is categorized as a main dish, but I made it as a side to the coconut chicken.

Favorite Parts:
Mangoes, Mangoes, Mangoes... The recipe suggests topping the dish with chopped radishes and jalepeno peppers, diced mangoes, and lime wedges. Since there was a poblano pepper in the bean mixture and yellow and green onions as well, I opted for the mangoes option, and they did not disappoint.

Least Favorite Parts:
ALL the prep work

• zesting the lime
• toasting the coconut
• chopping cilantro
• chopping poblano pepper
• chopping the small yellow onion and 2 small green onions

(Probably this was even more of a nuisance to me because my William Sonoma usually AWESOME vegetable chopper kept getting jammed...)

Was the taste of the end product worth it??? TOTALLY. But I recommend saving it for a special night.

For our main dish I made Coconut Chicken. This involved dirtying up 3 prep bowls, but the rest of the steps and ingredients were simple. Serving it with honey mustard sauce made it even more yummy, and this would be an easy one to do more regularly. Happy cooking and eating!

At the bottom of my last post, I wrote about new recipes I was going to try out for dinner that I got from May's Southern Living. Both were out-of-this-world in the delicious category, and I am so glad I tried them. It was quite the convoluted culinary experience though, involving many non-staple items and lots of dicing and chopping. Patrick went on and on about how delectable everything tasted, and I had to break the news that the harsh reality was that they were once-a-summer type dishes. (Good thing we have leftovers for tonight!) The first dish I made was this: (Click on title for a link to the recipe.)

Black Beans and Coconut Lime Rice:
This is categorized as a main dish, but I made it as a side to the coconut chicken.

Favorite Parts:
Mangoes, Mangoes, Mangoes... The recipe suggests topping the dish with chopped radishes and jalepeno peppers, diced mangoes, and lime wedges. Since there was a poblano pepper in the bean mixture and yellow and green onions as well, I opted for the mangoes option, and they did not disappoint.

Least Favorite Parts:
ALL the prep work

• zesting the lime
• toasting the coconut
• chopping cilantro
• chopping poblano pepper
• chopping the small yellow onion and 2 small green onions

(Probably this was even more of a nuisance to me because my William Sonoma usually AWESOME vegetable chopper kept getting jammed...)

Was the taste of the end product worth it??? TOTALLY. But I recommend saving it for a special night.

For our main dish I made Coconut Chicken. This involved dirtying up 3 prep bowls, but the rest of the steps and ingredients were simple. Serving it with honey mustard sauce made it even more yummy, and this would be an easy one to do more regularly. Happy cooking and eating!

What's for lunch?

My little water fish and I spent our morning in the backyard playing in our redneck baby pool, complete with Addison's water table and our beach ball sprinkler:I was feeling too tired and hot to load up the wagon and head to the neighborhood pool, so this was our alternative, and she wore herself out. We had so much fun that time snuck up on us, and before we knew it, it was time for lunch. I made a batch of pimento cheese yesterday, and we enjoyed grilled pimento cheese and tomato sandwiches (always a summer craving of mine because sometimes when it is so hot, it's hard to come up with something tasty...), but I wanted to save the leftovers for a picnic with Patrick tomorrow.

We're grilled cheese and pb&j'ed out, so I made these tasty and healthy creations from a weight watchers recipe years ago in Auburn. Here you go:

English Muffin Pizzas
Ingredients:
English Muffins
Pasta Sauce (or marinara or pizza or anything you have on hand)
Low moisture/ part skim milk mozzarella cheese
Turkey pepperonis

Bake at 350 for 5 minutes to thoroughly heat. Broil for an additional minute to make sure the cheese is good and melted. Enjoy! (For you points counters out there, this recipe is a total of 5 points.)

Addison gobbled hers up completely and has been napping soundly for over 2 hours now!
On the menu for tonight: Coconut Chicken with Black Beans and Coconut-Lime Rice, a recipe from May's Southern Living, test driven and recommended by my friend April. If I remember, I'll try to take a picture of it and report back tomorrow.

My little water fish and I spent our morning in the backyard playing in our redneck baby pool, complete with Addison's water table and our beach ball sprinkler:I was feeling too tired and hot to load up the wagon and head to the neighborhood pool, so this was our alternative, and she wore herself out. We had so much fun that time snuck up on us, and before we knew it, it was time for lunch. I made a batch of pimento cheese yesterday, and we enjoyed grilled pimento cheese and tomato sandwiches (always a summer craving of mine because sometimes when it is so hot, it's hard to come up with something tasty...), but I wanted to save the leftovers for a picnic with Patrick tomorrow.

We're grilled cheese and pb&j'ed out, so I made these tasty and healthy creations from a weight watchers recipe years ago in Auburn. Here you go:

English Muffin Pizzas
Ingredients:
English Muffins
Pasta Sauce (or marinara or pizza or anything you have on hand)
Low moisture/ part skim milk mozzarella cheese
Turkey pepperonis

Bake at 350 for 5 minutes to thoroughly heat. Broil for an additional minute to make sure the cheese is good and melted. Enjoy! (For you points counters out there, this recipe is a total of 5 points.)

Addison gobbled hers up completely and has been napping soundly for over 2 hours now!
On the menu for tonight: Coconut Chicken with Black Beans and Coconut-Lime Rice, a recipe from May's Southern Living, test driven and recommended by my friend April. If I remember, I'll try to take a picture of it and report back tomorrow.

Swim Lessons

Saturday was Swim Lesson #2 for Addy-belle. This time we brought along Daddy so he could document the event. She still has a love-hate relationship with the water--"love" when she can do what she wants to do and "hate" when she has to float on her back. We are making progress, and here are a few pics.

Saturday was Swim Lesson #2 for Addy-belle. This time we brought along Daddy so he could document the event. She still has a love-hate relationship with the water--"love" when she can do what she wants to do and "hate" when she has to float on her back. We are making progress, and here are a few pics.

TV or no TV in the bedroom...? question of the week

This is not my bedroom... sigh. I do love interior brick walls anywhere in a home though. Rather, this photo came from an entry on Belle Maison.

We are currently thinking about striking our tv watching for the summer. (which in our definition means not being glued to it--read: our DVR--for hours on end. every. night. We are fine with the occasional Dora or Sesame Street for Addison and will still "hulu" Friday Night Lights, of course. And the background noise of The Today Show or Sports Center will not hinder our focus. I know, I know, exceptions, exceptions... For us, this is still a sacrifice.)

What lead to this decision was our overdose of shows this past year and feeling so stressed out to catch up on our DVR all the time that there was no time left for our other forms of entertainment: reading, listening to music, TALKING...

For us, watching some tv is a form of bonding--we claim that we got engaged to 24; we watched the 1st season of LOST during a mutual sickness that left us couchbound during the first few months of marriage; we both love college football and basketball; the Masters (Mickelson's first win) was the first thing we ever saw on HD.

Our discipline has been compromised, and we have decided--rather impulsively although hopefully wisely--that we would go to the other extreme and cancel our HD package. Yep. We are back to basic cable. We made this decision in an attempt to simplify our lives, change some saving/spending plans we have, and make time for more meaningful kinds of entertainment. When Football Season rolls around and Fall premieres start, we may be singing a different tune.

We recently rearranged our living room when we received a new-to-us leather chair and ottomon, and we have found ourselves enjoying this room that we've dubbed "The Cove" more this week than we have in the 3 years we have lived here. Our nice tvs are upstairs in the Rec Room and in our bedroom. We've thought about selling the tv we have in here, but we are sitting on it for a little bit... so many changes so fast. :)

That said, it leads me to the question I'm now contemplating...

Should we keep our tv in the bedroom or remove it?

I like it for the following reasons:
1)I like to listen to/watch the weather, news, Today Show while I get ready in the mornings.
2) I LOVE to fall asleep to movies.

I think we should move it for other reasons:
1) I fall asleep while watch our DVR'ed shows (not an issue anymore) and then am stressed to catch up the next day.
2) If I don't fall asleep, I (and Patrick) stay up WAY too late.

I've read articles here about healthy marriages and bedroom tvs and here about Feng Shui. I've thought through the logistics of our home's layout and where I picture us spending our time once Addison moves to her "big girl" room (right next to the rec/play room). Now I'm just sitting on it some more. I'd welcome any thoughts/opinions/ideas.

Otherwise, we've had a pretty low key week--pool and playground Monday, storytime with Addison and Savannah on Tuesday with the afternoon spent helping out Linds with Sawyer and housework, my 18 wk checkup Wednesday and lunch with Patrick, the zoo yesterday with Lia and her girls, and local errands and relaxing today. We're trying to plan a getaway at the end of summer to use some free airline tickets and celebrate our upcoming 5th anniversary, but we're running out of luck and time with flights and ideas. Here are some pics from the zoo:

This is not my bedroom... sigh. I do love interior brick walls anywhere in a home though. Rather, this photo came from an entry on Belle Maison.

We are currently thinking about striking our tv watching for the summer. (which in our definition means not being glued to it--read: our DVR--for hours on end. every. night. We are fine with the occasional Dora or Sesame Street for Addison and will still "hulu" Friday Night Lights, of course. And the background noise of The Today Show or Sports Center will not hinder our focus. I know, I know, exceptions, exceptions... For us, this is still a sacrifice.)

What lead to this decision was our overdose of shows this past year and feeling so stressed out to catch up on our DVR all the time that there was no time left for our other forms of entertainment: reading, listening to music, TALKING...

For us, watching some tv is a form of bonding--we claim that we got engaged to 24; we watched the 1st season of LOST during a mutual sickness that left us couchbound during the first few months of marriage; we both love college football and basketball; the Masters (Mickelson's first win) was the first thing we ever saw on HD.

Our discipline has been compromised, and we have decided--rather impulsively although hopefully wisely--that we would go to the other extreme and cancel our HD package. Yep. We are back to basic cable. We made this decision in an attempt to simplify our lives, change some saving/spending plans we have, and make time for more meaningful kinds of entertainment. When Football Season rolls around and Fall premieres start, we may be singing a different tune.

We recently rearranged our living room when we received a new-to-us leather chair and ottomon, and we have found ourselves enjoying this room that we've dubbed "The Cove" more this week than we have in the 3 years we have lived here. Our nice tvs are upstairs in the Rec Room and in our bedroom. We've thought about selling the tv we have in here, but we are sitting on it for a little bit... so many changes so fast. :)

That said, it leads me to the question I'm now contemplating...

Should we keep our tv in the bedroom or remove it?

I like it for the following reasons:
1)I like to listen to/watch the weather, news, Today Show while I get ready in the mornings.
2) I LOVE to fall asleep to movies.

I think we should move it for other reasons:
1) I fall asleep while watch our DVR'ed shows (not an issue anymore) and then am stressed to catch up the next day.
2) If I don't fall asleep, I (and Patrick) stay up WAY too late.

I've read articles here about healthy marriages and bedroom tvs and here about Feng Shui. I've thought through the logistics of our home's layout and where I picture us spending our time once Addison moves to her "big girl" room (right next to the rec/play room). Now I'm just sitting on it some more. I'd welcome any thoughts/opinions/ideas.

Otherwise, we've had a pretty low key week--pool and playground Monday, storytime with Addison and Savannah on Tuesday with the afternoon spent helping out Linds with Sawyer and housework, my 18 wk checkup Wednesday and lunch with Patrick, the zoo yesterday with Lia and her girls, and local errands and relaxing today. We're trying to plan a getaway at the end of summer to use some free airline tickets and celebrate our upcoming 5th anniversary, but we're running out of luck and time with flights and ideas. Here are some pics from the zoo:

Recent Mommy Reads

***This one's just for the ladies. Sorry, Dad and Steven.***

My mom takes Redbook Magazine, and she recently brought me two articles to read about parenting. I'll link them on here for you to read if your interests are piqued. I'll also share my thoughts on them.

The first was about breastfeeding and was titled, "No, You Don't Have to Breastfeed." This controversial article (just read some of the reader's comments after...) relays one woman's journey that lead her to unapologetically bottle feed her child. She weighs the pros and cons while honestly expounding on her unpopular, albeit personal, decision.

While I am a breastfeeding advocate, I also believe that what defines a good mother does not come from her nipples of milk and honey. We are culturally defined by so many "social norms" that henpeck us into feeling like we have to do things a certain way. In our day and age, breastfeeding is that norm, and, unfortunately, it just doesn't work for everyone... What about the mom who's baby is losing weight? The baby with food allergies to everything? The mom of the lazy eater? The mom who is so stressed out with older kids that she's just not making any milk?

Almost every mom I know who chose to nurse her child went through some obstacle and made decisions along the way about when to stop, when to supplement, etc. For me, it was Addison's milk allergy and the drastic changes I was forced to make to my own diet. Was it worth it to continue??? Almost every woman has a story of mastitis, cracked nipples, diminishing supply, you name it... and the mom's who don't brag about their three years of spiritual bonding while nursing their child(ren), staring into their eyes, muckety muck. (Sorry for the overgeneralization.)

Unfortunately, another of our societal norms is the "misery loving company" mantra... I remember one of the first questions I got from friends, family, total strangers... was "Are you nursing? Pause... (in a borderline look of worry/condescension) How's it going?" First. Like it's any of their business. Second. Do you want me to share my battle stories to make yourself feel better, or do you really care?

No matter the decision a mom makes, she feels some sort of guilt and judgment. Some combination of selfishness and selflessness. And it doesn't matter how long or short or not at all that they nursed. Someone will ask "how it's going" and respond with some look of chagrin.

Like I said before, I am an advocate of breastfeeding. It worked for me and Addison, and my dietary sacrifices were worth it to me for the goal that I set for myself. (I will NEVER forget how good my first piece of EXTRA CHEESE pizza was for me or how much I savored every gulp of cow's milk with my chocolate chip cookies the night that my breasts were officially emancipated.) I will try to nurse this second child for a time, taking it feeding by feeding, day by day, and I hope and pray that I make the best decision for my child and my whole family and that caring about my family's well-being will be what defines me as a good mom.

Mostly, I just hope that I will not succumb to the expectations of others and that I will be GENTLE with myself...

Still with me?

OK, the second article was a bit more sentimental and reflective. It was titled: "Letting Go of Your Kids, Little By Little." The author describes the stages of a child's transition from dependence to independence and the little benchmarks along the way.

This article made me cry. It also made me understand why people keep having children. I've mentioned in a previous post that the idea of "growing up" has always been an emotional one for me. As an imaginative child, I prayed that the time would pass slow and that I would not have to grow up. Maybe it was some sort of Peter Pan syndrome--I don't know. As a mother, I have those same thoughts. With each milestone that Addison reaches, I am filled with awe and pride and love and wonder... mixed with a little sadness and sentimentality. I desire for her to be an independent soul (which she totally is) with hopes and dreams. I want to help her learn to love and serve, to work hard, to reach her goals. Yet, I feel myself wanting to hold onto these sweet days where her "Mommy, what' that?" and "Look, Mommy!" and "I'm Mommy's little girl." and "Hold you, Mommy!" phrases keep her my little girl for as long as possible.

This article put parenting into perspective for me. It made me so thankful for this opportunity and responsibility, and it made me want to cherish moments. Each moment. Especially the hard ones.

If you read these articles (or even if you don't), I'd love to hear your thoughts on these topics.

Happy Thursday!

***This one's just for the ladies. Sorry, Dad and Steven.***

My mom takes Redbook Magazine, and she recently brought me two articles to read about parenting. I'll link them on here for you to read if your interests are piqued. I'll also share my thoughts on them.

The first was about breastfeeding and was titled, "No, You Don't Have to Breastfeed." This controversial article (just read some of the reader's comments after...) relays one woman's journey that lead her to unapologetically bottle feed her child. She weighs the pros and cons while honestly expounding on her unpopular, albeit personal, decision.

While I am a breastfeeding advocate, I also believe that what defines a good mother does not come from her nipples of milk and honey. We are culturally defined by so many "social norms" that henpeck us into feeling like we have to do things a certain way. In our day and age, breastfeeding is that norm, and, unfortunately, it just doesn't work for everyone... What about the mom who's baby is losing weight? The baby with food allergies to everything? The mom of the lazy eater? The mom who is so stressed out with older kids that she's just not making any milk?

Almost every mom I know who chose to nurse her child went through some obstacle and made decisions along the way about when to stop, when to supplement, etc. For me, it was Addison's milk allergy and the drastic changes I was forced to make to my own diet. Was it worth it to continue??? Almost every woman has a story of mastitis, cracked nipples, diminishing supply, you name it... and the mom's who don't brag about their three years of spiritual bonding while nursing their child(ren), staring into their eyes, muckety muck. (Sorry for the overgeneralization.)

Unfortunately, another of our societal norms is the "misery loving company" mantra... I remember one of the first questions I got from friends, family, total strangers... was "Are you nursing? Pause... (in a borderline look of worry/condescension) How's it going?" First. Like it's any of their business. Second. Do you want me to share my battle stories to make yourself feel better, or do you really care?

No matter the decision a mom makes, she feels some sort of guilt and judgment. Some combination of selfishness and selflessness. And it doesn't matter how long or short or not at all that they nursed. Someone will ask "how it's going" and respond with some look of chagrin.

Like I said before, I am an advocate of breastfeeding. It worked for me and Addison, and my dietary sacrifices were worth it to me for the goal that I set for myself. (I will NEVER forget how good my first piece of EXTRA CHEESE pizza was for me or how much I savored every gulp of cow's milk with my chocolate chip cookies the night that my breasts were officially emancipated.) I will try to nurse this second child for a time, taking it feeding by feeding, day by day, and I hope and pray that I make the best decision for my child and my whole family and that caring about my family's well-being will be what defines me as a good mom.

Mostly, I just hope that I will not succumb to the expectations of others and that I will be GENTLE with myself...

Still with me?

OK, the second article was a bit more sentimental and reflective. It was titled: "Letting Go of Your Kids, Little By Little." The author describes the stages of a child's transition from dependence to independence and the little benchmarks along the way.

This article made me cry. It also made me understand why people keep having children. I've mentioned in a previous post that the idea of "growing up" has always been an emotional one for me. As an imaginative child, I prayed that the time would pass slow and that I would not have to grow up. Maybe it was some sort of Peter Pan syndrome--I don't know. As a mother, I have those same thoughts. With each milestone that Addison reaches, I am filled with awe and pride and love and wonder... mixed with a little sadness and sentimentality. I desire for her to be an independent soul (which she totally is) with hopes and dreams. I want to help her learn to love and serve, to work hard, to reach her goals. Yet, I feel myself wanting to hold onto these sweet days where her "Mommy, what' that?" and "Look, Mommy!" and "I'm Mommy's little girl." and "Hold you, Mommy!" phrases keep her my little girl for as long as possible.

This article put parenting into perspective for me. It made me so thankful for this opportunity and responsibility, and it made me want to cherish moments. Each moment. Especially the hard ones.

If you read these articles (or even if you don't), I'd love to hear your thoughts on these topics.

Happy Thursday!

A fun-filled week!

Whew! It's been nice to have today to catch our breath and regroup. We had a filled-to-the-brim week last week, and we are loving summer. This post is going to be a recap in words and pictures...

We started the summer reading program at the library on Tuesday. We go there on Tuesdays for story time and crafts, and Addison loves it! To complete the program, we have to read 15 minutes a day for 4 weeks--a total of 300 minutes. The book-lover-nerd I am began doing these reading programs at a young age too, but as you can see from the pictures below, I am not having to pull any teeth to get this little one interested in reading. In fact, we are well into the 2nd week's worth of 75 minutes!
In the mornings, after her naps, when I'm putting her laundry away, and of course, at night, Addison pulls herself into the rocker and pulls books off her shelf, saying, "I read books! Oh boy!" I LOVE it!

We also went to 2 water play days with friends--one group from our class at church and the other with my school mommy friends. Addison had a blast at both! Unfortunately I don't have picture's from Laura Beth's house because I ambitiously took both Savannah and Addison to this one. They were both so good and obedient and sweet, but they were also equally adventurous, and I did not relax for a minute. There were these moms just relaxing watching their kids play, and I just laughed to myself, thinking "one day..." because at one point I saw Addison going head first down a waterslide (to which she replied, once she caught her breath, "That hurt me! I do it AGAIN!" Sigh...) and Savannah--across the yard--halfway up a ladder to a tree house, yelling for me, "Kiki, can you get me down from here????" Like I said, both girls were great, and I made sure to compliment them. Savannah told Lindsay when she woke up from her nap, "I'm a good girl, Mommy. I'm a sweetheart." She is!

The second day, we went to Jen and Jackson's house. He had been asking his mommy where "Addison Crawford" was, and so she got the kiddos together. I had so much fun with Jen, Karen, Wren, and Sue Alice while Addison played with Jack, Olivia, Micah, and Brecken. We all oohed over sweet Rowan napping in the sun, and Jen fed us the best chicken salad--a close competitor with Meredee's and Puffy Muffin.




We celebrated Maggie's 4th Birthday--that I almost forgot--on Friday, and Addison and I went to Pet Smart to pick out a present for her. A sang the Birthday song over and over all the way there and back!

We had my parents over for dinner to thank my dad for being our fabulous CPA and as a send off for their Greece trip. I made my tomato pie from last summer, and oh, the goodness of it...

Addison and I went to swimming lessons on Saturday. During the Saturdays in June, A and I are taking the "Mommy and Tot" lessons with Wren and Olivia. As much as a fish as she's been, she was a little hesitant in the "big pool." Every new activity began with a "No, No, No..." until she warmed up to it. I was glad that her buddy Olivia was there because for everyone of A's "No's," Olivia was squealing, "Yeah, yeah!" It was adorable.

Saturday night my favorite guy and I got together with some of my favorite friends and their guys to celebrate another friend's wedding. We have so much fun together, and it doesn't matter where we go, we like to shut the place down. I'm so thankful for them and for ending my fully fulfilling week with them!
Heather, me, Jen, Angie. This is me 1 day shy of 18 weeks prego--yeah, I know I'm really popping out fast this second time around...

Whew! It's been nice to have today to catch our breath and regroup. We had a filled-to-the-brim week last week, and we are loving summer. This post is going to be a recap in words and pictures...

We started the summer reading program at the library on Tuesday. We go there on Tuesdays for story time and crafts, and Addison loves it! To complete the program, we have to read 15 minutes a day for 4 weeks--a total of 300 minutes. The book-lover-nerd I am began doing these reading programs at a young age too, but as you can see from the pictures below, I am not having to pull any teeth to get this little one interested in reading. In fact, we are well into the 2nd week's worth of 75 minutes!
In the mornings, after her naps, when I'm putting her laundry away, and of course, at night, Addison pulls herself into the rocker and pulls books off her shelf, saying, "I read books! Oh boy!" I LOVE it!

We also went to 2 water play days with friends--one group from our class at church and the other with my school mommy friends. Addison had a blast at both! Unfortunately I don't have picture's from Laura Beth's house because I ambitiously took both Savannah and Addison to this one. They were both so good and obedient and sweet, but they were also equally adventurous, and I did not relax for a minute. There were these moms just relaxing watching their kids play, and I just laughed to myself, thinking "one day..." because at one point I saw Addison going head first down a waterslide (to which she replied, once she caught her breath, "That hurt me! I do it AGAIN!" Sigh...) and Savannah--across the yard--halfway up a ladder to a tree house, yelling for me, "Kiki, can you get me down from here????" Like I said, both girls were great, and I made sure to compliment them. Savannah told Lindsay when she woke up from her nap, "I'm a good girl, Mommy. I'm a sweetheart." She is!

The second day, we went to Jen and Jackson's house. He had been asking his mommy where "Addison Crawford" was, and so she got the kiddos together. I had so much fun with Jen, Karen, Wren, and Sue Alice while Addison played with Jack, Olivia, Micah, and Brecken. We all oohed over sweet Rowan napping in the sun, and Jen fed us the best chicken salad--a close competitor with Meredee's and Puffy Muffin.




We celebrated Maggie's 4th Birthday--that I almost forgot--on Friday, and Addison and I went to Pet Smart to pick out a present for her. A sang the Birthday song over and over all the way there and back!

We had my parents over for dinner to thank my dad for being our fabulous CPA and as a send off for their Greece trip. I made my tomato pie from last summer, and oh, the goodness of it...

Addison and I went to swimming lessons on Saturday. During the Saturdays in June, A and I are taking the "Mommy and Tot" lessons with Wren and Olivia. As much as a fish as she's been, she was a little hesitant in the "big pool." Every new activity began with a "No, No, No..." until she warmed up to it. I was glad that her buddy Olivia was there because for everyone of A's "No's," Olivia was squealing, "Yeah, yeah!" It was adorable.

Saturday night my favorite guy and I got together with some of my favorite friends and their guys to celebrate another friend's wedding. We have so much fun together, and it doesn't matter where we go, we like to shut the place down. I'm so thankful for them and for ending my fully fulfilling week with them!
Heather, me, Jen, Angie. This is me 1 day shy of 18 weeks prego--yeah, I know I'm really popping out fast this second time around...