Windowboxes and Weissbier

Belly Laughing

2012-02-06T13:45:00.003-05:00

I could listen to this laugh all day long. The fun didn't wear off for about 45 minutes. Round two will be after the afternoon nap!

Realistic Lesson Plans

2012-01-31T20:20:00.011-05:00

I know that yesterday I shared a bit of Evans' school curriculum with y'all. I have to say that every week I look forward to reading about all the lessons that my son is learning at school. It sure makes it easier to part with the tuition money. While Evans' teachers are putting an emphasis on the advancement of his vocabulary and cognitive skills I figured that I might set some more realistic goals that we can work on at home. Let's save the hard stuff for the qualified professionals, right? It's hard being mostly perfect but after really digging I have found a few flaws that Evans could stand to polish. I also managed to find pictures to demonstrate several of his bad habits. First off, I would appreciate it if E would stop scratching his nose. In this picture you can see a cut on the right side of his nose. This has since healed but now he has one on the other side. I am not really digging the ruffian look as I don't feel it photographs well. Since I'm not exactly sure how he does it, I am at a loss as to how to stop it. Next up is something that I could probably stand to help him with.It might just be me but I feel like this outfit might look a little bit better if it included pants. I REALLY like that he has on shoes and socks without pants. I'm just not sure it is his best look and in the future I might have to be more strict about it. The next issue could actually be a bit of a hazard.We are going to have to work on sitting down in the bathtub. I should have made a bigger deal out of it when he first started standing up but since he was trying to kiss me, what could I possibly do? Now he wants to stand to open and close the glass doors, stick his finger up the faucet to turn the shower on my head, knock the $5 bottles of baby wash into the tub while they are open and therefore ruined and to get the squeegee off the ledge so he can lick it. This sort of needs to be dealt with soon. Maybe tomorrow. Lately Evans has been wanting to do everything that the twins do. The problem? The twins are 6 months old and Evans will be 18 months at the end of the month.Which brings us to age appropriate toys. Not really a lot to say here except that my MOM indulged this and put him in the jumper. I'm not sure what the weight limit is but my guess is that it isn't not for 24 pound giants who SHOULD be walking. A good rule of thumb would be that if the child's knees drag on the ground, he is probably too big for the toy. Now every time Jack or Molly wants to play in the bouncer, Evans wants to physically remove them for his turn. While I'm busy not letting Evans play with baby toys we should probably go ahead and work on this.We are getting MUCH better at walking these days, sometimes even choosing to do it on our own accord. Something about being nekkid and being in the hallway leads Evans to transport himself from one place to the next like this. Cracks me up, yes, but normal? I'm not sure about that. Last, but certainly not least on our lesson plan list has something to do with this.We have somehow forgotten (because I know that at some point he did know) that it is not appropriate to crawl on the kitchen table. Even if we are on vacation at the lake house. No matter how much joy it is bringing you.

I think we will start all these lessons tomorrow since the little mister is still running a fever. I hate that he feels bad but I do not mind all the lap sitting/cuddle time I have gotten today. I do mind the 3am wake up. Time to start feeling better! Happy Wednesday!

I Should Have Listened

2012-01-31T15:45:00.010-05:00

On Tuesdays and Fridays I have to set my alarm clock for 15 minutes earlier than usual. Typically having to wake up earlier would really annoy me but since these days of the week are school days for Evans, I don't mind. Instead of lounging around and eating breakfast and getting dressed at our leisure, we have to get ourselves out the door to be on time. Evans has been going through a really bad sleeping stage and has wanted to be up at the crack of dawn (I consider this a real problem) so he was awake in plenty of time this morning for all of our pre-school activities. I didn't realize anything was amiss with him besides clearly not wanting to have his picture taken with me. He had his normal crying spell when we got to school but I left and knew he would be fine. Until I got a call from school to come pick him up because he had a 101.5 degree fever. Seriously? Can we catch anymore illnesses in one month? First the stomach bug, than the cough from hell (which might as well have been the stomach bug) and now a fever. When I got to school to pick him up 15 minutes later, he was asleep on his teachers shoulder waiting for me in the director's office. Pitiful. I could tell he didn't feel good and was like a rag doll when I picked him up. Fast forward 1 hour, a dose of tylenol and a 30 minute nap. Temperature at 97.8, chowing down on everything in sight and playing happily. Huh. I really don't get it but as long as he feels better, I'm happy. Something tells me that I probably haven't dealt with the end of this but at least he was responsive to the tylenol. Could he be psyching me out? I forgot to mention he ate two sausages, an entire hash brown patty and a banana for breakfast. I'm a little suspicious.A wasted outfit for sure! I've been pretty lazy lately about school postings. E has been having a great time and his teacher's love him. I think it was the Tiffany necklaces personally. I had to laugh several weeks ago when I got an email from our class mom regarding the end of the year teacher's presents. Is it really necessary to plan for something taking place at the end of May, in the second week of January? I'm just saying. I can't let it pass without saying either that the gifts are completely over the top again. I can't stress enough how happy we are with school and how much we are enjoying E's teachers so I'm happy to do it.........but I've done the math. With everyone participating in the donation, we are spending $450 on an "Our Favorite Things" basket. The teachers have filled out a questionnaire of all their favorite things and apparently, we are buying every single item on the lists (well, not really but almost). I'm just wondering who is going to be in charge of the hand stitched table linens that have been requested. All kidding aside, I feel happy when I drop Evans off to school there twice a week and know that he is going to have a great time. THAT makes it worth it. The four hour break is just the icing on the cake! I do think I'll pass on being a room mom anytime soon. :)This week in school, according to the curriculum sent out by our room mom, Evans will be working on new vocabulary, his math skills, experiencing "Dada art" (??), and his development of language and cognitive skills. Tomorrow I'll be back with a list of more appropriate personal goals for the week that we have set on our own. Happy Tuesday.

2011 Book List

2012-01-23T11:37:00.001-05:00

I always love reading everyone else's "what I am reading now" lists and yet I have never done one myself. I love to read and I'm always on the lookout for a good recommendation. I got a Kindle last February so that makes it fairly easy to keep up with what I have read and I have kept a list the past few years on my computer as well. There is no way that I can give a summary of everything I have read in 2011 but I thought I would share my list starting with the most recent and maybe point out the books I really hated or really loved. I can tell y'all ahead of the list that it practically took me ALL of April to read Fall of the Giants by Ken Follet and I really hated it. So, without further ado, my 2011 book list:

The Submission by Amy Waldman
Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
Room by Emma Donnahoe
Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
The Gatehouse by Nelson DeMille
The Gold Coast by Nelson DeMille
The Irresistible Henry House by Lisa Grunwald
Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris
Summer Rental by Mary Kay Andrews
The Summer Garden by Paullina Simon
Tatiana and Alexander by Paullina Simon
The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simon
Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls
Lies Chelsea Handler Told Me by Chelsea Handler
Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang by Chelsea Handler
Are You There Vodka, It’s Me Chelsea by Chelsea Handler
My Horizontal Life by Chelsea Handler
This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathon Troller
A Visit From The Good Squad by Jennifer Egan (hated)
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
Fall of the Giants by Ken Follett (hated and should have quit)
The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
Swamplandia! by Karen Russell
Little Bee by Chris Cleave
Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
The Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson
The Girl Who Played With Fire by Steig Larsson
The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest by Steig Larsson
Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
Eat, Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

By far, my favorite book of the year was Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese. I would love to hear if anyone else has any must reads for me to add to my 2012 book list.

Weekend + Failure

2012-01-22T13:58:00.004-05:00

Can I just tell y'all about our weekend? It was definitely not how I was expecting to spend my two relaxing days. We clearly have not kicked this bug completely or we keep swapping germs with the twins and continue to get sick. While Evans has been okay this week he is still having issues coughing and barfing at night. I've changed more crib sheets and washed the bumper on the crib more than I ever care to do for the rest of my life. By Friday I wasn't feeling good either. But just wait until you hear about our Saturday. It can most effectively be broken down into five main parts.

1. 6:00am -- Evans begins to wail. Noooooooooo, are you kidding me? What happened to the kid that sleeps until 8:45 on the weekends? Well, that would be a little unrealistic to expect considering the second I opened his bedroom door I was overpowered by the smell of vomit. I really don't need to elaborate on this except to say that this sucks. If you are a parent, you probably understand. If I could make one request (besides to actually STOP barfing in the crib) it would be to at least try and contain the barf to one portion of the crib. Preferably not on the bumper too. Enough said.

2. 12:15pm -- Mom and I decided that we HAD to get out of the house. It was pouring rain, Evans was whining and we were climbing the walls. We headed out with E to Five Guys for lunch. Evans was thrilled to be going out and I suspect that he was actually quite hungry as well. We ordered burgers, collected drinks/ketchup/napkins and got all set up. Burgers came and we all dug in. About 2.5 minutes into eating and approximately 3 bites into my cheeseburger, Evans shoved a french fry straight down his throat and started coughing. I knew we were screwed. Projectile vomit. All over every square inch of me, him, the floor, the high chair, the table etc. For a second my mom and I just started at each other before she managed to say "Well, that was great". Commence operation clean up and sneak out. Thankfully we were sitting in a corner and no one else saw it happen. I would have felt very bad about ruining someone elses lunch.

3. 3:30pm -- Climbing walls again. Evans, who is absolutely fine besides being whiny, is clearly ready for another adventure because he decides to run away from home. Umm-hmmm, you read that right. Evans is allowed anywhere on the first floor of this house. I don't follow him around everywhere because there isn't a ton that he can get into. I was quietly reading on the couch and he was playing around me in his pajamas (he had to put on something after the Five Guys incident). A couple minutes later I realized that it had gotten really quiet in the house. This is not abnormal but all the same I called out for him. Nothing. A little louder this time. Nothing. I got up from the couch and asked my dad if he had seen Evans. No. I run to the back of the house calling for him and it is clear that he is not back there. At this point I'm starting to feel a little panicky. My dad is also calling for him in the front of the house. Dad asks me, "have you looked outside"? Uhhh, noooo, why would I look outside? How would he get out there? My dad ran out the back door and low and behold there was Evans sitting in the rain on the wet ground behind my car. This means that he crawled out the back door (and closed it behind himself), through the garage and past my car before realizing that he doesn't actually like having on wet clothes and that he was in over his head. My parents live up a huge hill on a cul-de-sac so I don't think he could have made it far but it freaked me out. I'm thinking of getting an invisible fence? I'm currently taking suggestions (besides actually making sure the door is closed all the way). I was too freaked out to take any pictures.

4. My mom informed me upon her return from the laundry room that I had created a "problem by the washing machine". After further investigation I found that I had left the new 3987 pound tub of Oxyclean on top of the washer while doing a load of laundry. Not a great idea as it was all over the floor. It's amazing how much powder 3978 pounds equals. Thank goodness for the new Dyson slim.

5. After my oxyclean incident I came back upstairs and listened for Evans. Unfortunately all I heard was splashing and I subsequently found him playing in the toilet. Soaking wet. Outfit #4.

That about sums it all up. I didn't feel great on Sunday and did my best just to keep up with Evans. I am proud to report that the crib was vom-free this morning and I think we have made it over the hump. Please god let tomorrow morning be the same, only this time, I'd rather it not be at 5:30am. Evans' behavior this past week has been atrocious and I am really praying that it is because he hasn't felt great. If this is a "phase", I'm not sure I can handle it. Happy Monday!

Not At Our Best

2012-01-19T20:15:00.009-05:00

Evans has had a rough week. Just in case you can't tell by the withering looks he has been giving me all week long. After he managed to shake the stomach bug he had on Sunday, he was fine on Monday and went to school on Tuesday. Wednesday was a disaster. Evans cried all morning until I was convinced that something was wrong with him. He didn't want to leave my lap or stop wailing in my ear so I panicked and took him to the pediatrician. He had hardly eaten since the stomach bug but I was mainly concerned that something was wrong that I couldn't see. After hauling him to the doctor's office and discovering that he was FINE, I started to get concerned that it was just an attitude adjustment that we needed. His doctor told me that he was just feeling puny from having a virus, he didn't have to eat if he didn't want to, could have tylenol/motrin every four hours AND could go to school because he wasn't contagious. Thankfully we didn't have school on Wednesday or Thursday because there is no telling how Evans would have acted during this funk. I couldn't even capture all the ugly faces I have received the past few days but they make me chuckle and I like the one above best. He looks so annoyed with me.

Today has been as bad behavior wise as yesterday. Evans is still not wanting to eat much and since the doctor said that it was fine, I haven't minded letting him subsist on goldfish. However, when I came into the kitchen this afternoon and found this....I have to admit I was a little concerned. In case you can't tell, this is a giant plastic tub of DOG FOOD. The top screws on. It takes about 4 complete twists to take it off yet Evans didn't appear to have any problem opening it. It must have been the delicious aroma wafting through the airtight container. I can't comment about whether or not I think he ate any of it. He was not pleased when I informed him that he could not have anymore.

As I was feeding Molly this afternoon Evans decided that his favorite toy on earth was a red plastic wiffle ball. He could not part with his wiffle ball and when it rolled just out of his reach behind the sofa, you might have thought it was the end of the world. I told him I would get it for him as soon as I was done feeding Molly but apparently that was not fast enough for him.I watched as he managed to move this entire end table by himself and attempt to wedge himself between the couch and the wall. When none of this worked I had to listen to sobbing until I could retrieve the wiffle ball. Sigh.

There were three highlights to the day. The first was that tomorrow is Friday and therefore a school day. It might be an early release day but hopefully playing at school will snap Evans out of his mood (and I still have a story about school). Second, I got to see my cousin Thomas's "really long train" this morning before he went off to school.I think that Jennifer might have had some trouble finding her footwear for work but the flats add the "really long" aspect to the train. I also love how it is been led by a tractor driven by a farmer. Lastly, I got to capture this awesome video of Evans walking to me.
I've tried to lay off on my strict walking practice since he hasn't felt good. That is probably the only reason why he feels the need to use his tongue as balance. We are getting there! Thank god tomorrow is Friday and here's to hoping for a happier weekend!

Truly Committed

2012-01-16T20:07:00.008-05:00

Remember back in October when I purchased my first pair of Reva flats and was pretty sure that my toes were going to require amputation in order to wear them? At the time, I thought that I was the only one that felt like I would rather saw off my feet at the ankle than wear these shoes. I was appalled that the salesman in the store at Phipps admitted so freely that these were the most uncomfortable shoes on earth and that I had to really commit myself to them if I wanted to be able to wear them. Thankfully, I was able to power through the throbbing pain and break in my cute gold flats but let's be honest, I'm not sure how much more I could have endured. Now, instead of wanting to saw off my feet off when I wear them, I think I could settle for having my big toe removed. It is a vast improvement. In fact, considering how awful they were to begin with, I'd almost say that they are comfortable now. I've been living with this snugness at being one of those committed Tory lovers.......Until I saw Pam. It was then and there that I realized I could never be as committed as she was. Pam is my Uncle Jack's wife and when I saw her over Christmas at a family get together it didn't take long for me to take note of her cute TB flats. Upon closer inspection I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me.The conversation that followed went something like this....

Me: "PAM! Are you okay? Did you hurt your ankle"?
Pam: "Ummm, no"
Me: "Well than why do you have an ace bandage on your foot? And, is it covered in.....TAPE"?
Pam: "Oh that? Remember how you said your Tory Burch flats hurt your week? Mine hurt my feet too".
Me: "WHAT"?
Pam: "Yeah, your Uncle Jack has to wrap my feet/ankles every time I want to wear these shoes".

Hmmmm. Need I say anymore? My commitment has really been put to shame in light of realizing that someone else must tape their feet before sliding into their oh so trendy flats. This also requires wearing something that doesn't make the doctoring so obvious. While I like my flats and considered myself pretty into them, I'm just not sure I would have been able to go to this length. How far would y'all go in order to wear your favorite pair of shoes? Jammed up toes are one thing in my book but shoe induced bleeding is entirely another. Let me know how those work out for you, Pam!

First Hair Cut & First Stomach Bug

2012-01-16T19:12:00.007-05:00

I finally let everyone elses opinion on Evans' hair get to me and we took a visit to Pigtails and Crewcuts on Saturday morning. I didn't see a problem with the fact that when wet, parts of Evans' hair reached his chin, but apparently other people did. I have to say that once confronted with the idea of Evans getting a haircut I was fine with it and pretty excited to take him. Evans had a birthday party on Saturday morning so we stopped by the children's haircut place on the way to the party. What a freaking zoo that place is! I've never seen so many kids, so many brightly colored walls, and so many toys. Pretty much your worse nightmare if you are hungover (which I was not) or in a rush (which I was) but they moved super fast and before we knew it Evans was in the shiny fire engine donning a cape.Evans was a little concerned about the little boy next to him that was screaming bloody murder his entire haircut but he managed to keep his composure. Considering he had about 8 hairs to trim up, it didn't take very long. And in case you feel like I shouldn't have succumbed to the pressure, I did take this picture of him in the bathtub last week. It sort of proved to me he was ready.The rest of Saturday was a fun day and tomorrow I will post pictures from the birthday party we went to afterwards. The picture at the top is post-haircut and looking cute.

Unfortunately, sometime during the night on Saturday night/Sunday morning our fun times ran out. When I went to get Evans on Sunday morning when I heard him talking he was covered in vomit. Niiiiiice. Clean up round one. The chance of a stomach bug never even crossed my mind. Had breakfast. Threw up in the highchair. Clean up round two. Ten minutes later, threw up all over me while I was holding my shirt out to catch barf. Clean up round three. And acceptance that Evans had a stomach bug. As you can see, he was pretty much pathetic and pitiful all day long.However he really didn't mind being able to sit with Susie and watch the Kardashians. I told him that if he chose to watch it with her I was going to have to make fun of him. He really didn't seem to mind.After two more clean ups late last night, we made it through the night without incident and seem to be much much better today. We are almost to 24 hours of not throwing up and besides being tired, I think he has felt a lot better today. If we have a good night sleep and appear to be okay in the morning I'm going to let him go to school and chalk it up to a 24 hour bug. God, please let it be over! I always brag about not getting stomach bugs but I'll wait a couple more days to brag this time. So that was our long weekend. Eventful, just not always in a good way! I'm going to pray for a less eventful week. Happy holiday Monday everyone!

He's Got The Groove

2012-01-13T12:51:00.004-05:00

I feel like I need to start this post off by making a very direct statement. I do not and cannot dance. It is just that simple. I am so bad at dancing that the thought of it makes my stomach hurt and therefore, I do not do it. Pretty much ever. When Deaner and I got engaged several years ago, my in-laws gave us ballroom dance lessons to take before our weddings. Oh I cannot even tell y'all how much I dreaded those lessons with Julio each week for three whole weeks. Deaner cannot dance at all either but I don't think he feels as self-conscious about it as I do. Which brings me to Evans. I'm not entirely sure where he came from because that kid can break it down. Every time there is music playing in the car, or on the TV, or even, as you will able to see, when I play a xylophone for him, he has to dance. It all started with a shoulder shimmy that I saw him do one day and it has only grown from there. I've added several videos to prove what I am talking about. This first video was taken on Christmas day this year and the music is coming from his new Cars keyboard/drum set.
Our next dancing display is when I show off my musical talent on the xylophone. Evans might be able to dance but his skillz on the musical instruments are a bit lacking.
This push toy is one of Evans favorites now. He really likes to turn the music on here AND on his Cars keyboard at the same time. It doesn't make me feel like I'm going insane at all.

And last but not least here is a video of him dancing with his Aunt Donna. If you are wondering why there is a blank stare on his face it is because it was probably about 11:00pm when I took this and he was still awake. Who can sleep when there is dancing to be done?Now that he can stand up there is no telling what he will be capable of dancing wise next!

It's Official.....

2012-01-12T20:55:00.006-05:00

I truly never thought I would live to see the day. I'm not even really sure how it happened because I was not really expecting it. None of these videos are very good because Evans kept getting distracted by my phone or else my stupid video would not open in time. This is still not his preferred method of getting around but it is a start and we are getting there. Plus, it is too cute to watch. The first time he did it he was so proud that it was great. I didn't want to be rude so I didn't remind him of his age.
I can't believe that it has taken me this long to figure out how to post a video on here. I had to ask my friend Meghan over at I Want The Good Chairs how to do it because she seemed like the professional. I have to admit that when I got her step by step instructions I laughed out loud and thought that I would just have to continue in my ignorance because it was so complicated. I sucked it up tonight and tried to figure it and surprisingly, I think I will be able to do it again. Thanks Meghan!

Got to love how he walks away from me but pivots on one foot like a top to come back. I just wish for the video I could have gotten him to go a little farther away.

Here is how we now eat our dinners now. No fork, no eating. He is very civilized. I noticed that he was eating with his left hand but when my mom gave him a spoon as well he just used them both, one in each hand.
This was probably a boring post to most but I had to brag (try and forget Evans is 16.5 months old). Stayed tuned, tomorrow is a school day and I have a pretty outrageous story to tell. It it even better than the Tiffany necklaces. Thank god tomorrow is Friday.

Just Getting Comfy

2012-01-10T14:32:00.008-05:00

I think that Evans has been exhausted lately. Or he might be regressing all the way back to the days when he could not crawl. Yesterday this is how I found him watching TV. Yes, his feet are resting flat on the floor. I'm not positive but I'm pretty sure he exceeds the weight limit of the INFANT bouncy seat where he had made himself right at home. It was practically touching the floor and every ten seconds or so he would sit up a little bit and lie back down to give himself a little bounce. I asked him what he was doing in the bouncy seat and he looked at me like I was crazy, "can't you see lady? Can a man not relax a little in his own house"? I found it pretty funny but I was worried about the seat breaking so I had to ask him to vacate his lounging spot. This did not go over well and pretty much was the slippery slope of what became the rest of the afternoon. Temper tantrums over EVERYthing. Fall down on the floor, face in the ground, kick the feet and wail kind of tantrums. Evans is such a happy and laid back child that I have to admit, it sort of makes me laugh when he has a nervous breakdown. I know that is mean but seeing his temper is pretty comical. Especially when yesterday, in the midst of the bouncy seat fiasco, he knocked into something and looked up at me and said "Uh oh" before returning to this theatrics.It probably doesn't help that every time he gets ticked about something, I pull out my camera to try and capture it but I just can't help it. Look how red his face turns! I have really noticed a lot of changes in Evans these past couple weeks. He just seems more grown up to me and is talking so much more. He tells me to "here, hold this" while handing me a binky (which he ONLY gets at night) or "I want that" while he tries to point to something. This can get rather cumbersome as I don't always guess correctly with the first ten things that I present for his approval. Yesterday is took nearly all of dinner for my mom to realize he was requesting his own fork. Once we figured it out he proceeded to eat his dinner using a fork like he had done it his whole life. My child, who will not walk, ate his whole dinner with a fork. If you ask him what you wash your hair with he will respond with "SHAMpoooo". When gets up from a nap or when we go outside he will point upwards and tell me "sky". I mean, who cares if he thinks the ceiling is actually the sky? Brilliant. :)

Today was a school day so we had to take our routine morning picture to capture how cute Evans' outfit was. I have to say, I did think twice about sending him to school wearing anything white.I took my chances and we came home with a huge brown stain on the front from an applesauce incident? Oh well. I can't believe I actually am posting this picture since despite having just showered it looks like my hair is dirty and I clearly haven't wiped E's mouth yet. It also looks like we live in a forest in Transylvania with that fog outside!I think Evans might be getting sick of posing in school morning pictures with me. What do y'all think?I'll give him a break until Friday morning. I was able to actually go inside and pick Evans up in his classroom today instead of just going through the carpool line. His teachers said he had a fantastic day and on two occasions he took three steps. I did not remind them that he is 16 months and this should have happened awhile ago. I could not be happier that he seems to like school now. When he gets home from school he is normally wiped out. He still takes a morning nap and afternoon nap so he misses the morning nap on school days. Typically he will come home and sleep the afternoon away after school. So, you can understand my concern, that at 3:18, approximately one hour after going down for a nap, I can hear him asking politely to get out of his crib. It is now 3:24pm. Can anyone tell me how many minutes that is away from bedtime at 7:00pm? This could potentially be a very long afternoon.

Back In The Swing of Things

2012-01-09T12:23:00.005-05:00

Today is our first day back in our "semi-normal" routine. I realize we are a week later than most people but Deaner didn't leave to go back to Germany until Saturday afternoon so Evans pretty much got an extra week of relaxing. I knew this morning that Evans was exhausted since he slept from 7:15 last night until I had to wake him up at 7:45 this morning. He didn't even politely request a snack at 4:00am which I have taken to ignoring anyways. As I was piddling around the kitchen getting breakfast together I glanced over to see this. I suppose that this is how Evans feels about being woken up in the morning instead of being allowed to rise naturally. I have to admit that it made me laugh out loud. I rarely see a moment when he isn't emptying the tupperware cabinet or climbing the stairs without permission but I imagine that most people have had moments where they feel like lying in the middle of the kitchen floor would feel better than any alternative! I know that I feel like this roughly 1-2 times a day!

We had a fairly uneventful weekend and I hate to report that I don't have anything too comical to share. Friday night we took Evans to eat Mexican and he discovered cheese dip.I know that it looks like the cheese dip is actually frightening him here but that did not stop him from devouring it along with some spicy salsa. He also has a little bit of the mad scientist look going on with his hair but that doesn't mean he will be getting a hair cut anytime soon.

Tomorrow is a school day and Mama and Evans are looking forward to it. Deaner got a great report on Friday and the teachers said he didn't cry at all and had a fun day. I wonder if teachers lie sometimes? Also, a funny side note, remember the "missing" white turtleneck that coffee spilled all over? His teacher reported to Deaner that it has been "misplaced" and we should just keep the white turtleneck that he was sent home wearing. Hmmm. I think I'm just going to have to let this one go. I think it is weird that an article of clothing such as the SHIRT you are wearing could be lost but oh well. It's a good thing I bought 5 of the same white turtlenecks. That's all I have today! Hopefully more to report tomorrow!

War Horse.....True Story?

2012-01-05T16:38:00.002-05:00

Did any of you think that I was actually being serious about the true story? Now that would have been pretty funny. If you want to see the movie I am warning you now, there WILL be spoilers. Last night Deaner and I went to see this movie and my mother-in-law watched Evans. I love my son to pieces but it is nice to sit down and watch a movie without worrying about what he is destroying. I am not a huge movie fan but every so often I like to go to a theatre and see something new. Last week we saw The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (I read the books so I knew when to close my eyes and plug my ears) and I really enjoyed it so we thought we might give another movie a try. First off, let me preface this post by saying that I really do NOT like horses. I like to go watch them race sometimes but you will never catch me in a barn nuzzling one of them. In fact, I think there is a very good chance I am actually afraid of horses. So, while I knew that this was a movie involving a horse, I somehow thought it was more about the Civil War. When the movie started it was quite clear that it was definitely NOT about the Civil War, as it was taking place in England. It's just so easy to confuse the Civil War with World War II, right? Ha. I might do better to make a list of the things in the movie that I found weird/funny/outrageous/insane.

1. Why was Albie so obsessed with this horse from the second his father brought him home? I'm not an animal person so perhaps I just don't understand but I never see an animal and think "I cannot live without this creature and I would lay down my life for his/hers".

2. Who names a horse "Joey"?

3. Who promises a horse that they will one day be reunited when the war is over?

4. Who promises a horse that they will one day be reunited when the war is over AND THEN DOES IT?

5. It is just not possible that Joey volunteered to pull the big heavy cannon so that the black horse didn't have to. No way.

6. It is not possible for Joey to live through all those bombings, machine guns and grenades. Everyone else died but don't worry, Joey lives.

7. What kind of man who has been mustard gassed, gone blind and ended up in a field hospital can identify his long lost horse by hearing it shake it's head in the distance? The kind that doesn't exist.

The end. I'm really glad that ole Albie got his horse back in the end. Joey sure did go through some precarious situations and still they were reunited, countries from where they started. I know I am being cynical and I really did enjoy seeing the movie there were just many times when I thought to myself, "seriously"? That Joey was really something else! I'd also like to warn you not to see the movie if you are in any way shape or form feeling emotional about anything at all. You will cry. Even if you hate horses.

Good Riddance 2011

2012-01-03T10:00:00.009-05:00

Last year at Christmas time Evans was a 4 month old baby who couldn't do anything more than lie on his pallet in front of the fireplace and coo. I can vividly remember it being said multiple times during that Christmas that "at this time next year, he is going to be running around everywhere and be into everything". Hmmmm. I guess that half of this prediction came true! Evans is certainly into everything but the running around part? Not so much. As we opened all our gifts on Christmas morning I was once again struck with the same thought...."next year at this time, Evans will be running around and into everything". Maybe I shouldn't have had such high ambitions for him? I continue to see Facebook status updates on a daily basis about whose child has started walking that day. And I'm talking about kids who are like six months younger than Evans. While we were all extremely impressed and wowed by Evans actually standing up and pushing his push toy this past week, I can hardly brag on Facebook that my 16 month old child is just learning to push a toy around! For goodness sake Evans! Deaner has been in town for the past couple weeks and he CLAIMS that Evans took three steps by himself yesterday. Of course this was when I was not there and did not actually witness it happening. I'm going to chose to believe it didn't happen and hope to actually be there next time (no, I was NOT at Target).

Anyways. Christmas this year was it's usual chaotic event and a great time to see family and friends. Everyone should know by now what a freak I am about Evans' clothes. I plan, I iron and I execute. Imagine my surprise when Deaner produced a "special" outfit that he insisted on Evans wearing.Y'all can rest assured that Evans' German liederhosen were not apart of the holiday wardrobe I had planned.Since I was feeling A LOT of goodwill and Christmas cheer I let him keep them on to please his father. I didn't really understand why Deaner insisted upon wearing these to Christmas since it is the attire that is typically worn to Oktoberfest........in October.I suppose he did look pretty cute even if it was a bit ridiculous. I did absolutely have to put my foot down and refuse to let Deaner give Evans ketchup with his chicken nuggets while in Liederhosen. I was not going to deal with ketchup on suede.

On Christmas Eve Deaner and I took Evans to see Santa Claus. We did this last year too and found that there are practically no lines the day before Christmas and it is a great time to visit. I have to admit that this year the visit was completely anti climatic. I had all these visions of a smiling delighted happy child on Santa's lap and a picture I would treasure for years. I would have even been happy with a picture of him screaming and crying because shouldn't every kid have a picture like that with Santa Claus? I got neither of these. Evans didn't smile and he didn't cry. It was like someone turned him to stone and he was unable to express any sort of emotion at all. My goon of a child. So, I am now the proud owner of 39487 pictures of Evans looking like a deer caught in the headlights because of course, they make you choose which picture package you want BEFORE they show you the picture. Annoyed. You might think my story ends there but unfortunately it does not. Last year I made Deaner stand outside of Santa's little house area so he could take pictures with my own camera. This year I gave him the option of bringing Evans up to Santa's lap and have me take the pictures or vice versa. He chose taking the pictures. I have to add in here that I had to make a special trip back to my parent's house to pick up the camera. After I saw how much I hated the picture of Evans with Santa the conversation went like this......

Me: "That was a terrible picture of Evans and it looks awful"
Deaner: "It's not that bad! I think he looks really cute"!
Me: "How can you think that? He looks like he just witnessed a murder".
Deaner: "I think that the picture is great and it is the only one that we need"!
Me: "At least I will have the pictures you took. Let me see my camera".
Deaner: silence
Me: "The camera please"?
Deaner: 'Uhhh, don't get mad".
Me: Death stare
Deaner: "That old lady over there would not stop talking to me and I couldn't get any pictures taken at all"!
Me: Silence. For a much longer time.

I will have to scan the picture to post on here but trust me, it is nothing special to look at. He was wearing this outfit but didn't look nearly as cute.I'm sure I have a ton left to tell but this is way too long already. Evans is back at school today and I can't wait to hear how the day goes when Deaner picks him up. When we pulled in this morning Evans looked at me like "Seriously lady, haven't we discussed this place scares me"? Hoping for a good report!Welcome 2012! We've been waiting for you!

Merry Christmas Week!

2011-12-21T10:49:00.009-05:00

I am starting to think that blogging about the Christmas Pageant last week really took it out of me since I haven't actually been able to sit down and write about anything that has happened since then. And it's not that nothing has been going on either. Though it doesn't feel quite like the holidays I suppose I can blame that on the 60 degree rainy dreary awful weather that Atlanta is experiencing right now. I know that Christmas is coming because I have been wrapping gifts (exquisitely) and actively avoiding any place that is within a five mile radius of any mall in Buckhead (this is actually much harder to do than one would think normal). My parents live in an area of Atlanta where I could be at Lenox/Phipps mall in about 3 miles or at Perimeter Mall in about 4 miles. This does not make for the best holiday traffic. Atlanta finds it helpful to turn off all the traffic lights on main roads like Roswell and Peachtree and replace them with humans. Humans in the form of City of Atlanta Police Officers. The DOT clearly does not understand the concept of "human error", especially with Atlanta cops (please call to mind my ticketing incident back in September). SO, in summary, if you feel like going anywhere in Atlanta, inside the perimeter, at any time of day, I would urge you to think about just how badly you want to go there or just how badly you NEED to go there. It might not be worth it.

Deaner got into Atlanta on Sunday evening for the Christmas holidays. Evans was so excited to see him and has had no problem at all adjusting to Daddy being here. We have done a couple of things together including taking Evans to the aquarium yesterday. Evans has always loved the aquarium but I have to say that it might have lost it's magic for him this time. For some reason the child was way more interested in crawling around on the floor than looking at the fish. You won't be able to tell by the pictures but it just didn't hold his attention like it used to.My favorite pictures from the day are below. Evans looked at this gigantic ugly fish and said "HI" while waving at it. The fish did not return his enthusiasm.I am pretty sure it could have eaten Evans for breakfast. Of course there are no pictures of me because if it weren't for me, there would be no pictures AT ALL. I guess that is the way it goes being the Mom. Santa Claus was scuba diving in the tank while were watching the whale sharks, which was cool, but I think perhaps E will understand all of this a bit more next year.I believe we are going to take Evans to see Santa Claus on Christmas Eve and that ought to be interesting. I got nervous last year waiting until the last second but it wasn't crowded on Christmas Eve and we got right in. Something tells me that Evans will not be as happy to see him this year but it should make for a good story and picture! I hope that everyone is having a very merry Christmas week and that y'all are eating as much junk as I am. Seriously, stop bringing the toffee to my parent's house. I have very little will power at 10:00pm!! Happy Wednesday!

Coffee Drama 2011 Explained

2011-12-12T20:09:00.004-05:00

So if y'all read the last pageant post, you know what I am referring to by the great coffee drama of 2011. I finally got an email back from Evans' teacher this weekend explaining the costume disaster of the much anticipated Christmas pageant. Apparently there were a ton of volunteers in and out of the Fellowship Hall while the stage for the pageant was being built (I can't understand exactly what needed to be "built") and a bunch of mother's helping keep the kids occupied while they were in the "holding area". Someone obviously left their coffee cup in a corner on the floor and thankfully, my son found it for them. The coffee was old and cold so Evans was fine. His costume didn't fair as well but really, what can I do? I mean, I've accidentally let Evans climb the stairs like 7 times today. I know how fast he can get away. It's just unfortunate that it was a WHITE angel that found the coffee. His teacher told me that she would be bringing the incident up in their year end meeting but I assured her that it was not necessary. What are they going to do? Finger print the cup and/or interrogate church volunteers? I think that I'm just going to have to let it go. I am going to choose to believe that none of the other mothers noticed that my child's costume was on backwards. Oh yeah, I can get his clothes back when school starts again. I wonder if they will have been washed?

We had a pretty uneventful weekend. The highlight for Evans was getting to have breakfast on Sunday morning at Waffle House. No where else does he get to eat sausage AND bacon in the same meal. As his entire meal. With a quarter or two of waffle. He didn't eat again until dinner. I wish everyone could have seen his face when the waitress put this plate of bacon down in front of him.We left wearing grease all over the Ole Miss sweatshirt (no big deal, Ole Miss sucks anyways) and smelling like grease. Evans took a three hour nap after his pig fest. To think that I considered giving him a hotdog for dinner is embarrassing. All and all it was a quiet weekend but we enjoyed ourselves. This week I need to focus on finishing my Christmas shopping and getting my gifts wrapped. Does anyone remember my wrapping paper obsession? I'm already stressing out how they will look this year. I picked out my paper last year after Christmas when it went on sale and now I'm second guessing myself. I guess there are worse things in life! Happy Monday!

Christmas Pageant Drama

2011-12-09T21:21:00.009-05:00

Does anything around here ever just go smoothly? Like according to plan without any hitches? I don't think I really have to answer that question. So why should the Christmas pageant be any different? The early early morning came shortly after the late late night of hosting a Christmas Party with my Mom and sister for 100 of our closest friends. I probably should have reconsidered the 8:30am check up at the pediatricians office when I was already committed to having Evans at school for the pageant at 9:30am. Somehow Evans was measured, weighed, poked, prodded and given two shots in the leg AND we made it to school by 9:40am. When I dropped Evans off in his classroom I offered to go ahead and get him into his costume since I found both teachers on the floor wrestling with 1.5 year olds attempting to get them into the angel costumes. Plus, I knew just how "snug" Evans costume was to get onto his body. Surprisingly Evans was cool, calm and collected and he didn't even whimper (a vast improvement). There was a little boy who was screaming so loud that I'm pretty sure it scared Evans into silence. He was happy and didn't even notice when I left.

I'm not sure if I really stressed how great Evans' costume was. My sister worked on it for a week after it took my mom and I an equal amount of time to pick out the pattern at the fabric store. I spent something ridiculous like $32 on the materials when I thought it might cost like $7 or something. Aunt Mimi took measurements with a string and made us have TWO costume fittings. It was very comical. The final product was worth the wait and I was so excited to see Evans in his costume. I was SHOCKED to see Evans come out onto the altar and actually sit on the front step and shake his jingle bell in time with the music. He didn't cry, he didn't try and crawl away and he did what was expected of him. Amazing. When the performance was almost over I came down from the balcony to take a few pictures up close.I know that these pictures aren't the greatest but at least they prove that he is not crying, he is sitting and he is enjoying his jingle bell. Then I started to notice that something was a bit off. I was a little annoyed that his costume was hiked up over his pants because it was a long gown and should have covered him easily. Then I saw that the two blue ribbons that closed the outfit in the back were somehow now in in the front. What? I got Evans dressed. I certainly did not put his costume on backwards and I know he didn't do it himself. How could this have possibly happened? When I collected Evans from the altar I asked his teacher why his costume was on backwards. I was not prepared for her to answer that somehow Evans spilled COFFEE all over the front of the costume before the pageant started. I might as well say upfront that I still do not know the whole story and that I'm waiting on an email explanation from his teacher. I mean, was he just enjoying a midmorning cup of coffee? Was it hot when it poured over his entire front? I know this school is sophisticated but I don't even drink coffee and I'm the mom. So here is what the front looked like after the incident.I wondered how his white turtleneck was left unstained when I could see the stains on his khaki AND on his socks. It wasn't until I was getting him ready to take a nap this afternoon that I realized the turtleneck he was wearing wasn't his. Huh. My email to the teacher also included questions like 1. whose shirt is this? 2. Where should it be returned? 3. Where is my child's shirt? I'm just wondering after all!

So E's beautiful angel costume with the hand sewn sequins now smells like a starbucks. Oh well. You win some you lose some right? He was still the cutest angel on the altar.The whole program was so cute and it was awesome to watch these little kids having so much fun. Old Dad came to watch Evans and E jumped right into his arms.It was definitely the highlight of my week. I'll have more updates regarding the Coffee Incident 2011 when I hear back from his teacher. I do expect some sort of explanation since I do still need to know where his clothes are. Pictures from our Christmas party on Monday......Happy weekend!

Never Lose Sight

2011-12-08T11:02:00.005-05:00

Of your child that is! Yesterday I think Evans really had it out for me. If I had to hear this train/bus/whatever it is blare it's music one more time, I was probably going to die. Why do toy manufacturers make them SO loud? And of course, Evans LOVES it. He dances, he sings and generally looks to die for cute so it is hard to take it away. Anyways. Yesterday afternoon we were at my Aunt's house watching the twins and Evans was sitting with the train (I really think it is a train even though I refer to it as a bus most of the time) in front of the TV in the kitchen. I have a major pet peeve of the television being too loud so the combination of both was really making me rethink wearing ear plugs. Evans was happy and I was playing with Molly on the couch. After a couple of minutes I realized that it was very quiet in the house. I don't follow Evans everywhere he goes because he normally stays between the kitchen and the den, where all the toys are. I started calling his name and instead of hearing rustling around like I normally do, there was silence. I got up to walk into the den, all while calling his name, but it was very clear he wasn't in the den either. I called his name much louder this time I heard the thuds of rapid crawling above my head. I ran to the bottom of the stairs and there was that train about 3/4ths of the way up the stairs while Evans rounded the corner from the top to grin down at me at the bottom of the stairs. I was stunned. I knew he could go up stairs but he doesn't normally pay too much attention to them so I don't ever block them. And this was a staircase of probably 15 stairs at least. AND I can see the staircase from where I was sitting on the couch and I STILL didn't see him go by. This could be a problem. My solution?Brilliant right? Well here was Evans' response as soon as I walked back into the kitchen.I think I am going to have to be a little bit more creative. I wedged this chair and stool in much tighter this morning and he still shimmied underneath the chair. I should probably come up with a better approach before I go wake him up from his nap in a little bit.

So tomorrow is the big day with the Christmas Pageant! It also happens to be Evans' 15 month checkup BEFORE school so I will be up at the crack of dawn. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that my mom, sister and I are hosting a Christmas open house this evening for all our girlfriends. It promises to be a fun night with plenty of good stories to tell tomorrow! Happy Thursday!

Bleh....

2011-12-06T15:01:00.004-05:00

I don't really have anything good to report today. It's sort of been a boring day. It's rainy and hot and humid. Go figure Atlanta. This morning upon turning into the school parking lot Evans was aware that something was afoot. He was so happy when we left the house but by the time we parked, he knew. He was going back to school. Sobbing crying at drop off. I'm sort of getting used to it. I was so anxious to hear how he did when I picked him up. But I can't tell you how his day went because when the teacher put him in the car and I asked how he did she replied, "Oh, I work in pre-k so I don't know". Hmmmm. Thanks, I'll just ask my 15 month old. There were no signs of crying, no runny nose and no red eyes. As you can see in this picture, our Christmas tree it up. My parents Christmas tree is dripping in ornaments. We even have a special tree in the other room with the expensive ornaments. All seems to be a recipe for disaster to me. For some reason Evans has really not shown any interest in the tree. Maybe he is scared of it, maybe not, as long as he doesn't bat the ornaments or knock it down, I don't care. I'm planning on taking many more pictures with him in front of this tree. It is hard to think that at this time last year, we would have a big fire in the fireplace and Evans would lie on a pallet in front of it, just staring. I cannot believe how big he is this year. Makes me wonder how it will be next Christmas.

Getting Ready For Our Pageant

2011-12-05T20:28:00.004-05:00

Well, I cannot disclose a picture of the super awesome Angel costume that Aunt Mimi made for Evans for his Christmas pageant on Friday but we had the "final fitting" on Saturday during the Georgia game and this is what we were wearing for the game. Evans was pretty excited for the game and it was his first big disappointment of being a Dawg fan. I had to explain to him that it would probably be just the first of many if he is going to root for the Dawgs, the Rebels and/or the Hoos. He needed to learn this lesson early with that repertoire of teams to pull for. And the Dawgs are the best bet! Anyways, Aunt Mimi made us try on the angel costume and it is going to be great. It might be a little difficult to get on due to Mama not picking a very stretchy fabric but as long as you smash him in, it fits fine once on the body. I might have to stay on Friday morning and help him get into it and I suppose we can always cut him out if we have to. I really fell down on the job of angel wings and just bought some cheesy ones at the store and I'm not sure I will ever forgive myself but I have to get over it. I can't wait to see the performance and hope that at the very least, Evans will stay on the altar. On Friday Evans brought home a memo from school with a couple of tips for parents to keep in mind for the pageant. I feel like several of them are too good to not pass along.....

--All costumes must be received at school no later than Tuesday, December 6th. This is because they are having a full dress rehearsal on the 6th AND ON THE 7th. Really? Two full dress rehearsals? Do the teachers hate themselves?

--Costumes should be comfortable for your child to walk in (first problem), rather than fancy and dangerous. Again, really? Anyone who knows me knows that Evans costume will be fancy but even I draw the line at dangerous. I really can't help them with the walking issue.

--(picture this is bold writing) Please, do not use any cotton balls as part of your child's costume. Someone will have to enlighten me on this one.

--Cameras, camcorders, etc are allowed. Are there really schools that don't allow cameras at their pageants?

--Please bring a try of "goodies" to share after the performance. I call not bringing fruit!

--As in years past, we would like to give a token of our appreciation to our two custodians. If you can, please send a small cash donation in an envelope with your child so we can buy them each a necklace from Tiffany. Ha ha! Just kidding! (I will be doing this happily so no one get mad).

After this list, is there anyone that is NOT excited for Evans' pageant on Friday? I didn't think so. Even Evans was very excited when I told him about it this weekend. He celebrated by eating ALL his bacon and NONE of his eggs.We are trying to get into the holiday spirit by wearing Christmas pajamas every night. Tomorrow is a school day and I'll be sure to give an update. We have a fancy new Christmas longall that Evans is hot to ruin. Off to bed, I must mentally prepare for tomorrow.

You Win Some, You Lose Some

2011-12-02T14:45:00.003-05:00

This morning I was pretty sure that we would be losing again. While looking very cute for school I think that Evans is starting to learn that if I wake him up in the morning and then get him dressed immediately that he has a reason to be suspicious. We loaded up and went on our way. I have to mention something off topic here but Evans doesn't really like to ride in the car anymore unless he is holding this turquoise matchbox truck. I don't know what it is about the truck but he is obsessed. It used to be the green Percy tank engine but he snubs Percy now for the turquoise truck. Evans held onto the truck all the way to school and when we got there and I pulled into a parking space I looked back at him. I watched his face as it rapidly dawned on him that we were back at school. His eyes narrowed, he glared at me, slung that truck on the floor and started bawling. Loud rage crying only this time with big fat tears rolling down his face. Gosh, I felt so bad but we trekked on in. Evans' teacher is great and I let her know that if he had another bad day like Tuesday that I could come pick him up at anytime because maybe it was too much for him. And then I left my wailing child in the arms of someone else while he was reaching out to come with me. Pain. Then I got over it because I realized I would probably get a call in an hour to come get him. My phone was silent all morning and I was the first person in the carpool line at 1:30 to fetch him. When the teacher brought him out she paused on the steps and pointed to me in the car saying "there's Mama" and Evans gave me a little nonchalant wave like he was thinking "oh, YOU AGAIN"? There was no emergency binky clipped to his outfit and no puffy red eyes. They told me that Evans had a GREAT day and he didn't cry at all! VICTORY! I was so happy. I wish he could talk and tell me everything he did but since he can't even walk I realize this is a long shot. I will feel much better about dropping him off on Tuesday, along with his angel costume for the Christmas pageant, and will hope for another good day!

Nighttime Snuggles

2011-12-01T20:35:00.006-05:00

Evans has never lacked in the department of stuffed animals or bed time snuggle buddies. His crib is filled with a stuffed frog, a monkey, an orange dog and a white lamb. One of which is actually featured in this picture of E while we were in the hospital after he was born. I always make sure to have a couple animals in the crib with him at night when he goes to sleep just in case he wants to take a liking to one of them in particular. We have winnie the pooh luvies, lamb luvies, giraffe luvies and a rabbit luvie. On top of the furry friends we have four blankets. Cotton blankets, cashmere blankets and satin blankets. And binkeys. OH we have binkeys GALORE. Now, one would think, given all these obscenely nice choices, that Evans would have taken to one of these. However, when we go to bed at night, there are three things that we must have.

1. A binkey in his mouth.

2. A binkey in his hand.

3. And this in his other hand.Hmmm, are you thinking that this doesn't look like a very comfortable item to sleep with? That is because it is a plastic rock. That's right. A plastic boulder that came with his Thomas the Train "Rock Quarry" set. I'm sure it was a $75 train set and with as much as he loves this rock, I guess it was worth it? Here is my problem. He also wants to play with it during the day. Rocks, especially ones that are round, roll. They roll under couches, under beds, under cribs, under tables and basically anything that sits more than three inches off the floor. And we only have one. One two inch rock and over 4,500 square feet of house. Let's be honest, the odds are not in my favor. I see disaster in my near future. So, for now, I try to encourage that the rock be left in the crib every morning. Just so it can offer its warm comfort every night.

In other news, tomorrow is a school day. Grrrrreat. Everything is ready to go and tomorrow I am feeling positive will be a better day. At least it will be a great outfit. It is December after all and we can move on to our Christmas longalls! (Evans chose them)

Good Feedback

2011-11-30T22:34:00.006-05:00

I would first off like the thank everyone for all the positive feed back that I've gotten regarding Evans and his less than enthusiastic approach to preschool. I love reading from all my new commenters so I hope that y'all will keep it up. Seriously, it makes my day. And what a day it was. I spent all day with my aunt's sick infant only to be told (after I forced her to go to the doctor) that there was nothing wrong with him. I'm thrilled to hear this news but Jack.........would you like to explain to me what all the screaming going on this morning was? Did ya just decide that you hated me or something? When my aunt got home from the doctor's appointment Evans and I bolted because Evans desperately needed a nap before Buddy's birthday dinner in a fancy restaurant. Already there are so many red flags that should be going up to all mothers. (desperately needing a nap and fancy restaurant were the buzz words if you didn't catch them). Evans did sleep for about 45 minutes so Susie and I dolled him up in his fanciest longall and tossed him the car. One of the jobs that Susie was in charge of was putting on Evans shoes. She slapped those things on and tied up quickly and we were on our way. About 5 minutes into the drive I glanced over and something seemed a bit off. Way off. Like left and right shoe wrong.Umm-hmmmm, yes. These shoes are definitely on the wrong feet. No wonder this kid can't walk! I always let Susie put the shoes on and now I have no idea how many times before this has happened. Ha ha. I'm sure none but Lord we got a good laugh at it when I noticed it. Didn't seem to bother Evans.

We got to the restaurant, had a drink, chatted, feed Evans a meatball, watched Evans drive his dump truck over the meatball and then up the sleeve of Aunt Mimi. We ordered food and wine and this is really I think when things started to go downhill. As the waiter was pouring Mommy's glass of red wine Evans got a little over excited and crashed his dump truck into it, spilling wine all over the table. Blood pressure and anxiety begin a slow rise. In all fairness, I do think that he just got excited and that he didn't mean to knock it over. When I looked so shocked and turned to scold him he leaned forward and kissed me on the lips. I honestly think it scared him just as much. Mess was cleaned crisis averted. Entrees are brought out to the table and as I was about to dig into my Pasti Rigati Arrabiatta pasta the one and only dump truck whizzed past my face at the speed of light and onto the floor. This was just the beginning of the nuclear meltdown that ensued. He was obviously angry about something, who knows what but I resigned myself to eating out of a doggie bag that night. I took Evans to the car past people staring at the screaming child who will likely get a beating in the car! :) Oh my gosh, he can scream so loud. And only in situations that require immediate evacuation plans! There was no dawdling, it was cold outside and thankfully I managed to snag my coat and mom's car keys.

In the chilly car we watch a few videos of Dinosaur Train until I decided I should probably take this time out oppertunity and run over to Publix to pick Evans up some milk. As I was about to pull out my sister came running to the car and said she would come. Off to the grocery. I went in for milk and came out with FOUR bottles of wine as well. Impulse shopping? Oh well, nice wine never hurts! I should have unscrewed a bottle right then and there. We headed back to the restaurant just in time to pick up the childless diners and my doggie bag. Evans and I are going to have to come to an agreement on these temper issues. Basically the deal will ask that he stop all ridiculous behavior that his mother does not deem appropriate. Seems fair?

It was a fun night to celebrate Buddy's birthday! Evans made it up to everyone when we got home by crawling around like a maniac and kissing and hugging on whomever he stopped in front of. Mainly mama! Rage report tomorrow and stay tuned to find our Evans' favorite bed time comfort item. It's just so soft and snuggly, you will probably want to buy one for every child you know!

Expulsion?

2011-11-29T16:22:00.009-05:00

I have to admit, Evans looked pretty darn fabulous for school this morning. His choice of longall was stunning and I must say that he has fantastic taste in children's clothing. I let him pick out his clothes completely by himself. At the very least, he looked good. Apparently he did not act quite as good as he looked at school today. We avoided any major meltdowns this morning at drop off but I did dash out the door rather quickly and I could have missed it. I chose to picture him playing happily with other children when I left and not of him crying for me. However, when a teacher carried him out to the car this afternoon at pick-up I immediately saw that his "emergency binky" was clipped to his outfit. Oh hell. I'm pretty sure I even said it out loud in the car to myself. Here was the report from the teacher (keep in mind, his actual teacher doesn't bring him to the car so it is a message relayed from the real teacher). "Evans had a tough day and he cried a lot of the time". Oh boy. What do you even say to that?

"Sorry my child was such a pain in the butt today"?
"Why was he crying, did you beat him"?
"Can you tell me the exact nature as to why he was crying"?

But my mind blanked and I happily said "see you on Friday"! I know that kids cry all the time when dropped off at school but it is semi concerning to me that my son would cry ENOUGH that his teacher couriered the message out to me in the car. I'm even more concerned that if this continues then his teachers will grow to hate Tuesdays and Fridays when that whiny Evans Deaner comes to school. Oh my gosh, I bet they don't like him already! Can children get expelled from preschool? What if they suggest nicely that he not come back to school anymore? On the exact day that I wrote the tuition check! It's a really good thing that I already sent in the money for the Tiffany necklace teacher Christmas gifts! Evans might have to send in a Tiffany necklace of his own if he keeps this up. And I'm not loaning him the money either! :)

My poor baby. This whole school thing is stressful. I mean, I am really trying to be funny about it and truthfully I haven't lost (much) sleep over it at night but I will be nervous for his Friday report. We can't have three bad days in a row. He took a three hour nap. I guess all that crying at preschool wore him out. He did look really cute this morning and he matched Buddy's tie!In other news, I spent an embarrassing amount of time today debating which Vera Bradley pattern I wanted to pick for my new weekend luggage. The pattern that I have now I have had since high school and it is getting pretty battered. VB is horrible luggage to fly with because it gets dirty fast and the way they throw your bags around in the airport, it tears easily. So I really only use mine if I'm going on a road trip. I am getting a new large duffel bag and the Miller bag which is a GREAT carry on for long flights with children. One might have thought that I was actually fretting over a serious life changing decision. I think my blood pressure was a bit elevated. Finally, I made the decision, announced it to my mom and sister and felt immediately relieved. Then I scrolled down an inch to "add to cart" only to see the words written in red "out of stock online". Are you kidding me? Most normal people would have then been able to say to themselves, "oh well, at least I liked the other one just as much". Not me. I INSTANTLY wanted the one that was sold out. Bad. Deep breaths. Think about it Gleatie. We are talking about a bag here. Let it go. Yes, the other pattern will be just fine, thank you. Until tomorrow.........

Temper Temper

2011-11-28T20:21:00.008-05:00

I don't want to call my son out or anything but he has developed quite the temper as of late. He spent the weekend before last with his dad so I attributed much of it to not being on a regular schedule and hardly sleeping. We are past the point of blaming it on that now. The thing is, the funniest things make him angry. I mean I wouldn't want him to act like that in public but I've found myself chuckling several times in the past few weeks. As it turns out, we really don't need to own 3/4ths of the toys that we do. Evans is perfectly happy to roll a 2 liter bottle of diet coke around the house for hours. Until he encounters his arch nemesis, otherwise known as the threshold. I don't know what is wrong with him but if he can't roll whatever it is he is playing with over the threshold the first time, all hell breaks loose. He. cannot. handle. it. Rage ensues. I'd be lying to say that it is not mildly concerning. I have chosen the above picture because it illustrates how some of the thresholds are in my parent's house. You can't really tell by his face in this picture but he was ticked. Here are a couple of pictures that better show the emotions he was experiencing.It was at this point that I made the executive decision that his night had concluded. Time for bed. We are going to have to work on this little problem that has developed. So, I know I can't leave these pictures without commenting on Evans' mouth ornament. In true canine fashion, he doesn't go many places anymore without carrying something in his mouth. This just happens to be the top of a sippy cup. I don't know where he got it because he has certainly not ever used a cup like this. I wonder if he realizes that there is not actually a cup attached to the lid. Every time the lid fell out of his mouth he would stop whatever he was doing to pick it up and put it back in his mouth. Too funny.

Tomorrow is a school day! Woo-hoo!! Hopefully no physical ailments will plague us during the night. I need a well rested, well fed and well groomed child tomorrow who can come home with a better report from his teacher than "tired and cranky". The tuition check is in his backpack and I do not pay for reports like that. Let's be honest, I'd rather be lied to. :) Stay tuned for a full report.

Is this a joke?

2011-11-17T22:26:00.008-05:00

I haven't ever claimed to be a very fashion forward kind of gal. I know I know, this comes as a surprise to most of you since I am normally so fashionably dressed. And I own Tory Burch shoes and all. When I was cruising around on Facebook yesterday and this picture was posted under a boutique that I "like", I had to do a double take. The caption reads "Is this not the cutest holiday outfit you have ever seen"?? I have so many things to say about this that I hardly know where to start. Maybe I should make a list and someone can help me understand it a little bit better.

1. What about this outfit makes it a holiday outfit? It appears to be devoid of any color at all that might lend itself to holiday cheer.

2. The bottom half of this outfit are shorts. The only holiday I might wear shorts for is none. This is because I do not wear shorts. But if I did, I would probably choose to wear them between the months of May and September. This IS Atlanta but it does get a bit chilly sometimes and I'd rather not show off the color of my legs in December.

3. I might have bought into the fad of shorts being popular in the winter IF they had been paired with something that remotely appeared to match the top. They could have made me believe without much effort that these shorts would be cute.....with another top. OR that this top would be cute......with something else on the bottom. I feel like if I stare at this outfit with my eyes slightly out of focus, for ten seconds, some sort of holographic creature will suddenly appear for me.

4. I sort of lost steam somewhere between points 2 and 3 so I'll call it quits on that subject. Give me a couple years, 15 more pounds lost and a tanning bed and I'll probably come around. For now, I don't think you will catch me wearing this anytime in the near future.

I don't have else much to report. Deaner has been in town since Friday night and he has had Evans with him so not too many funny stories to report. The Thanksgiving Day Feast went okay. By okay, I mean that when Evans' teacher brought him out to the car she reported that he was very tired and a little on the cranky side. I'd say that is not a glowing report from preschool. Oh well. You win some you lose some and now he has a week to recuperate! My brother flies into town this afternoon and we are all heading to the lake house tomorrow for Thanksgiving. Something about this year doesn't really feel like the holidays are starting but I am going to try and be more upbeat from here on out. Let's see how that works out for me!

Thanksgiving Day Feast

2011-11-17T21:50:00.007-05:00

Tomorrow, at 8:30am, I am dropping Evans off at school. His back pack is ready, his outfit is laid out and his shoes are by the back door. Come hell or high water he will be attending his Thanksgiving Day Feast. I cannot have his attendance record move to 1 for 4. Plus, I have to send in this fruit platter, a tuition check, a check for teacher's gifts, kleenex and wipes. I just have a couple things to say about this fruit platter. Can anyone tell me when fruit became so outrageously priced? I bought already sliced cantaloupe, pineapple, watermelon and grapes. This came in the form of 3 plastic containers and one plastic bag. It was $47.58.....I almost had a heart attack. But what could I do since I had to produce a sliced fruit platter in less than 12 hours. It is a good thing that Evans does not like fresh fruit (well, he likes to chew it up, get the juice out of it and then spit out the remains) but after this, I'm not likely to buy it for him! I kept telling myself while in the store that I was paying for the convenience of having someone else cut it for me. I was actually okay with this because I didn't want to do anything less than stand at a counter and cut up fruit. When I got home and started to move it to a serving platter, it became glaringly clear that the pieces were way to big for children to eat. Last thing I want to do is choke a child with my donation to lunch. So I stood at the counter and I cut up the fruit........again. You better believe Evans' calling card is taped to the top so he gets credit. He may have a poor attendance record but his mother does not skimp on fruit.

Tonight I heard Fido bumping around in the other room as we were finishing up dinner. There isn't a ton that he can get into at my parents house so I wasn't very concerned. When I glanced into the next room here is what I saw.The giant wet spot on his shirt? I heard him laughing out loud while eating his dinner in his highchair. I thought he was laughing at the second most awful show on earth, The Wild Kratts. Instead he was filling his mouth up with apple juice from his sippy cup and letting it dribble down his chin. I don't think he was swallowing any of it. No big deal. The tupperware container he is carrying around in his mouth? This is a pretty normal occurrence since he can get into the tupperware cabinet AND he thinks he is a dog. Only he got this one out of the dishwasher. Before the dishes were washed.

My alarm clock is set for EARLY tomorrow morning. Plenty of time to get up, shower, dress, wake up my child, dress him, feed him, load all his accoutrements and checks into the car and be dropped off at school on time. Going to school is exhausting. Thank goodness next week is Thanksgiving Break!

Blurry blurry nights

2011-11-16T11:44:00.005-05:00

Weird things happen to me. I have sort of come to expect it and I find myself laughing at myself more and more often instead of becoming highly irritated like I used to be inclined to do. So, as I was driving home last night at dusk in a driving rain storm, I really should have expected what happened to me. Last time it rained in Atlanta it was very clear that I needed new windshield wipers and I needed them immediately. In a somewhat rare fashion, I actually went and bought new ones and had my dad put them on my car. Normally it would have taken at least a few more rain storms and perhaps a fender bender to have spurred this action but I guess I’m trying to be a little more responsible these days. As I was driving along down Wieuca Road my mind started wandering to my new windshield wipers and how great they were. I was questioning in my head if I had ever actually installed (I know it should hardly be referred to as an installation) wipers on my own car before or if I had always had someone else do it for me. Since I could not remember how a wiper would actually be put on a car, I concluded that I had, in fact, never put one on myself. Oh well, who cares? Why does it matter if I don’t know how to put a wiper blade on my car? I’ll never need to know how to do that. Or maybe I will.

At the exact second that I came to grips with this lack of knowledge/skill the windshield wiper flew off my windshield. Of course it did. In fact, it seems only appropriate that this is what would happen. It just about sums up the way things have been going for me lately. Only the wiper didn’t entirely fly off my car, rather, it was dangling by a wire that caused it to scrap and screech across my windshield making a highly unpleasant sound and creating the realization that I was not going to be able to continue home until something was done about this.

Did I mention it was pouring rain? I managed to make it to my brother’s old orthodontist’s office parking lot and accepted the fact that I was not going to come out of the situation dry. I have to admit that as soon as this happened I found it pretty comical. I mean, who does this kind of stuff happen to besides me? I couldn’t make it up if I tried. The only part that slightly irritated me was that I could not figure out how to reattach the wiper and there were about 8 men watching me out of their office windows. I didn’t expect anyone to come out and help me and get wet themselves but at least don’t get out of your desk chair and gawk. To make matters worse, I cannot actually reach the wipers on my Jeep. I have to stand on the inside of the car door and hover over the windshield. And I had to keep switching sides so I could examine the wiper that was attached correctly. Sigh.

I feel pretty confident now that I could have easily installed the wiper, had I had the little cardboard piece that came inside the wiper box that showed picture by picture instructions. In the dark, in the rain, not as easy. I managed to rig it on there somehow although it is clearly not right as the wiper will not sit flush against my windshield. I was nervous the rest of the way home that this would happen again so I only “wiped” when I really really could not see anymore. Thankfully I wasn’t far from home. I’m hoping that my dad will take a look at them tonight. Or maybe I should just get on the internet myself and figure out once and for all that I DO know how to put wiper blades on a car. At the very least it will put that doubt to rest and I’ll know in the future.

Evans is still feeling out of sorts. For a child that never whines and it not clingy to me at all he sure has the ability to turn it on quickly. When I went to bed last night my back was aching from toting him around all day on my hip. We picked right back up this morning where we left off last night. I’m hoping the mystery illness and fever break soon because I want my good baby back! And this has nothing to do with him being sick but I would just like to inform Evans that socks are not free, they do not grow on trees and that I am a LITTLE annoyed that he feels the need to take them off constantly and leave them everywhere and anywhere. I found 11 socks behind his crib yesterday so there is no telling how many are no longer with us. Happy Hump Day.

*The picture above is from this past weekend. I just don't like posting without a picture. Yes, that is oreo on Evans' nose and yes, those are his real teeth.

School days, school days! Oh wait....

2011-11-15T12:23:00.002-05:00

After Evans’ first day of school last week we were pretty disappointed to find out that Friday was a teacher workday so there was no school. We eagerly anticipated Tuesday’s arrival so that we could actually have our two full days at school. Evans had a cold all last week, which he has never had before, but it really didn’t slow down his dog like crawling and barking and I didn’t think much of it. I just had to wipe his nose a lot. Then came the cough. You know, the kind that is likely to drive you insane and everyone else around you too? Well Evans’ wasn’t that bad and was really almost non-existent during the day but he managed to get going good enough each night to throw up all over his bed. This never happened in the evening hours before I went to bed nor in the early hours in which I awake. Vomiting is apparently an art that is best saved for the hours of 3:00am-4:30am. When I am truly at my best functioning level for stripping down my child, his crib (including the really easy to wash bumper), blankets, etc. You name it, we’ve barfed on it. The whole time I was thinking “we better feel better by Tuesday so we can go to school". The barfing stopped late last week and I just knew we were on the mend. Then Evans practically slept all weekend. Definitely a treat but I knew this was a sign that he didn’t feel 100%. Yesterday he kept feeling warm to me and by the time he got up from his nap he felt downright hot. The whiny-ness was at a new level that I have never experienced before. He was feeling much better by last night and I was crossing my fingers (I mean, how serious can the school be about being fever free for 24 WHOLE HOURS?). Just in case, I packed a lunch and had his backpack ready. At 7:30 this morning I crept downstairs to wake up my precious little boy who I just knew was going to jump up and down and request to go to school (in the form of some dog barking of course). It was a no go from the second I saw him. Poor thing was flushed with the glassy eyes etc. Our new thermometer (did know those things cost $50?) informed me that he had a 101.7 temperature (in case I did not know how to read numbers, it also flashes red). Do y’all think the school would have noticed if I brought him anyways? ☺ So we are 1 for 3 on this school deal.

In the meantime, I have received the enrollment fee bill, the tuition bill, an art supply bill (wth?), and a promise for the next tuition bill come December 1st. I’ve been asked to send in a platter of sliced fruit for the Thanksgiving feast on Friday and I have been informed by the room mother that I need to send her a check for the teacher’s Christmas gift’s from the class. Oh, did I forget to mention what they were? Since Evans is in the “Butterflies” class, the kids are giving the TWO teachers each a butterfly necklace from Tiffany. That’s Tiffany, the one with the blue/green boxes. The same place where I think I only own two necklaces from myself.

ALL of this being said, I really am happy to write the checks and send in the food and pitch in for the teacher’s gifts. I might not be as thrilled with the art supply fee but what are you going to do? I’m pretty sure that Evans will love school, if we ever get the chance to go again, so it will be completely worth it. Perhaps I'll even get some exquisite art pieces out of the deal. Now we just need to concentrate on getting better by Friday. We already have our outfit picked out a little bit early. It’s our last shot, because you know, school is closed all next week for the Thanksgiving holidays!

Thanks for that....

2011-11-14T14:25:00.001-05:00

Is there anything in the world that I hate more than getting the oil changed in my car? I’m pretty sure that there is not. I mean, perhaps it is preferable to having the flu but sometimes I’m not sure. My perform service light has been on the past couple of weeks and getting the oil changed has been on my list of things to do. While I was driving on Friday I kept hearing a funny noise in my car. I would turn my radio off and listen closely but then it would stop. I finally deduced that the noise was only occurring when I was moving but that it would stop when I was stopped at a light or stop sign. I resolved then that I would get my car serviced on Saturday morning. The whole way home I was praying that this noise wasn’t going to be something that would cost me an arm and a leg. And then the leaf that was stuck in my windshield wiper blew out from where it was stuck and the noise went away. Problem solved. Unfortunately I still needed the oil changed.

I got up on Saturday morning and went to the Express Oil Change by my parent’s house for a $29.99 oil change and fluid check. I left $229 lighter in the wallet. How is it that by tapping some fluid on a white piece of paper, these people manage to scare the crap out of me? Honestly, it could just be colored water they are tapping and claiming came out of my car. How would I know? It’s something about making me feel like if I don’t do what they suggest, my car will spontaneously combust the second I drive it off their property. I suppose that this is what they hope to achieve and it seems to work. This sort of thing never happened to me when I had an Acura and had it serviced at the actual dealership. Sigh. I could have had a new pair of Tory Burch shoes for the cost of my transmission flush and coolant something or other so thanks for taking that money off my hands.

In other news, Evans still thinks that he is a dog. We went to the park last week with our friends and Evans carried a large stick around in his mouth. He also ate a handful of dirt but I’m pretty sure not even real dogs do that. He barks, he does really big yawns with his tongue stuck out and crawls with his head swinging from side to side. At this point, I believe that he is choosing not to walk because he would rather run around on all fours. I guess there could be worse things in life than having a canine son. Happy Monday….

A Special Shout-Out to the ATL

2011-11-10T15:35:00.014-05:00

I. Hate. The. City. of. Atlanta. And not just because I did something stupid like park facing the wrong way on a residential street with zero traffic. I understand the extremely dangerous situation that I was creating by doing this and profoundly regret my reckless disregard for the law. In a city where murder, armed robbery and assault happen on, say, a minutely basis, I really feel guilty for being such a menace to society and not doing my part to make this a safer place to live. I'd like to personally thank Officer Small (I'm not lying) for not only showing me the error of my ways but for really taking the time to explain what I had done wrong. You went above and beyond the call of duty by not only marking the Improper Parking box but also including a "Violation Description" as well as some personally added thoughts about the situation my car was creating.I'm not denying my wrongdoing (though truth be told I do this all the time on residential streets and I'm not sure I knew it was illegal) but I have a massive problem with the way that my blood pressure just spiked while trying to "give away" my hard earned money (I was babysitting) to an incompetent government. It is simply inexcusable that it took me 34 minutes to give away $25. In THREE separate phone calls.

I'm assuming that the front of this parking ticket pretty clearly shows that it was issued by the City of Atlanta Municipal Court. In the shot below I'd like to illustrate how the City of Atlanta leads one to believe that paying parkings tickets is as easy as one two three.Those who get these parking rewards appear to have the option of paying by phone, by mail or on the internet. How convenient! The City politely requests that those rewarded pay with in 14 days. I grudging signed onto the website about day 6 and was told that my ticket had not been entered into the system. Same as on days 8, 10, 13 and 16. How am I supposed to pay a ticket that is not entered in the system. Ohhhhh, you expect me to CALL you and beg to pay for it.

My 3 Phone Calls in Summary:

Call #1: Placed call, waited through 8 minutes of phone prompts before I was disconnected.

Call #2: Placed call, waited through 13 minutes of phone prompts before finally being transferred to customer service (I use this term very loosely). Lady answers the phone.....

Lady: "Hella"
Me: "Hi, I'm trying to pay for a parking ticket I got weeks ago but has never been entered into your system for some reason" (because you are stupid).
Lady: "Citation number please"
I give it to her
Lady: "That ticket is not in the system"
Me: "I am very aware of that"
Lady: "Look at the top of your parking ticket. Does is say City of Atlanta Municipal Court"?
Me: "Yes"
Lady: "Does it tell you to call 404-XXX-XXXX"?
Me: "YES"!
Lady: "That's not the right number".
Me: "You have got to be kidding me"
Lady: "MA'AM I AM TRYING TO HELP YOU. THE NUMBER YOU WANT IS 404-XXX-XXXX"!!

Click.

Thanks for that. Personally I think I'm the one that should be shouting at you.

Phone Call #3: Place call. Enter another laboriously long stream of phone prompts. Enter citation, what do you know, it was in the system. Do you want to pay for your ticket? Yes. Enter credit card number, expiration date, security code, hair color, eye color, weight and mother's name. Was asked if I want to accept this charge on my credit card or decline it. Seriously? Accept. Thank you for paying your parking fine with the City of Atlanta. You have been charged $27.50 to your Visa card. This includes a $2.50 CONVENIENCE FEE for paying over the phone. Goodbye.

I will never get those 34 minutes of my life back but I am thinking of suing the City for the overages that will most likely be on my cell phone bill this month. Where is the cork screw?

Happy First Day of School

2011-11-08T11:36:00.009-05:00

I'd be lying if I didn't admit that by last night I was starting to get really nervous about dropping Evans off at school this morning. I don't think I slept AT ALL last night but that may or may not have had to do with Evans. I packed his back pack and lunch last night so that we would be ready to go first thing. I did have a slight tiff with LL Bean but that is all sorted out now. I ordered this back pack for E and I have never had an issue with the quality of anything I have ordered from there. This monogram was the shoddiest I have ever actually paid money for. You can't really tell in the photo but the letters are uneven and the stitching was already picked. I don't think so. There is already a new one on the way and I told them I wasn't returning this one until I had the new one in my hands. We have to go to school after all! I have to admit that I almost fell over dead from shock when I dialed the customer service number and A HUMAN ANSWERED. That is enough customer service to warrant returning time and time again. Even if their monograms are awful.

I had to wake Evans up this morning at 7:15 because he is the slowest eater on the planet and I was worried he wouldn't have time to finish his breakfast if I didn't give him plenty of time. Of course I was right and depending on how hungry he is at school maybe next time he will eat a little bit faster. We had to take some first day of school pictures (which all turned out really terrible because I look old and haggard and Evans wouldn't look at the camera) and then we were out the door.I don't know why I look like such a hunchback in the above picture but I need to work on that apparently.School starts at 8:30am and I was worried about the traffic AND knew I was going to walk Evans in for his first day so we left the house at 7:56am. And got to school at 8:10. A bit on the early side considering the school was dark and the parking lot was empty. I didn't look too eager did I? When school did "open" the director met us at our classroom and introduced E to his teachers. I was very nervous at this point that Evans was going to start wailing because he was going to realize I was leaving him. I mean, he depends on me, right? I'm pretty much the most important person in his life, right? When his teacher took him out of my arms that kid never even turned around and looked at me again. Not a glance back, not a wave, nothing. So I snuck out the door happy that there was no scene. After that I got an email from the director telling me that Evans was having a great time AND the room mother emailed me to tell me that her twins were playing with Evans when she left them this morning.

Carpool went smoothly this afternoon and the teacher putting E in the car reported that he had a great day! He didn't even seem all that excited to be coming home with me. He was asleep before I even put him in his crib and I'm hoping for a long nap. I know he would really be looking forward to Friday (as would I) except I just found out that it is a teacher work day. WTH? Didn't I pay for that day of school? Oh wow, I'm turning into my parents......

Accidental Overdose

2011-11-07T09:22:00.006-05:00

I can hardly remember all the way back to 14 months ago when Evans was this small. Seems hard to believe that we brought him home from the hospital and it was only a little over a year ago. This is a picture of him on the day we came home from the hospital. Shortly before the accidental overdose. At least that is what I like to think of it as (especially since it wasn't nearly as serious as an actual overdose!). On the way home the the hospital Deaner and I stopped at the commissary to pick up some formula since it was clear at that point I would not be breastfeeding. I couldn't get out of the car and Deaner was sent inside to pick out formula before making our way home. When we got home Deaner fixed E a bottle with his new formula and we were both relieved and excited when he gobbled it down with no problem. No problem until he promptly projectile vomited it all over me 5 seconds later. If this happened to be today by an infant I probably wouldn't think anything of it but as new parents we were frantic. What could have POSSIBLY caused this throw up?! Deaner got very quiet as he read the back of the formula can and realized that we had in fact, just fed our infant concentrated formula. We can laugh about the accidental overdose now since it wasn't serious and Evans did fine as soon as we actually watered down his formula like we were supposed to.

Fast forward to present day. Evans has had a cough for the past couple of days and while he is not coughing a lot, it doesn't sound good when he does. I called the pediatrician's office on Friday like any good mother would and talked to the nurse about it. She said that I could give him half a teaspoon of children's benedryl at night to help with the coughing. She made sure to explain that children's benedryl wasn't on the shelf right now at any drug store so I would have to buy generic brand. No problem. Friday night I ran into Publix before we went out to dinner. Searching searching searching for the children's benedryl to no avail on the medicine aisle. I resorted to asking the pharmacist if I was blind and just couldn't find it or was there really not any there. She informed me that I needed to look on the aisle with children's products like diapers and wipes ect and she told me that the box was pink and white. I found it immediately but when I read the back it very clearly said not to give it to children under the age of 4. Back up to the pharmacy to ask AGAIN only to be assured that if my pediatrician said 1/2 a teaspoon that it was fine. I bought the medicine and left.

Now, here is where things become slightly unclear. Has anyone else ever been the victim of buying shampoo and conditioner in the store, only to get home and realize that one of the bottles has actually MORPHED while in your shopping bags and you actually have bought two shampoos or two conditioners? This used to happen to me all the time before I started buying my shampoo and conditioner by the liter. Anyways, when it came time for bed and I was getting ready to give Evans a dose of Benedryl I was reading the back directions just incase. My attention caught on the warning that you should not consume this medication with any alcoholic beverages. Hmmmm, I thought, why would they write that on the back of a CHILDREN'S medication? Like a child would be boozing it up (I don't make it a habit of letting Evans drink, I do have standards). Then I looked at the label and realized that no where on it could I find were it indicated that this was a children's medication. I called upstairs to my mom to throw me down the box that it came in. Sure enough, it was plain old adult benedryl. WHA??? I stood in the grocery store for 15 minutes inspecting this medicine and I asked the pharmacist about it not once, but TWICE. I even picked it up from the baby product's aisle. I was so annoyed. There is only one explanation and that is that the children's benedryl that I picked up and paid for, clearly morphed while I was in the car on the way home into adult benedryl. Humph. Cue a trip to Walgreen's by Buddy who did manage to buy a non-morphing children's benedryl for Evans.

This weekend was pretty busy for us. I had a wedding to go to on Saturday afternoon but had to be home Saturday night because Buddy and Susie had a night wedding. Got to watch the Alabama v LSU game and was very pleased by the outcome. Sunday morning we met Uncle Andy (who Evans can say his name now pretty clearly!) and Aunt Mimi for breakfast at Waffle House. Evans is on a diet and chose to eat lightly with bacon, sausage, cheese grits, cheese hashbrowns and waffle with syrup.Looking at this picture now, I am less stunned about what Evans is eating than I am about how I let him go into public wearing a Colonel Reb sweatshirt after the horrific show that Ole Miss put on against Kentucky on Saturday. Pathetic. Really? Kentucky? Call me fair weathered but I've had it with the Rebels and it might be time to hang up the sweatshirt until they are a bit more worthy. Sunday afternoon I managed to sneak away to get a pedicure and Evans and Buddy sent me this picture while I was relaxing.It's a good thing I am not an uptight mother. That is for sure. Not only is Evans dressed in an outfit of solid navy blue which makes it look like he is wearing a unitard but he is also BUNGEE CORDED into the wagon. Not exactly what I had in mind when I mentioned I wanted to get him a radio flyer. :)

Tomorrow is a big day for us so y'all will have to stay tuned to hear all about how the first day of school goes! I am hoping that E's pack back and lunch box will arrive in the mail today so that he can look EXTRA smart as he heads off to practice his shapes, counting, directional adjectives and saying "please" and "thank-you". If his teacher mentions anything about a lack of ability I've already decided to respond with "What? That is weird, he can normally do ALL those things when we are at home"! I think it will be a good day and I will be sure to take pictures. Happy Monday!

I'm getting a little concerned...

2011-11-03T21:08:00.006-04:00

I know that Evans and Dylan the dog have become fast friends over the past few days but I am starting to worry about Evans. I've noticed that the two of them are starting to resemble each other, especially in their fur/hair coloring, but now Evans is starting to really act like a dog. Last night we were sitting in the den watching TV and I could hear Evans rustling around in the front foyer. Out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw him crawl by with something brown sticking out of his mouth. I called out for Evans to come here and from around the corner at the speed of light he came crawling, with a Nestle Crunch bar in his mouth, which he proceeded to drop at Buddy's feet. Of course he was praised IMMENSELY by Buddy for his new Dylan like trick and this morning while I was getting dressed in my bedroom, I was delivered a Three Muskateers bar to my feet. I managed to catch him in action a couple minutes later.I didn't have time to get my camera out this afternoon when I rounded the corner and saw him carrying a crystal candle stick in his mouth. I'm thinking that it is going to do Evans some good to start school next week and make some actual human friends. Dylan is having a little bit too much dog like influence over him lately. It is probably for the best that his new school did not require an actual "interview" with him.

On a different note, can anyone confirm or deny that it is actually bad for children to sit this close to the television? Not that this is Evans.....just a kid that looks a little bit like him.Is it Friday yet?

Evans' Big News

2011-11-02T20:41:00.008-04:00

Evans wishes that his big news was that I bought him his very own iphone but I don't see that happening for at least a few more months. At least not until he has his own email address and blog. I have been thinking for a couple months now that it might be nice for Evans to go to "school" for a couple mornings a week just so that he could be around other kids his age. I have been having several issues logistically and y'all would have no idea what it is like to get a 14 MONTH old into a program in Atlanta but it all sort of fell into place this week. I went and toured a school on Monday that one of our friends attends and I really liked it. There was an opening for him to start next week two days a week so Evans would like to announce that he is starting school on Tuesday! I've been feeling really good about my decision (ask me again after I write the tuition check) and while I will miss Evans while he is at school, I think he will really enjoy it.

Then I got an email from the room mother. With next week's curriculum attached.

--In the first week of November, we will start working on the Thanksgiving Theme.
--The shape of the month is square and the color of the month is brown.
--We will talk about different food groups and each child will create their own food plate.
--We will work on developing vocabulary that focuses on directionality -- in, up, down, under -- by stacking up blocks.
--We will also work with puzzles, and review counting during circle time.
--We will play Pilgrims dress-up and engage in the "Mirror, Mirror" activity to develop sense of sight.
--Lots of focus will be on improving coordination skills and fine motor skills during art projects.
--We will continue to review saying "Please" and "Thank You" during our literacy activities..

And now I am just plain panicked. Let us remember that we are talking about Evans here. I love him more than anything on earth but let's be honest, he doesn't walk, he doesn't make much sense when he talks and he sure as heck doesn't know how to count or identify shapes. This could get interesting. He could probably dress him up as a Pilgrim if you helped him into his costume.

I might be apprehensive but I am at least positive that he will look great for the first day of school. I'm a little concerned about the "art projects" with his wardrobe but I'll get over it. He will be starting school on Tuesday with this new LL Bean backpack......And this super cute Very Hungry Caterpillar lunch box from Pottery Barn Kids.Of course both will have his name monogrammed on it. I can't wait to take his first day of school pictures and maybe he will surprise me with his knowledge. He did climb out of his highchair after all.

Happy Halloweeny

2011-11-01T18:58:00.015-04:00

I have to say that I was originally skeptical of my mom's suggestion that Evans be a lion for Halloween. I mean, a lion? Sort of dull if you asked me. Until I saw the costume and knew that it would be perfect for E. I was very concerned up until the point that we actually put the costume on that there was no way in hell that he was going to keep that head on the whole time (or at all). He greatly surprised me and besides a few choking incidents (they were isolated) on the lion's mane, he seemed to really like his costume. We met up with an old friend of mine and her husband and little boy Jack in their neighborhood for a Halloween parade, Varsity hot dogs and general chaos. I stopped by and picked up my aunt Jennifer and the twins because Jennifer's sister-in-law lives in the neighborhood as well and we wanted to take all the kids to the parade. All I have to say about that is that we should have started about an hour before we actually did. Coordinating so many children takes a lot more time than you normally plan for. We made it, we walked and everyone was happy!Ok, well we had a rough start and Evans was a little bit like the cowardly lion but he toughened up as the parade progressed. I think he might have been a little apprehensive about his friend Jack's unwieldy fire extinguisher which in all fairness, did almost poke his father's eye out later in the evening.Here are the Underwoods and what could have maybe been considered a weapon to some.And sweet Molly and Jack Farmer. Their pumpkin hats were a little large and we only let them slip over their faces a few times and never for very long at a time!Meredith and I grew up together in Ansley Park being born only 11 days apart and spent many a Halloweens together. It was really fun watching our sons celebrate their first Halloween (together) and pulling them around in the Cadillac of Radio Flyers. Maybe by next year Evans will even be able to walk (he will be well over 2 by then) but I am thinking that we MUST have a wagon like this asap.Meredith and Andrew are new to the neighborhood and I'm not exactly on top of my game right now so we joked that next year we know what to expect and that we will be much better prepared with plenty of props! I'm having visions of a very intricately decorated Radio Flyer and a stocked rolling cooler. I will have to try hard to top this costume next year....but I have a very good idea of what I am going to make him and it might be based on the costume I made myself a few (many) years ago.What do y'all think? I will have to think about whether I will allow him to drink a beer too. Evans was exhausted after inhaling his hot dog as if I hadn't fed him all day long and we hit the road so that Buddy and Susie could see our little lion.The evening ended much as it began......And Evans was asleep before his head hit the pillow. Cannot wait for next year. Are you ready Underwoods and Farmers?

My last picture doesn't have to do with Halloween but deserves mention. Evans and I ran by the Farmer's this morning to download the pictures from Jennifer's SLR camera that I used last night. I put Evans into his cousin Thomas' highchair to watch Dinosaur Train and have a snack (yes, he is wearing his pajamas but it was COLD and early and he likes them!) while I downloaded my pictures. I was sitting no more than 3 feet from him in an armchair. When I looked up from my computer about ten seconds later I was sort of shocked.Note to self. Utilize the chair buckle. While I think that Evans can't do many things, he is clearly screwing with me.

Balloon Drama

2011-10-31T20:25:00.005-04:00

Dear Tacos and Tequilas,
I really love eating in your establishment. You are cheap, fast and loud. A great combination for those of us with 14 month olds. I also really appreciated how you used to ask me if it was okay BEFORE you gave my child a balloon. I'm not sure when this policy changed but I'm going to have to think twice about dining with you if I'm going to have to deal with Evans and a balloon again. Balloons (like the car) do not bring out our best behavior. They cause shrieking, kicking, flailing and discord in general. When we have a ballon we cannot eat, we cannot drink and we cannot be polite. If Evans doesn't sleep tonight, I will also blame that on the balloon. Next time, we would like the choice to politely decline BEFORE you bring it to the table and tie it to the highchair. Please and thank you. I'm sure other patrons will appreciate it if I have the chance to turn it down.

I can't wait to write about Halloween tomorrow. I have to get my aunt's SD card to download the pictures from the nice camera before I can post anything. I can give you a sneak preview. Last year's Halloween didn't really go very well.This year things went a lot more smoothly but we still had our moments where I flashed back to the giraffe!

Crockpot Buffalo Chicken

2011-10-28T17:35:00.001-04:00

I've a lot of requests for the recipe of my masterpiece this past week so here it is.

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 bottle of Frank's Buffalo wing sauce (do not confuse with the original)
1 packet of dry ranch dressing.

Place chicken in crockpot, sprinkle dressing over chicken and pour Franks on top. Plug crockpot in. Or don't. It's really a personal preference. You can leave chicken all day or it really just needs 6 hours or so. Removed chicken breasts and shred chicken (I take out all the creepy looking parts). Return to juice in pot and add more Franks. Serve on sandwich rolls. Pretty complicated huh?

My Trailer Park Baby

2011-10-27T18:20:00.007-04:00

I must first say that if you are reading from an actual trailer, in a trailer park, I apologize for the reference. However, today when I took this picture of Evans, all I could think about was how he looked like he came straight from a trailer park. I realize that most children in trailer parks do not where monogramed t'shirt (with an elephant that looks amazingly close to the republican icon) but check out all the other issues going on here. First, it look like he has been in a street brawl. I direct your attention to the giant red bump on his forehead. That came from slamming his head directly into my kneecap. On purpose. I'll let you know how my knee turns out. Next I would like to mention the black eye. I can only tell y'all with about 60% certainty that this injury happened on Friday. It happened in my parents bedroom in the vicinity of the windowsill and that's all I got. I heard crying, I ran and there was a bump on the side of Evans' eye. He was fine in about 2.5 minutes but on Monday he woke up with a black eye. I think it ups his street cred. The only thing that then diminishes his street cred is the fact that he has a 12 week old baby girl's binky in his mouth. Which makes his face look rather large and ridiculous. His eyes also look crossed (I can assure y'all that they aren't) and I am allowing him to play with a wire. It was a long day.

We spent the day with my 12 week old baby cousins, Jack and Molly. Evans LOVES the babies and normally cannot stay away from them. Unless of course, his best friend Dylan is there too. Ohhhh, how Evans loves Dylan. Dylan is an 8 year old ginger, just like Evans and they crawl in circles around the house all day long. From the kitchen, to the living room, thru the hallway, across the office and back thru the dining room to the kitchen. This is Evans and Dylan's mutual favorite toy. We have 38974029 toys and this is what they want to play with (I realize it is actually better than the Niagria starch cap).Dylan takes a turn carrying this green rubber thing in his mouth and then Evans takes his turn. They play really well together and I only find this relationship concerning because Dylan, is in fact, a DOG. I do tell Evans to get that toy out of his mouth but I don't often jump up to take it away from him. Dogs are clean, right? At the very least, we do bathe every night.

Thanks for everyone's concern about Evans' pooping. He did in fact poop last night by himself. In the bathtub. It was really awesome. I will be more careful about that tonight.

In other news, while changing one of the twins diapers this morning I happened to glance over at the floor and saw this.Not a great feeling when you are solely responsible for three children under the age of 14 months. I had to quickly recount where everyone was. I ruled out Evans pretty quickly as I could hear him in the kitchen calmly asking to get down from the highchair.In closing today I just want to admit that I really don't buy the parmesan gold fish or chocolate teddy grahams for Evans. I mean, he likes them, if I let him have any...........ever. I just needed to get that off my chest. It's bath time. More tomorrow.

Dog or Boy?

2011-10-26T14:30:00.004-04:00

So today has been an interesting day. Evans and I had to take an impromptu trip to the pediatricians office this afternoon. Not for any ailments that a normal child suffers from like an earache or a stomach bug. We had to go to the pediatricians office because Evans couldn't poop. Yes, thats right, he has a rather bad case of constipation. I really thought he would get over it since I've been feeding him prunes and pear juice for a week straight but no luck. I finally drew the line last night when he was pushing so hard I thought his head was going to blow off his shoulders. Anyways, the funny part is this. We were in the waiting area and there were three other children there with their mothers. Evans was being a total showoff and would not sit still on my lap. He wanted to crawl around on the floor like a wild maniac and make everyone laugh at him. Just as he has everyone's attention (I already felt like a bad mother letting him crawl on a doctor's office FLOOR) he leaned right over to my foot and LICKED THE BOTTOM OF MY SHOE. I almost died. Everyone laughed but I am sure they were thinking to themselves that they were glad THEIR children hadn't licked the bottom of their shoe. I guess we will wait and see what diseases he comes down with.

In other news, I am making one of my favorite crock pot recipes tonight, Buffalo chicken. Before going to the doctor with E I made sure that everything was in place and put the crock pot on low. After returning home I happened to glance into the crock pot and realized that the chicken still looked quite raw. And that was because it was raw. The crock pot was not plugged in. The End.

Are you kidding me?

2011-10-24T18:22:00.008-04:00

This weekend while we were at the lake house my mom and dad had to run out to the hardware store for some picture hanging screws. The total would have been $0.87 if they had not come home with this new Radio Flyer bike for E! I am sure my dad really appreciated my mom tagging along for the ride. My mom was certain that Evans would be able to sit on the seat and push himself around the house. Negative. She was also sure that he would love the bell on the bike and that it would be easy for him to ring it. Negative. Instead we took turns pushing E around the house on it and Evans even took a turn or two pushing it himself (from the floor). This picture is very misleading. Let me show you what is Evans favorite toy of the day. It is not his new radio flyer. It is not his new Thomas the Train. It is not one of the 39839857 toys that he does own. It is this.Can you tell what it is? That because it is the CAP from the Niagra Falls starch spay can from the laundry room. I have never heard such cackling laughter today from E when I came home and he and my mom were taking turns balancing the yellow cap on their heads. I was sucked into the game for a solid 20 minutes. Displays such as this do not make want to run out and buy the ten most popular toys for Christmas presents. Even though I am sure that I will. I'll just get him a can of starch for his stocking stuffer. :)

This weekend we spent the weekend at Lake Keowee with Buddy and Susie. It was very relaxing. Evans may or may not have been changed out of his pajamas on Saturday into clean pajamas that evening. We had fun riding on the boat with the Budster. Have I ever shared Evans' obsession for anything that he can bat around or spin around? While driving across the lake at considerable speed, Evans leaned over (he was sitting with Buddy) and turned the boat OFF. Nice. It is my understanding that this is not the first time this has happened.Evans also loves to take golf cart rides "driving" the cart.I doubt y'all can tell! Anyways I have to hurry up and dunk E in the tub before dinner is ready so I have to cut this short!

A good Tuesday chuckle

2011-10-18T15:35:00.027-04:00

So, today my mom had to go out with her decorator and I had to hang out by myself with Evans. Waaaaaaaa. Anyways, Evans and I had lunch and then went to a particular Publix because it is the only one for some reason that carries this certain bottle of wine I like (don't read into this, it's cheap). I also had to buy diapers so my cart looked a bit like a crazed mother. As I was putting my purchases up on the counter and the checkout person was scanning them, she asked to see my I.D. for the wine. They always do this at the grocery store so no big deal but after I showed it to her the big fat old man behind me piped up. He said "can you believe they still card US in the grocery store even though it is so obvious how old WE are"? I capitalized the key words in his question. I looked at him and upon noticing that he was MUCH older than me I was left a bit speechless. He THEN said, with no encouragement, "I mean, I have been carded more since I turned 55 than I ever have in my whole life". Huh. Well buddy, you might be 55 years old and have grey hair but I am only (just) 31 with professionally highlighted hair and I like to think that I was carded on the off chance that I looked 28, 28 being the age they have to card you if you look under. I didn't even know what to say so I just laughed and said "well I am only 10 years over the legal age". Not 24 years over like you. Maybe I need a face lift. :)

The picture above is from Evans' first trip to Burt's Pumpkin Patch on Friday with our friends Katie and Ana Kathryn. Y'all might remember Ana Kathryn from her cake eating abilities at Evans' birthday party back in August.Evans loves her and Katie and I have been friends since kindergarten ever since I accidently invited her to my birthday party thinking she was another Katie I knew. Thank god I made that mistake! We headed up to Burt's on Friday early morning to get there before the crowds and thank goodness we did. I've never seen so many pumpkins before in my life.The kids, as you can see, had a really great time and didn't cry at all.....And were completely cooperative and posed for the camera every time we asked them to!Evans even knows how to "appear" to be standing up alone, but don't worry, he definitely cannot do that yet. Instead we now have a pair of khaki pants that are completely stained from the red mulch. Evans and Ana Kathryn's two highlights from the day were first, not playing with all these 398472384 giant pumpkins, but playing with this miniature gourd...Which Ana Kathryn really thought was a telephone and would put it up to her ear to talk (see, Evans likes to give the illusion that he can stand all on his own but his butt was definitely sitting on that pumpkin). Secondly, they really loved splashing in the rainwater that had collected in the tops of all the pumpkins. This kept them nice, clean and dry.Katie managed to get a couple of cute ones of Evans in the wheelbarrow before he started to think I was abandoning him there.And we even managed to take a hayride without an incidents! Even if Evans did look a little nervous about actually touching the hay.It was a great day and we had beautiful weather. I've heard some people complain about the crowds at Burt's so I would suggest going early and on a weekday if possible because we had a great experience and will probably go back again next year. I won't tell y'all which child but someone did have to wear home the spare pair of pants that I brought along just in case! I'd say that the day was a success!Evans seconds that...

We might have a problem...

2011-10-13T20:40:00.008-04:00

I'm thinking it might be time for Evans and me to have a chat. Apparently this morning (after refusing to take a nap) Susie caught Evans in my bathroom attempting to throw his new Keds into the...............TOILET! I guess that it is time to remember to put the lid down. I can't say that I would be thrilled to find the new $30 shoes floating in the toilet. As you can see, Susie put the toilet seat down but obviously did not take the shoes away from Evans. This is where I found them shortly after he got very quiet. Thank god I was paying attention. What if I had tossed them out with the trash? That would have been awesome. Think that he is trying to tell me something about the shoes?

This afternoon Old Dad and Grandmag came over to play (after refusing the afternoon nap as well) before going out to dinner. Evans was thrilled to see them and would have happily left me in the dust for them. We had a great time playing.And a fun dinner at Taco Mac. Evans even got to eat his first Oreo after his chicken nuggets.He did not want Old Dad and Grandmag to leave and actually cried when we got in the car.(yes, those are long khakis but somehow they still ride up above the knee). Thanks for dinner Old Dad and Grandmag! Come and play with again soon! Tomorrow Evans and I are going to the pumpkin patch with our friends Katie and Ana Kathryn. Since it has been raining for 3 days straight it should make for some really clean dry fun! Can't wait to post those pictures!

Not at our finest moments.....

2011-10-12T19:42:00.004-04:00

This car may have been the best thing that has ever happened to Evans and quite possibly the worst thing that has happened to me (behavior wise). My parents bought Evans this "Cozy Coupe" car and about three weeks ago he discovered that it is the only thing that matters in life. At first, he was happy to just sit in the car and steer the wheel like a wild maniac for about 45 minutes at a time. Then Buddy made the mistake of pushing him in the car one afternoon and it was all downhill from there. Evans has pitched about 5 temper tantrums in his life and 4.5 of them have involved this car. In fact, last week the car had to be put in the garage because Evans could see it through the glass french doors to the back patio and the I suppose the car was taunting him. The car is currently in the house (because it is raining and it really is a design flaw that the "trunk" fills up with water) and today we had another nuclear meltdown over it. I made the mistake of moving the car a couple feet while he was sitting in it and apparently the reminds him too much of his afternoon strolls with Buddy. Of course, we cannot stroll inside the house. You can't really tell in the above picture but Evans was SCREAMING.He crawled under the table and hollered for a solid 5 minutes before abandoning his cause. It was too funny not to take a picture of. I even took a video but I don't know how to upload those. Every time he looked at me he would turn away and scream as if I was evil. Not Evans' finest moment.

Our other great moment of the day was this evening during dinner. Buddy, Susie and I were eating in the den (not normal) and Evans was playing with his toys. There is a case of stairs in the den that lead up to the attic but as Evans cannot walk or climb or do many things for that matter involving mobility, I have never blocked the stairs. Evans is pretty much free to crawl around the whole first floor of my parent's house because over the past few months most things that he could get into have been put away (we still haven't found the hallway night light). Something caught my eye while I was eating and this is what it was.I almost had a heart attack. This kid was scaling the stairs like a mountain climber. He made it all the way to the top in about 4 more seconds. I've never even seen him contemplate climbing the stairs. I guess he has been holding out on me and it is time to put up a gate. Not my finest moment.

Mom - 1
Evans - 1

Time to call it a day!

Update

2011-10-07T10:42:00.001-04:00

I cannot yet report that my TB shoes are the most comfortable ever. They still have several more days to live up to their expectation but I'm worried. I no longer feel like I want to die when I put them on but I don't feel like I want to go out walking in them either.

I'm currently in the car heading to Hilton Head. Wooo hoooo! I have a friend getting married there this weekend and it certainly promises to be a good time! Most times with these girls are! Evans is spending the weekend with Buddy and Susie at the lake house and I miss him already!!

A whole bunch of nothing

2011-10-05T20:16:00.011-04:00

After my tangent on Tory Burch yesterday I never got to post any pictures from our weekend. It wasn't an overly exciting weekend but the weather in Atlanta was perfect. And if you have read any of my posts from this summer you will know that it has been sweltering. Until Saturday morning. Evans and I spent the afternoon in Virginia-Highlands at Battle of the Burgers. 25 Atlanta restaurants (I swear it seemed more like 65) had tents and battled it out for the best tasting burger in the city. I have no clue who won but it was a very tasty event to attend and there was plenty of cold beer. Evans enjoyed quite a few burgers and brews but unfortunately I didn't take a single picture. Really stupid. However I did take this picture of Evans and Buddy enjoying some quality time together on Saturday morning. Evans' favorite toy in this whole house is the television remote control. The only problem is that he only wants the REAL remote, he knows the difference between the TV remote and the DVD player remote, and sometimes it takes us awhile to figure out how to get the channels back to normal. But I'm pretty sure Buddy would let him play with anything as long as he sits with him in his chair and is sweet.

Sunday Evans and I met up with a high school friend of mine and her daughter at the Mount Vernon Fall Festival. This was just a small festival but it was great because it was not crowded, completely free and they had disgusting petting zoo animals that Evans loves so much!He got to wear his new cute pumpkin shirt and I have to say that he had a great time crawling around on the astroturf. Even had a little static in the hair from it!I was a bit shocked that Evans let this lady paint a pumpkin on his face. I did have to hold him a bit firmly. And then I wore the orange paint on my sleeve the rest of the day.Evans and Chloe before we called it a day. I'm not sure how Chloe got in the car with her balloon hat but Evans was very jealous of it. Sunday night we had a family dinner at my parents with my baby cousin Thomas and the twins. Evans and Thomas had a great time playing and it made me laugh several times because I could hear Thomas asking Evans questions and telling him things as if he expected him to respond. Looking cute in their matching pajamas!Today I spent the day babysitting my 9 week old twin cousins as well as Evans. Hmmm. I'm pretty tired. Least I got to spend the day with THREE super cute babies! Now if they could only learn to sleep longer! This picture is a total fake out.Evans loved watching the babies play in their seats.And playing with cousin Thomas' trains.We had a fun day and Evans was in bed by 7:15. Tomorrow I will resume operation stay committed to Tory and perhaps will have something more interesting to write about. I have several sorority sisters flying into Atlanta tomorrow afternoon and we are heading to Hilton Head for a wedding! Should be a fun relaxing weekend! More later!

Dear Tory Burch,

2011-10-04T15:49:00.004-04:00

Dear Tory,
I just could not pass up the opportunity to share this story with my readers. The ridiculousness of what I was told today in your Phipps Plaza store is just too good to let go so easily. I moved back to Atlanta recently and have become very aware that I was lacking in the shoe department. Since your flats seem to be the "it" thing these days I decided that I would bite the bullet and purchase a pair. I feel like I need to preface this by saying that I have never spent this much money on a pair of shoes before in my life but seeing as I've been through a rather rough "patch" (2011) in my life, I thought that I deserved a pair. My mom and I hit up the store yesterday and I picked out the pair I wanted. All was right in the world. Until I wore them for longer than 5 minutes. Oh the pain! I wasn't even aware that my toes could throb like that in such a short period of time. I agonized over my decision in size and searched the internet to find out if they would in fact stretch out in time. Ten minutes later it became clear that I would never be able to endure the "in time" part of that last statement. I meticulously dusted off the soles of my new gold shoes, placed them back in the box and decided that it was going to be absolutely necessary to get the next half size bigger.

I arrived back at Phipps by 10:00am (by the way, stores cannot be bothered to open before 10 in the morning?) to exchange my shoes. The same flamboyant male that helped me yesterday was present (really? Isn't one of the perks of working for a place like this to get the discount? TB does not have any male items) and I told him of my predicament. It went a little something like this (or, exactly word for word).....

Me: "These are the most awful shoes I have ever put on in my life".
Him: "Tell me about it"
Me: "I think I need to try on the next size up or else have my big toe removed"
Him: "Probably best if you have your big toe removed, everyone hates these shoes"
Other Female Salesperson chiming in: "Yeah, so and so has those and she hates them too"
Me: "Huh, no mention of that yesterday"?
Him: "Look, this is the deal. These shoes are cute, they are in and they look good, but if you want to wear them, you have to be committed to them"

Me: Silence

Did this guy really just tell me that I have to commit myself to a pair of shoes that I paid an ungodly amount of money for? Should these shoes not be giving me a personal foot massage every time I put them on? Do people seriously endure this pain all for the glory of having a TB on their toe? By the look of things around Atlanta, I'm assuming they do. So, I quietly packed up my beautiful new shoes and left the store. I slipped them on in the car and hobbled to my 10:45am appointment thinking the whole time "I can do this, I can do this, think of the gold emblem". Listen up Tory, I have now committed myself to your damn shoes so don't make me regret it. I want to be telling people by this time next week that these are the most comfortable things I have ever put on my feet and not that they were a very expensive mistake. I have already picked out what pair I want next......

Wicked

2011-09-28T15:51:00.004-04:00

Ok, who else has been to see this show? My mom and went to the Fox on Tuesday night because my aunt was kind enough to get us free tickets. I've never been a huge fan of musicals (despite seeing quite a few of them) but the music to Wicked always catches my attention when they air commercials on the radio. I have not read the book and shockingly enough (no one is going to believe me) I have never seen The Wizard of Oz. Yes, I know that is very weird and almost impossible to imagine but I can say that it had no bearing on my understanding the storyline. While I really did enjoy the show I have a few things to say about it/the experience.

1. Why do those actors and actresses have to sing SO LOUD? I know that I was in the first couple of rows but I am pretty sure that they could be heard in the next county. I mean, take it down a notch and the audience might actually be able to understand what you are saying ALL the time. Maybe I just have sensitive ears but I found myself on more than one occasion discreetly plugging my ears because I was fairly certain my ear drums were about to rupture. I know that I could NOT have been the only one.

2. I know that we are technically in a "theatre" but lets be honest. This was an 8pm showing on a Tuesday night. Your satin floor length ball gown is a bit over the top. I like to see people look spiffed up just as much as the next person but I bet I was more comfortable in my completely appropriate dark jeans and sweater top. Men in suits are fine because I choose to think they came directly from work (against their will) and did not have time to change their clothes but I know you didn't go around wearing that number all day long. I couldn't get over some of the dresses I saw. Moving on.......

3. This is a legitimate question here. I'm not being ugly. Who buys t'shirts and souvenirs from these shows? And why? There were people there toting around SHOPPING BAGS full of Wicked paraphernalia. The only thing inside the Fox that I had the urge to purchase was alcohol and perhaps a pair of ear plugs, had they been available, to dampen the decibels a bit.

4. During the curtain call and while everyone was giving the actors/actresses a standing ovation for a great performance, the man that actually played the Wizard of Oz hushed and silenced all the clapping and cheering to give a speech about an AIDS charity they would be collecting money for after the show. Look, I love a good cause but these seats were $156 a piece and I can't imagine people enjoyed being hit up for cash on the way out the door after an already expensive evening. I'm just saying. I went out the side door.

5. Finally, if no one has ever warned you, you will freeze nearly to death inside the Fox if you do not come prepared for the arctic. Fortunately, I've made that mistake before and it will never happen again.

All in all it was a nice evening out and the show was really very good. If you are a fan of musicals, this is one to see. Even I have found myself singing the songs in my head all day today. I do not understand how these performers can sing that loudly and that long EVERY night and never lose their voices. Pretty unbelievable. The story was great and while I have never read the book I would probably recommend it to somebody else. After hearing it sung, I will probably pass..........

Hiding Out?

2011-09-28T11:34:00.007-04:00

Yes, I have to admit, I have probably been hiding out a bit over the past week. It's never fun to admit that you failed at something even when that something was probably entirely out of your control in the first place. Our big reunion with the Fatherland was a giant bust and Evans and I returned only a week after we started there. There isn't a whole lot to say about it besides the fact that I'm obviously very disappointed about it. I had high expectations and as it turns out, I probably shouldn't have. I've debated with myself off and on about whether I really knew this in my heart all along and I think that the bottom line is that I just wanted things to work out so badly that I was willing to go to any length in order for that to happen. And now I know that I have done my best. I'm having a hard time coming to terms with this entire situation being out of my control but for now, there is nothing left to do but try and move on. I don't want to but I think it's time to close this chapter of my life.

That all being said, I'll be with Evans in Atlanta in the coming months and I'm trying to look forward to the many good things to come. I probably won't have many mentions of Deaner on here but when there is news, I'll try and share. Evans and I made the trek back to Atlanta last Wednesday. Ten hours is a long time on an airplane with a 13 month old. On the way to Germany the German lady on the aisle leaned over before take off and said, "he doesn't cry, does he"? Hmmmm, that's an interesting question lady, what do you think? If you had to guess, would you THINK that a 13 month old cried? I responded that he wasn't crying right this second but she would probably know if he did. Luckily on the return flight we were in a row of two by ourselves and Evans spent 3 hours sleeping and 7 hours playing quietly by himself in his seat. I'm never been so astounded in my life. I mean, Evans is always good but this was exceptional. Since we were only gone for a week he didn't have much trouble jet lag and he has made the adjustment well.

Today I decided that it was about time for my child to own a pair of shoes. That's right, he has really never worn shoes and being as big as he is, it's a little redneck for us to be going everywhere barefoot at this point. Not that he can walk or really needs shoes but it is almost October and will eventually have to wear something on his feet. Above is a picture of E with his new red Keds! We also got navy blue. Evans was really into the shoe store and I think he is proud of his new shoes!My mom and I have always thought the guy that works there is a little bit creepy but Evans could not stop laughing at him and he CRIED when we left. I, on the other hand, almost cried when I found out what kids Keds cost. I feel nearly certain that I have never owned a pair that cost $30 like these and that I was able to wear them much longer than the projected three months. Geez. Didn't they used to cost like $8? Maybe I don't remember correctly. It has been awhile! As if I needed to spend more money on E we then headed to Richard's Variety Store (the name is a bit ironic, no?) and picked up a couple new Thomas trains.After nap time (which I hope lasts for A LOT longer) I have a feeling I know what we will be playing with. I'll try and have some more exciting stories for tomorrow but y'all know how it goes. Just trying to get back into the swing of things and settle in. There's no place like home, right? Stay tuned for my very mixed review on Wicked, which my mom and I saw last night at the Fox!

A Bit of News and A Last Lunch of Sorts

2011-09-13T22:08:00.004-04:00

Today my mom and sister and I had the honor of dining with our bestest oldest friends in Atlanta. It was a bon voyage of sorts since Evans I will be on the 4:25pm flight to Frankfurt tomorrow afternoon somewhat surprisingly. I have been keeping it under wraps on the off chance that I changed my mind but I think that for now, we are all systems go. We had aunties and grannies and counsins and uncles and Grandmags and Old Dads stopping by over the past two days to bid their grandson, nephew, cousin farewell. They might have wanted to wish me luck and tell me that they will miss me too but it has really mainly been about Evans. We are giving the fatherland one more shot and this time we will try and do it the right way. The end game goal is to feel something like this.And I am praying that we get there. I know that it won't be easy but I know that I want to put my best effort in and see what happens. All prayers and support is much appreciated and I will try and start updating on a more regular basis now that my life is going to be a quarter as social as it has been the past 6 months. Get ready Germany, we are coming home!

Supporting Davis

2011-09-10T22:50:00.009-04:00

Recently a very close friend of my sister's gave birth to her second beautiful son. After a completely normal and relatively uneventful pregnancy Davis James entered the world on July 20, 2011 and was met by two loving parents and one excited big brother. A few days later (and I can only imagine how long these days must have felt to the Kohl's) Davis was diagnosed with Trisomy 21 or Down's Syndrome and the entire course of their lives changed. While Davis is doing fantastic and meeting all his growth milestones he will still have open heart surgery somewhere around the time of turning four months old. I think about him more often than I don't and pray that everything will go smoothly in the coming months. As a parent I cannot even imagine what Stephani and Jared are going through in terms of caring for Davis, worrying about Davis and just being plain scared. I worry when Evans does something pretty normal like throw up so I know that I would be a total wreck if I knew that he was facing open heart surgery. Even from my limited interaction with the Kohls (I mainly get updates through my sister) I know that they are handling the situation dealt to them with strength and grace. Everyone take note, more parents could stand to be like them in the world and Jackson and Davis are two lucky little boys.

The point of this post is that Stephani's sister, Chelsea, has come up with a really neat idea to help raise funds to ensure Davis' medical care is top notch. She has designed the above bracelet which is featured on her Etsy Shop online. The hyperlink should take you to her webpage where you can read more about Davis' story and more about her mission to raise funds. The bracelets are really fun and anyone would enjoy having one. You can choose your own words and it can be anything that is meaningful to you. I wanted to order one that would remind me of Davis so that I could remember to send up some special prayers for him and I also wanted to be reminded about how blessed I am to have my son in my life. My bracelet will be engraved with "evans deaner" on one side and "djk" on the other side. If you are a mother of multiple children you could have all your children's initials put on the bracelet so that they were constantly close to you. I just really like the idea. When Evans was born my mom gave me a sterling necklace with a pearl disk and two silver disks engraved one with an "R" and one with an "E" for Evans. I really liked wearing my two boys initials around my neck and feeling like they were always with me. Then of course I leaned over the carseat one day to get Evans out and my necklace got caught on the seat and broke but that is besides the point!

Check out Chelsea's Store HEREand help support a great cause. 100% of proceeds go to Gigi's Playhouse in Atlanta where Davis will be receiving physical and occupational therapy. You can't pick a better cause and you get an awesome bracelet out of it! I can't wait to see mine when it is done!!

The Relatives Came

2011-09-07T22:01:00.012-04:00

Does anyone remember reading this book as a child? I certainly do and while Evans and I were the relatives that were doing visiting this weekend, I found myself thinking of this book from my childhood quite often. It has been many years since I read it but I remember the story of the rainbow colored station wagon (which was actually a black suburban this weekend to fit the entire herd of children) and the anticipation of the relatives arriving. Evans and I flew to North Carolina last Thursday to visit my sister-in-law, brother-in-law and the wild ruffian niece and nephews. Let me tell you, these trips are never dull, Evans doesn't sleep AT ALL and typically the two youngest require a midday bath. This trip was no different. We arrived home last night (Tuesday) and Evans slept about 18 out of the last 24 hours. The cousins just take it straight out of him. And he enjoys every minute. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and picked up several new flying tips for traveling with a one year old. Please stay tuned.

After arriving on Thursday afternoon I promise that Evans and Karis needed a bath within one hour of being around each other. It was about 8 million degrees outside, around 98734 Popsicles were consumed, Karis ate a piece of bark and Evans ate a stick. Keeping in form and following all the guidelines of having a trailer park child, I removed Evans' pants and let him crawl around in the dirt with a white onesie. I have never seen feet so black.I promise that there was dirt left on the bottom of the bathtub that evening. Brittany and I had plans on Thursday evening to relax and enjoy some margaritas with a couple of her friends at their favorite (only) Mexican restaurant. Imagine our disappointment with our babysitter never showed up. We did the only thing reasonable in a situation like this and called the 8 year old boy down the street (ok, so he was really like 15 but he weighed as much as an 8 year old) to come down and watch all FOUR of our children. I really fooled myself into believing that Evans would stay asleep in his oh-so-comfy pack 'n play while I was gone but I made the babysitter promise to call me if he woke up. I arrived home to find Evans playing with his two older cousins. This started the "trend" of sleeping in the bed with Mommy that lasted the next four nights in a row.

Friday we loaded up the kids to head to the beach around 11:30am and actually arrived there around 3:30pm. You might wonder why we picked a beach to spend the day at that was 4 hours away but the truth is that between stopping for lunch at Chick-fil-a and missing the entrance multiple times to the public beach access, this normally 30 minute drive was stretched out a tad. Things like this tend to happen to us. Once we unloaded everyone and set up post on the beach, we were met with an entire school of sharks in the water and had to cut our visit a little short. But don't worry, not before Evans and Karis managed to cover every inch of their bodies (and ours) with sand and have a great time. My brother-in-laws parents arrived on Friday afternoon (everyone was coming in town to celebrate my niece's first birthday) and we dined on margaritas at the mexican restaurant again much to Brittany and my's great pleasure!

Saturday morning was another early morning for me as Evans was wide awake to play with the cousins when the sun started to come up but it was a good thing because as it turned out, we needed to plan Karis' whole birthday party that was to be taking place in a matter of 7 or so hours. I'm pretty sure my sister in law WOULD have made fondant cupcake toppers like I did if it weren't for that pesky little hurricane named Irene that just about blew their house away. For last minute planning (seriously, she mailed the invitations on THURSDAY, two days before the party) the party was a total success! The neighborhood clubhouse looked really cute....all the kids had a great time swimming and taking turns at the pinata.....And Karis really LOVED everyone singing happy birthday to her on her big day!Both Evans and Karis got to spend some quality time with their Gannie and their Old Gannie at the party (these relatives arrived on Saturday morning).The party was a success minus a small crisis with the low country boil (the actual boiling part) and the pathetic performance by the Georgia Bulldogs that evening and Evans even slept in the pack 'n play for about 4 whole hours before getting in bed with me!

Sunday was a low key day that included church, lots of porch sitting, lots of tree stump pulling, several naps by my child (he was really starting to feel the hurt by Sunday and approximately 96 hours with the cousins). The entire family had a fun dinner at Outback (only a 30 minute hop skip and a jump away), kids were well behaved for the most part and it was an enjoyable evening. Monday morning all the rest of the relatives had to head home. The weather was dreary but we took our chances and loaded the kids, boat and dog up for a trip to the beach. This time it only took us 30 minutes to get there! After a quick boat ride we were on this awesome beach and Evans and Karis both had a great time.You might not be able to tell by this picture because Evans can hardly open his eyes it was so bright. I guess I should have brought him his hat. Might have kept the sunburn off his scalp as well! The beach really was perfect and Evans loved his first time swimming in the ocean and was so pooped by the end of the day he conked out on me in a beach chair. Everyone enjoyed being outside and in the sun including Mark and Karis.(you see that Evans? Karis is standing. It is what you do with your feet). You know it was a big day when Evans, Karis and my nephew Colson (he is 6) share a large cheese pizza from Little Ceasars when we got home and ate everything except for one piece. My nephew Kyle couldn't help them out because he collapsed in the driveway on the way from the car into the house and was asleep on the concrete before anyone noticed it.

Tuesday was the big departure day. Britt made us go to the gym in the morning and held a gun to my head and made me take the spin class she was teaching. :) It was actually great (I do like spin) and the kids got to stay in the nursery (even better). After lunch we headed to the airport. By this time Evans was particularly cranky without having a nap. I was greeted by the ticket counter agent and informed that the weather in Charlotte (where we had to connect) was horrible and our plane may or may not take off. Great. We were already flying on a prop plane that was a bumpy ride on the way up in perfectly clear weather. Miraculously the flight showed up and we were able to board only about 15 minutes late. Note to self, when you are aware ahead of time (as I was) that you will be boarding a prop plane directly on the tarmac, it would be smart not to wear a dress. I'm just saying. It would cut down immensely on the need to hold the dress between your knees while you collapse strollers etc. Evans was HORRIBLE upon boarding the plane and since there was NO AC, we were both sweating profusely and he was wailing. People were turning around and looking at me. I wanted to die. Then we took off and he promptly fell asleep. All good news. Then the weirdness starts. As I was about to doze off myself I was startled and shocked when I was splashed in the face by a steady stream of freezing cold water that continued to pour down from the overheard compartment and drench me and my child's head. Water was dripping off of Evans' eyelashes though thankfully after his initial jerk, he never woke up. I had to page the flight attendant and tell her that some sort of unidentified liquid had just soaked me. As she ran off to get me some napkins she was explaining that the "drip" must just be from the air conditioner condensation and she proceeded to dab a portion of the ceiling above me that was about 12 inches from where the deluge hit me. Hello? I'm not an idiot! That was not condensation! It was a downpour! I explained it came from the overheard and this lady completely ignored me as she explained again that it was just a drop of condensation. Pretty big drop if you ask me.

The rest of the flight was uneventful and Evans slept on our connecting flight to Atlanta. We got home in time for me to pick up my fantasy football draft in the third round, but not before my smart brother drafted Peyton Manning, who was listed as out for half the season as of this morning. Awesome. All in all our little mini vacation was chaotic and super fun. I always have fun with my sister in law and I miss her when I can't see her very often. She makes me feel loved and I can only hope that I am half as good of a sister to her as she is to me. The Relatives Came ends with "when they finally had to leave, they were sad, but not for long. They all knew they would be together next summer" and the best part is, we don't even have to wait that long. Four more months until Christmas! Get ready for GAS LAMP! I love y'all.

Smart Idea Bad Idea

2011-08-31T21:24:00.003-04:00

My sweet child has recently been morphed into the devil. I announced that yesterday and got quite the responses! As it turns out, Evans was back to sweet this morning with only a tad of devil while we were shopping in target. No one has been hit in the face (although he does like to point to my eye rather intensely and I think he wants to pull my lashes out) and the day went much much better then the past few days. Hmmm, I find it a bit funny that as I am writing about Evans' improved behavior I start to hear him wailing over the monitor. It's 9:30pm son, you should be 2 hours into deep sleep. Now go back to bed. Lucky for me grandfather Buddy stepped up to the plate but I still will bet $20 I'll have to eventually take over. Sigh. So the real point of this point is whether it is smart to take a bad baby on a airline flight. Some people (like me most of the time) don't have a choice and you will just have to deal with sitting next to a baby. Who do think is going to want to sit next to this?That is the sweet baby eating spaghetti disguised as the devil. Anyways, Evans and I are flying out tomorrow to go visit my sister in law and all the crazy cousins. And by crazy I mean flat ass wild. The first time Evans hung out with them he didn't poop for like 4 days. But oh how he loves those cousins now. I can't wait to see all the babies playing together and of course my SIL and I will get to play a little too! My niece Karis turns one this weekend so we will get to be there for the birthay bash. Evans will have a ball and even his great grandmother is going to be there! So excited to see everyone! I hope we make it with no glitches and with one very well behaved child (that means you Evans).

Wonderbaby Gone Bad?

2011-08-30T20:55:00.003-04:00

Look at this baby. Have you ever seen anything so sweet? WELL, he is completely tricking everyone! Is it possible that my sweet boy has turned into the devil overnight? Does this happen? Is it POSSIBLE?! Evans has been so bad the last two days that by about 3:30pm I start to wonder if I can have a drink yet and by 6:00pm I'm pulling my hair out. I don't know where we have gone wrong. He is throwing food in restaurants, throwing his sippy cup, grabbing bowls of his food and dumping them overboard the high chair. He doesn't want to sit in his highchair in restaurants, he doesn't want to kiss me and he SCREECHES. Last night he dumped a whole bowl of pastina (thinking TINY MINUTE pieces of pasta) into my mom's kitchen rug. As I was on the floor picking them up with my fingers, which was not an easy task, he threw his cup full of milk on top of my head. I was defeated. He has been pitching fits, swats at my face and I'm nearly positive he has tried to bite me. Today at lunch he started throwing his grilled cheese (that I'm sure cost about seven dollars) overboard and I took his hand and spanked it and said no. I didn't think he would really understand it but I had HAD IT. What I did not expect was when he tried to SPANK ME BACK. I was ready to throw him overboard. And I rarely feel like this with him. I have to say that after his afternoon nap he was much more mild mannered and not nearly as ill behaved but still. This better be a phase. A phase that lasts two days. Cause I'm over it.

I'm gonna be rich!

2011-08-25T19:19:00.003-04:00

Great ready for this y'all....I have been liberated. As of this morning it's confirmed. Enfamil will no longer be bleeding us for $200 a month. Evans no longer has to have formula. Hallelujah Praise Jesus! Do you know what I hate more than paying $200 a month for formula? Running into the store to grab one thing with one of those little baskets, realizing I need formula and having to haul it up to the check out counter. Also having to carry it in from the car when we get home! Those cans are HEAVY! (please recall that Evans will not drink the powder, nice).

I've had one of those days today when by 12:45pm I felt like it should be at least 4pm. And it wasn't even that taxing. This morning Evans had his 12 month check up with his new pediatrician here in Atlanta. Of course he was cute and entertaining despite it being nap time. When it came time for the nurse to prick his toe I felt certain we were heading for disaster. He was sitting on the exam table and I was holding him still. I started to wonder what was taking so long because Evans wasn't crying and when I looked over the nurse was taking the blood out of his toe while Evans watched curiously. We weren't as lucky with the FOUR shots that he had to get in his legs! Poor thing. The one plus is that he opened his mouth so wide to scream that I could actually finally see that we don't have anymore teeth coming in right now. He is definitely feeling a little punky as he has taken 4 hours worth of naps and is already in bed asleep at 7pm.

My mom watched Evans this afternoon while I went to get some much needed highlights and a haircut. I love my hairdresser (is that even what you call them anymore? Sound so old fashioned) to death but I'm going to need to start saving my money now for afford going back in 8 weeks or so. I say that he is better than a shrink and unlike a shrink, you leave looking better than when you arrived!

Tomorrow is my 31st birthday. Yikes. I'm not sure when I got so old. Will be celebrating with several friends for dinner and drinks and definitely looking forward to it. Sorry this has been such a boring post. I'm not feeling all that witty and smart today! I'm exhausted! And now Evans is crying so I'm heading downstairs to rock. Hope all is well in blogland!

Cake Day Part II

2011-08-23T10:30:00.025-04:00

Pretty sad when you have so many pictures from your child's birthday party that it takes two blog posts to put them all up! We are slowly recovering from the birthday party (now that it is Tuesday) but Evans still wants to sit at the stairs and look at all his presents stacked up. I don't blame him! He made out like a bandit! So besides the sno cones and cake, this car was a big hit at the party. There were even a few tears shed over it during the course of the afternoon. My parents bought Evans this car (I think before they even found out that I was pregnant) because my sister, brother and I had one while we were growing up. It is called the "Cozy Coupe" but is affectionately known as the "Cozy Coot" because that is what our neighbor called it growing up. My oldest friend Meredith and her little boy Jack recently moved back to Atlanta and Evans and Jack have had no issues becoming friends. Jack is wild and Evans is happy to partake. I thought we might lose Evans during this incident but he was happy as a clam to be pushed around!
I see many more wild adventures for these boys in the future, especially once Evans can figure out how to walk (you know Evans, you use your FEET for walking, they aren't just for decoration, they have a FUNCTION)! The Melissa & Doug giraffe was a big hit with the kids (Evans took a turn riding him) and my mom even said she went out front towards the end of the party and one child was trying to tote him down the driveway!I decided not to do a smash cake for E because I honestly I didn't see the point. I know they are so cute and most babies love them but Evans doesn't typically like sweet things so I didn't bother. And no, I did not realize that Publix did one for free when you ordered your cake there. Yes, that might have changed my mind. However, Evans did get a big ole piece of birthday cake and I was surprised by the amount he ate!He didn't even cry when everyone sang Happy Birthday to him!Really starting to catch on......SUCCESS!!Really, he should have taken some pointers from his good friend, Ana Kathryn Cullens. Now there is a girl who knows how to eat some cake! She didn't need any lessons!After pigging out on cake Evans was kind enough to let Buddy wait on him hand and foot and hold his sippy cup for him (we are working on that).Obviously eating all that cake wore him out. That, or his ELEPHANT outfit is squeezing the life out of him by this point. The rest of my pictures are random but fun and worth showing. I hardly got any photos of the kids lining up for sno cones but it was so cute. Maybe someone else did, I'll have to ask around. Here is Evans spending some time with his Old Dad and Grandmag.My good friend Laura and my mom with one of my aunt's new twin babes. This is boy baby, Jack. I think there were only about 4-5 children at the party named Jack. This one was definitely the smallest!Evans and his cool cousin Joe.Me, Evans, my friend Meredith and her son Jack. Yes, the same one that was playing "car" with Evans so intensely!My little cousin Thomas throughly enjoying his sno cone. This picture makes me smile for sure. I don't even want to think about his expensive outfit covered in that goo.And finally, the happiest boy on earth. I love how he looks like he is just chilling with his gifts.I have some with him once the gifts were unwrapped but I will post them tomorrow. All in all, I think that the party was a huge success. I really enjoyed it and I will be able to look back one day and remember it happily. Now I am in search of another project. Something that will take up my time and provide me with something fun to do! Jobs are overrated so I'm open to all other suggestions! Happy Tuesday Atlanta, enjoy the cooler weather this morning because I'm betting it will be over in the next, say.......14 minutes.

Birthday Extravaganza!

2011-08-22T14:30:00.025-04:00

I suppose that there are several things in a child's life that a parent does solely for themselves. Not that the child isn't supposed to enjoy themselves and have a good time but it isn't going to be the child that remembers it. I semi feel that way about Evans' first birthday celebration that we celebrated yesterday. As one of my friends pointed out, it was go big or go home. I certainly meant for Evans to have a good time but the memories are going to be for me. I'm just looking forward to the spread I'll be able to do in the baby book for this bash! We had about 50 adults and 17 or so kids and I really hope that everyone had as much fun as I did. It was so hot but the sno cones were a hit and I think that I supplied enough sugar for everyone under the age of 6 to last all year. Only one person was missing and although his absence was profound, I'm pretty sure that Evans was too young to notice. This did not make it a whole lot easier for me to ignore but the party must go on, no? I think y'all can judge by the look on Evans' face that the day was a success and I had a happy boy on my hands. He did actually wear clothes to the party but that is another story all together.

The morning of the party my mom and I were busy putting the finishing touches on everything. I had to go and get the balloons blown up and ice purchased. Did y'all know that ONE balloon cost 89 cents and there is a 69 cent fee to blow it up? Are you kidding? I was sitting there waiting on my balloons calculating how much I would be spending on 15 balloons plus two huge mylar balloons when the lady rang me up for $13.59. At least they can't count either!I finally got to put my famous fondant giraffes on my homemade (from a box) cupcakes. I've been waiting for this moment all week. I think they turned out extremely well and were worth it despite having jaundiced looking hands for several days afterwards.Since I accidentally made 38947 fondant giraffes, I used them to decorate Evans' cake. Thats right, I didn't think that the cupcakes were going to be enough so we had a cake as well.Needless to say, we had plenty of cake and I heard it was delicious! So, the party was outside in my parents backyard. I thought that all the decorations turned out really well. This is what guests saw first walking up the driveway at the back gate (which yes, my mom did end up painting).Whew, it all looked so nice! And then the hoards descended!

After all this giraffe planning and all the giraffe baking and all the giraffe purchasing, it only made sense that Evans would wear a very special outfit with none other than an.....................ELEPHANT on it!Lord. I'll be explaining that forever. I bought the outfit before I picked out the theme and then I couldn't bring myself to buy something different (hard to believe, I know). So this cute outfit sat in his closet in the plastic until yesterday afternoon when we got him dressed. Holy crap, it was too small. It was the first and last time he will wear the outfit. At least I didn't buy another one! Evans spent the whole party with the center snap in the crouch undone so it wasn't too short on him! He didn't seem to mind.

I think that I have to take a break from uploading pictures right now. I'll have to have a part II tomorrow but it's getting late and I want to go read my book! Tomorrow I'll have pictures of the rest of the party. It'll be worth it I hope!

Happy Friday, is it?

2011-08-19T16:18:00.004-04:00

You know how sometimes pregnant people are pretty forgetful? (no, I'm definitely not pregnant). OR how new mothers sometimes forget what the exact date is because they are so tired? I'm not sure what to tell you my excuse is but the other day I actually wrote the date out as August 15, 2010. Seriously. Here I am being all smug that I actually knew what the day of the month was and I was in the completely wrong year. It wasn't one of those things either were it takes a couple weeks at the beginning of January to get used to it being a new year. Folks, it's AUGUST and I thought that we were still in the year 2010. I guess you can say that (so far) 2011 (the actual year that we are currently living in for those of you that haven't figured it out yet) has not been a year that I will remember much of! I'm lucky these days if I know what day of the week it is. I happen to know that today is Friday because I looked at the calendar on my iphone. Thank god for those! Now don't get too excited for me when you hear what is on my schedule for the evening............I think I might clean up my room BECAUSE MY MOM IS MAKING ME. That's right, I turn 31 (or is it 30 or 32?) next week (I'd have to check the calendar to tell you what day) and I have to stay home tonight to clean up my bedroom. What next? I won't be able to leave the table until I eat all my food?

Today Evans and I had a great play date at my friend Heather's house. She has two adorable boys and Evans had a ball. I'm almost positive that Evans was trying to kiss Grant and NOT bite him when he was lunging at him with his mouth open. I'm just happy that Grant is bigger and could get away faster so we were able to avoid any disasters. Really, Evans does kiss with his mouth open like that but I'm so scared he is going to bite someone that I don't really sit around to see if that is his real intention. Afterwards Evans and I hit up the grocery store to try and buy the last of the supplies needed for Evanspalooza this weekend. My mom and I moved yard furniture this morning and while doing this she decided that she didn't like the way the back gate looked. I'm not positive but I am pretty sure she is outside painting the back gate now. In reference to my post yesterday, she never goes overboard either.

I'm sure that this evening and tomorrow will be used for the finishing touches of the party. We will take a small break in the morning to go to a children's clothing trunk show at a friend's house because Evans practically has no clothes at all. As it is, I think he will have to wear his outfits at least 3 times each this winter. Gah! Anyways, I am off because I just got the five minute warning on a longall on ebay that Evans wants and then I think I will do something exciting.......like go count my fondant giraffes. Happy weekend!

Overboard? I think not.

2011-08-18T11:00:00.017-04:00

I'm hardly known for going overboard on anything, right? I never start painting a room and end up remodeling a whole house, right? And I hardly ever buy 8 longalls and 12 pairs of pajamas for Evans in one day, right? (ok ok, I was watching MTV's The City the other day and it drives me NUTS that that girl Whitney answers everything with "I know, right"? I think she is haunting me). So, why should I go overboard on Evans' first birthday party? Wouldn't it be just my style to have a quiet family gathering? Wrong. While my intentions were mild, this first birthday party has turned into a bit of a circus. I'm just hoping to pull it off and avoid the rain.

I want to share a few of the details because I know that once the party happens, I'll never go back and actually write about them. Currently my mom's dining room is the staging area for all my "accoutrements" and I am positive she doesn't mind at all (I didn't even hear her gasp all the way down the hall when she got back from the dentist this morning when she saw all all the stuff). I feel like I have been collecting the perfect things for ages! Yesterday morning I picked up our party favor cookies that a friend of mine from high school made for us. I could not have been more excited because they turned out perfectly. Mabry's Preppy Confections can be found on Facebook and I can attest to how awesome her cookies are. She even put them in the cellophane bags for me (she would have done the ribbon too except that I had already picked some out I liked).They really turned out great and I can't wait for another occasion to be able to order more! I'm sure all our guest will really enjoy the favors! Who wouldn't?

Originally a friend of mine was going to make cupcakes and a cake with the giraffe theme. It's so hard to find good cake people in Atlanta if you want to spend less than one arm and one leg for their services. And I can sort of understand why now. I decided that I would make my own cupcakes (yes, I am at least capable of this) but that I would also make a fondant giraffe cupcake topper. I found a blog with instructions and the woman who wrote it insisted that her 4 year old daughter made these by herself. I must not be as talented as that 4 year old. First of all I went to Michaels to buy the supplies to make these and that alone cost me $40. Then the real hassle started. I had to dye to fondant yellow so they would at least look REALISTIC and it took me about 8 years to figure out the best way to actually mix the food coloring into the fondant. Those yellow stains on my mom's nice granite cutting board did NOT come from me I swear. HOURS later, with a cramped hand, I finished my cupcake toppers. There are so many of them that I could probably make 3948 cupcakes. However, I think they did turn out very cute. Just don't eat them, they taste like crap.Yes, the giraffes are smiling. I see nothing odd about that.

The rest of my stuff is strewn around all over the place but here are a couple more pictures of what I have in store. Everything will look better once it is set up AND of course, I don't want to give ALL my secrets away. I'm certain our guests are eagerly checking my blog in hopes of finding out what is in store for them! ha.

Don't worry, it might appear that those are all non-alcoholic drinks but the booze is in the garage. :) That's all for now!

Alive and well? Or just alive....

2011-08-17T22:03:00.016-04:00

Do you ever wonder about bloggers that appear to drop off the face of the earth? One day you know everything about them and their lives and the next they are gone? I get it. Sometimes people get busy. They have babies or get a new job or move across the world to Germany for their husband's job. Sometimes the "busy-ness" or the inability to blog comes from things that are a bit bigger than just a change of job or a new addition. My situation is on the bigger side and sometime in the near future I will go into that a little bit further but for now I hope y'all can trust me, my life has been turned upside down and I'm just trying to swim towards the surface. Evans and I have been living in Atlanta for the past several months and have been trying to adjust to good ole mainstream America again. The transition appears to be going smoothly on the outside but I can assure you that it has been everything but easy. But the truth is that I miss blogging on a regular basis and I feel like I have so much to share when it comes to my child and "new" life. One day soon I'll be ready to share but for now, Atlanta is where Evans and I are living, without Deaner.

When I think about where I was in my life a year ago from today I am pretty amazed at where I have ended up. I believe that on this exact date last year (I'd have to go back and check the blog archive) I broke down in tears at bedtime because I was so big and pregnant and HOT. For god sake, those Germans don't know anything about AC! No relief for a pregnant lady! I've gone from having this teeny tiny babe......To having a crawling (that's right folks, we can't even walk yet!), babbling, singing, chatting, kissing, laughing, table food eating and real milk drinking child. It's unreal. I remember when Evans couldn't pick his head up off my shoulder and now I can hardly keep him in my arms. He brings so much joy into my life (gay, I know) and I'm not sure how I would have made it through the past few months without him. He is, simply put, the greatest baby to ever army crawl the face of the earth (besides your's, that is). In honor of Evans' first birthday, which is rapidly approaching next week, I'll post a small photo montage of him the past 6 months or so, where I left off, so y'all can see how he has grown. I'll start back in April with a picture of Evans having dinner after a looooooong flight to the US with his Old Dad (Deaner's dad). You can tell he is thrilled to be here!Easter 2011 was spent in Hattenheim, Germany and Evans got to play with his Easter basket down on the Rhein River.Memorial Day and my 9 month birthday spent on my Buddy's new boat. (I'm hardly cute at all).In June we celebrated (A BIG) birthday for my mom A.K.A. Nana Susie and Evans got to tag along just to say hello before having to depart with Buddy for home.In July we had a visit from Daddy and Evans took his first trip to the aquarium. He loved it so much that we are now members and have been back several times. Mama loves it because it has AC, good ole U.S. of A. They can get somethings right.And that brings us to August. The month my child was born in 2010. Today we went to have our first go round on the park swings.Needless to say, I'll bring him back again soon. I think he enjoyed it. :)

So, a week from today my baby boy will turn a year old. Crazy. We will be celebrating this Sunday in style with a giraffe theme. I may or may not have gone completely off the deep end with this party but it has been a much needed distraction and you only turn one once, right? As the guest list continues to grow longer and I keep adding more flavors to the rented Sno Cone machine I can't help but be a bit excited! I'll be sharing pictures of some of the things up my sleeve tomorrow. Until then, it is time for bed. I hope I still have a couple readers out there in blog land.

Fake Followers?

2011-05-23T12:49:00.001-04:00

Are there such thing? I have a sneaking suspicion that some of mine are fake?! Gasp!!

Happy 400th!

2011-05-20T04:59:00.003-04:00

Happy 400th post to me! I know they have been few and far between lately but we got there. The weather in Germany has made a miraculous turn around over the past month and we have actually had multiple days and stretches of sunshine. With temperatures above 70. Beware, I'll probably start complaining about the lack of AC soon! At least this summer I am not a huge pregnant blimp! It is hard for me to believe that Evans will be 9 months old next week. He continues to be the best baby alive (and I swear I am not the only one who thinks this). He has mastered sitting up in the past month (we were a bit slow on that) and he seems to be nowhere near crawling or standing up. I am not sure he knows that his legs exists as he draws them up every time I try to make him stand. While some parents might be freaking out about this lack of advancement, I continue to be happy that in a 4 story house with marble floors thru out, my child is still basically immobile. Ask me again in a few months and I might be more concerned.

Some of our favorite things to do these days are to watch Elmo. And particularly, only the Elmo about Flowers, Plants, Trees, Bananas and Hair. I changed the video last week and he cried. How in the world can he possibly know the difference?Playing with Baby Sophie. We especially like to try and swipe her binky straight from her mouth.Playing in his bedroom with anything he can get his hands on.And watching the laundry go round and round in the washer while Mama folds the clean clothes.And especially walking down to the river and the wine stand on most pretty days! Please disregard that in this picture, someone (Daddy) did not bother changing him out of his PJS shirt.When the sun comes out in Germany, Germans drop everything they are doing, migrate to the river, and take off their clothes. I'm not lying. Last time I was down there there was a lady lying spread eagle in the grass with her bike tipped over next to her. Like the sun had come out and she immediately fell off her bike to enjoy the rays.That is all for now. I have made myself late for lunch by posting this but hopefully it is worth it. More to come, I hope........

Perfection

2011-05-05T15:32:00.000-04:00

I am in love with this photograph. I want to stare at it all the time! I have the sweetest boy in the world. And a fantastic photographer and friend, Jessica Ceason! I love you both!!

(one of) The Loves of My Life

2011-04-04T06:47:00.002-04:00

How can you blame me for loving him so much???

Down at the Wine Stand

2011-04-01T17:21:00.002-04:00

Nice and bundled up. It was a cold day but since it was sunny and they were pouring wine, mom and dad drug me down here!

Baby Blues

2011-03-31T08:57:00.003-04:00

Evans and Daddy hanging out in Bruges, Belgium. We went to visit Steph, Jon and Baby Sophie since she decided to come while on freaking vacation there!!Steph also got to enjoy her first beer since getting pregnant! Such an awesome taste!

Chilling in Brussels

2011-03-30T09:55:00.003-04:00

Watching a little Baby Einstein before heading out for happy hour!

Belgian Beer

2011-03-29T14:35:00.003-04:00

Oh, he wants it so bad! I think I'll start back slowly and just at least try and post some pictures!!

We're Alive.....Barely

2011-03-01T12:34:00.003-05:00

You know how people always tell you that when you have a baby you are basically trading in your sleep? I thought all those people were full of bologna (which really SHOULD be spelled bologny) when I first had Evans. I mean, I was tired, but I wasn't THAT tired and then the kid slept through the night at 7 weeks old. What more could I ask for? Having a baby was, dare I say, easy? Evans the perfect angel.

Then I got the flu. The kind where I was pretty sure I had one foot in the grave already. I swear, I haven't been that sick since I moved into the dorm my freshman year of college. I don't even care to tell you how long ago that was. I truly thought death was coming to take me, and I was okay with that. Cause death meant I didn't have to have that stinking flu anymore! Then I got better. And Evans got sick. That perfect angel baby? Out the window.

If I could have volunteered to have the flu for 3 more weeks and kept my child from getting sick, I would have. Because there is NOTHING worse than having a sick baby. Oh wait, there is........having a sick baby that is cutting two bottom teeth at the same time. There. Nothing is worse than that. Since last wednesday, 6 days ago, we have been to the doctor 4 times. At least our pediatrician is hot. Poor Evans has had bronchial pneumonia and at first, wasn't able to even keep down his medicine. Or his food. Or his bottle. Wait, I should also mention, Deaner was out of town. So here I am coming off 5 days of the worst flu of my life, and I'm dealing with pitiful Evans. Every time I would lay him down in his crib he would start coughing so hard that whatever was in his stomach would come up. His doctor played around with the idea of having him admitted to the hospital so he could receive his medicine via shots. Thankfully the throwing up stopped.

Now here we are 6 days later and still doing 3 breathing treatments a day. We saw the pediatrician this morning and he added yet another medication to the breathing nebulizer because E was still wheezing. On the whole, we are on the mend. Evans is still up multiple times a night and it is starting to wear on me, but at least he is getting better. I'm hoping that in another week we are WELL. I'm also hoping that E doesn't kick over his new bottle of cough medicine because it makes for a long night without it. Even if you can manage to wring some out of the bathroom bathmat!

Oh yeah, during all this I also hosted Steph's baby shower! It was a lot of fun and I definitely want to share some picture with y'all. Just not right this second. I have a fabulous looking stew on the stove and I'm waiting on Deaner to get home from the gym. This is the first week since we returned to Germany in January that he has been home all week. I love it when he is here but have to say that sleeping horizontally in the bed is MUCH more comfy! :) Tomorrow I will play catch up and post some pictures! Sorry mom, you will just have to deal with this post not having any!

Another One Bites the Dust

2011-02-23T10:09:00.005-05:00

Today, I took my sick child to the doctor with no hat on. So as not to appear to be a total ass, since I was wearing a jacket AND a scarf, Evans got to wear Mama's cashmere scarf on his head! I have to say that I laughed out loud when I saw what he looked like but he didn't seem to mind. Poor thing woke up this morning with a fever (surprisingly, and after day #5, I did not) and I decided to be on the safe side and take him to the pediatrician. I was really taking him because I thought that he might have an ear infection but as it turns out, he has bronchial pneumonia! Geez. I wasn't expecting that one. But the doctor (who is fabulous) told me that babies his age don't get the flu and that he probably did get sick from me, but this is how it manifested in him. The doctor took an ultrasound of his lungs and while they were inflamed they weren't bad enough to warrant a trip to the hospital for a chest x-ray. Thank god. Evans is on antibiotics and we go back on Friday for another ultrasound to decide if he has to take the meds for 7 days or 10.

I took a picture of this the other day because I thought y'all would get a kick out of it. This is how Deaner made us sleep the past two nights.With my nice decorative throw pillow wedged in-between our pillows. He thought this would prevent him from getting my funk and he called it the "germ blocker". I'll let y'all know in a few days how that worked out for him. :)

And finally, on the way home from the doctor today we had to stop at the base to get gas. While I was pumping my gas, THIS is what pulled up next to me.Seriously? Do you think this guy knows he drives a VW Beetle with a WHALE TALE on the back?? Better yet, does he really need a spoiler of that MAGNITUDE for his 4 cylinder bug? I laughed out loud when I saw it. And so did the guy at the cash register at the gas station. Then I went out to my car, got my iphone and snapped these pictures while the owner watched me from inside. I wonder if he knows his ride is famous now!

I'm off to read for probably the ten more minutes Evans might sleep. The poor kid is exhausted but the coughing keeps waking him up. I think it is equally painful for both of us, considering I'm nowhere near 100% yet!

Surely death would be preferable?

2011-02-22T15:49:00.002-05:00

Supposedly, according to my doctor, two people in Germany have died from the flu this year. I believe it. I actually can't believe that it isn't more. As of yesterday, I was pretty sure I would become number three. I NEVER get sick. Yeah yeah yeah, I know I had all those issues with my c-section but that doesn't really count as getting sick. The last time I had the flu I was a freshman in college and the time before that I was a freshman in high school. I don't even care to mention how long ago that was. On Friday night I told Deaner that I wasn't feeling well and I thought I would go to bed early. All night long I had dreams that I was sick with the flu and in my dreams my whole body was in excruciating pain. I can't say I was that surprised when I woke up on Saturday morning and realized it wasn't actually a dream. Tomorrow is Wednesday and if I have a fever again, it will be the fifth day of sickness. I have decided though that today is the last day that I am allowed to be sick. Tomorrow I will be better. If I think it hard enough it will happen, right? It's just that simple. Tomorrow I will be fine. I have to be because Deaner is leaving for Brussels so he can't stay home and take care of Evans and me anymore like he has been doing since Saturday. I have to say that Deaner has really stepped up to the plate. He has made me soup, done the dishes, kept our child fed and relatively clean (there was a stretch from Thursday to Monday when Evans wasn't bathed but it isn't like he is out playing in the DIRT!). I have really appreciated it. I mean, would I have cleaned the kitchen up better?? Probably. But I'll take what I can get!

So I'm off to bed. At last check Evans was running a low grade fever and his coughing was sounding eerily like mine so I'm hoping and praying that a trip to the pediatrician tomorrow isn't necessary. Keep us in your thoughts!

Clones?

2011-02-17T14:39:00.008-05:00

Everyone in Deaner's family is convinced that Evans looks exactly like him. I mean, when you look at them together, they do look identical. I am 99.9% sure that Evans will have Deaner's exact shade of reddish/blonde hair and it is almost frightening when you see Deaner holding Evans, how much they resemble each other. For about the past month and a half I have been saying that Evans is looking more and more like me. No one seems to pay attention but there is no denying the big blue eyes and more predominately the big bald head. I've been bugging my dad to scan some baby pictures of me so that I can prove to Deaner's family once and for all the Evans DOES in fact look exactly like I did when I was a child. Today I remembered my mother sent me an album when Evans was born of pictures of me. And this is what I found. If you haven't already figured it out, the picture above is of me (I know I know, did the lovely green plastic deathtrap I was sitting in tip you off that it wasn't 2011?). Still, I think it looks just like him. As well as these....I am in the blue (no wonder people thought I was a boy).And finally, nice glasses dad!I just wanted to prove my point. The kid does look just like me. Yes, we know he looks like Deaner too but really? There is no denying we could be twins! Ha. Moving on......

Dear Neighbor,
(the one who lives BEHIND us in case there is any confusion). Clean up your backyard. Really. It is a dump. There is no need to leave your blue summer tent up most of winter, only to have it collapse under the weight of the snow and rain that it has been subjected to for the past 6 months. If you were apart of a neighborhood association than they would have burned down your house to erase your memory by now. ALSO, when your backyard looks like this.....there is really no reason to be so concerned about the BRANCH that fell in your backyard overnight that you must cut it up with a CHAINSAW in the middle of the day during my child's nap time.When you have left a moldy gross bright blue TENT in your backyard for six months that has collapsed on top of folding tables and that I have had to look at every time I look out my bedroom window since this summer (he seriously removed it about 5 minutes before I took this picture) please don't feel the need to jump on this downed limb with such a vengeance. I mean, what was another 5 or so months of waiting? It really had to be done at that exact second that I put Evans down for his afternoon nap?

Deaner is home from England and it is a long weekend. We were going to go to Rome......we were going to go to Berchtesgaden......alas, we planned nothing so we will be home. Probably for the best. Evans' tooth is JUST about to break through his gums. God help us all if he doesn't start sleeping through the night again soon. Mama is TIRED. Happy Thursday!

A Little Eerie.....

2011-02-16T15:19:00.014-05:00

Since I was so awful at uploading my pictures the past few days I am going to give it another try. I actually managed to get Evans in bed and get into my bed by 9:15pm tonight! That doesn't happen often but when your awesome friends Steph and Jon invite you over for dinner, there is no mess for me to obsess about cleaning up!! I seriously cannot leave a dish on the counter overnight. Which is probably why when I go to bed on a Friday or Saturday night with a clean den and kitchen and wake up the next morning to whatever disaster Deaner has made, it makes me insane. Anyways, I digress. So, about these pictures......I can't recall if I mentioned these were part of a "Kissing Booth" Valentine's Day deal. No, Deaner and I don't normally pose for pictures kissing this much, NO we are not trying to tell people that Evans is going to have another brother or sister and NO please do not suggest that we "get a room"! :) Just a few of the comments I have encountered since posting these! I could care less because I LOVE them!Did I mention how cold it was outside? I felt a little bad about not having a hat on Evans' big bald head but anything for the sake of the pictures, right?It was so cold that I can actually see Evans' eyes tearing in this picture. This picture isn't one of my faves because I think it looks a bit awkward but I can't help posting it because Evans' eyes are SO blue!! I might add that our photographer does not photoshop her pictures and that these are really the color that they are. Since Deaner and I both have blue eyes we knew Evans would too but these are way better than mine!! Plus, that look on his face is so freaking cute. The next couple pictures I love too and can't wait to get our prints of them. I told Deaner I felt like we were doing engagement pictures or something (which we never actually did when we got engaged).I mean, we love each other and all but don't normally go around making out in fields!And the last one because I'm honestly getting sick of uploading.......Thanks for everything Jessica! What a fun Valentine's Day present to ourselves! We can't wait to do it again so don't plan on moving anytime soon!

In other news, something a bit eerie happened today. Something that has never before happened but was still pretty cool. I was actually recognized by someone that reads my blog on a regular basis. Someone that I don't know, have never met and wasn't told about my blog by anyone I know. I was a little shocked at first but she found me online exactly the same way that I found Steph's blog online. Pretty fun. Unfortunately she is a LURKER so Heather, I'm calling you OUT! All this went down at the monthly Spouses Club Luncheon on the base. I have been a total slacker about going since we had family in town at first when Evans was born and then I was home for 6 weeks. I'm really glad I went back today because I had a great time. Sometimes it is too easy to stay at home in this dreary weather and lounge around but it really does feel better to get out and do things. I just sometimes need that little extra push!

I'm off to read. Deaner comes home tomorrow evening. Hooray! Something about having a child makes me feel the need to have a drink around 3pm. (don't worry, I NORMALLY wait til after 4!). And when Deaner is in town at least I have something to look forward to at the end of the day. Next week he is away again ALL week, sucky, but I will be home setting up for Steph's baby shower. I can't wait to post pictures and show y'all my plans but I'm not sure I can trust Steph not to peek if I do. I'll have to stew about it. Happy Hump Day!

Happy (late) Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T15:32:00.004-05:00

I'm so excited to share our pictures that our fantastic photographer Jessica took with us last Thursday. I know some of you have seen them on facebook already but I got the CD yesterday and I can't help but sharing this one. I'll have to post more tomorrow but when Deaner is out of town, these days slip between my friends quickly!

So sorry....

2011-02-10T08:01:00.010-05:00

I'd like to personally apologize to my mom since she apparently doesn't like my blog that much if it doesn't include enough pictures of Evans. Despite talking to him on Skype everyday. So much for what is going on in MY life! HA! The picture above was taken a few weeks ago but Deaner, Evans and I had our pictures taken this morning with our favorite photographer, Jessica Ceason, and Evans wore this outfit. Of course I will be posting more pictures from our "mini-session" when they are ready this evening but I thought y'all might like a little preview. Plus, I need my mom to quiet down. We met Jessica this morning at Domane Mechtildshausen which is an organic farm of sorts in Wiesbaden. The Domane Mechtildshausen actually dates back to the 12th century and was a beautiful site for our photos. I'm not sure how we have never been there since it is so close to the airbase but alas, it was a new experience for us. They supposedly have a great restaurant on site serving all organic food (maybe this is why we have never been there, I'm guess they don't serve bacon?!) and we actually got a gift certificate from our friends for Christmas. Now that I know it is there, I am definitely looking forward to checking it out! There aren't very good pictures online of the main building but this is one that I found.Evans was on his best behavior, despite not taking a nap, and I am really excited to see how the pictures turn out! The weather was supposed to be nice but being Germany, of course it was NOT. It was COLD and GRAY but I know Jessica still did a great job!

After our little session we had lunch with Deaner before heading home. We are so happy that he got back from England last night! We aren't looking forward to him leaving again next week but someone has to earn the money, right?? I was able to stop and check the mail but our mail guy wasn't there yet so I wasn't able to pick up the THREE packages that were delivered! I've been on a bit of a buying spree lately and I'm waiting on something like 17 packages. It gives me something to look forward to! Let me know if you would like to volunteer to send me something!

Anyways, I'm pretty boring today but I'm just trying to keep up with the blogging! I have to go put Evans down for a nap. He is getting a little antsy on his floor palette. I have no idea why? Perhaps it is because Baby Einstein is on for the 3rd time in a row! I'll post a few pictures on way out! Happy Thursday! Happy baby in his Bumbo seat. And no, I didn't walk away from him while he was in it. And yes, I do know that baby's can flip themselves out of these seats. But thanks in advance for the warnings! :)Evans' first time sitting in a highchair in a restaurant. We were in Rothenberg and when we walked in the waitress automatically brought us a highchair before I could explain that he really can't sit up that well. He managed though much to our surprise!He did like it a little bit better sitting in Daddy's lap though. Deaner thinks he is smiling because he is sitting with HIM but I am pretty sure it is because he is looking at ME!Looking very cute in his sock monkey outfit. Why do they even make shoes for little babies? It isn't like they can walk AND all they do is fall off!Evans and Mama in Rothenberg.And last but not least, looking super cute in his blue bunting. LOVE how blue his eyes are!! Ok, thats all for now! Tomorrow I'll have the good pictures up!!

I'm Happy to Report....

2011-02-08T15:42:00.004-05:00

That this gorgeous, beautiful, handsome and priceless Noah's Ark piggy bank is still in once piece. My rib cage might not be fully intact but have no fear, this bank, bound for Evans' bookshelf, is still in perfect condition. No thanks to the three stairs by my laundry room. Maybe I should back up. I received a package in the mail today from my mom (who started asking me the day after she mailed it if I had received it yet, apparently she thought that $30 meant a magic carpet would deliver it to me) with all the things that Deaner and I either forgot at home over Christmas or couldn't carry back with us. Including this lovely Lenox Noah's Ark piggy bank that my Uncle gave to Evans for Christmas. As I was carrying it out of the kitchen and starting up the stairs I had a bit of a mishap. I was talking on my iphone in the other hand to my friend Jen and apparently I misjudged the step. I mean, it was either the bank, my iphone or my ribcage. Let's be honest, we all know I wasn't going to let the phone go and some sort of protective instinct took over saving the bank. Oooof. I'm going to be sore for days. I think I pulled every muscle in my stomach while landing right on my ribs. I may or may not lose a toenail. But the phone and the bank are safe. Thank god. And while I was down there gathering my thoughts and trying to explain to Jen why I suddenly lost my breath, I noticed an awful lot of dust bunnies around the edges of the floor. Guess I know what chores I need to be preforming more often!

Today has been a pretty uneventful day. Funny how even uneventful days still seem to slip through my fingers these days. I still feel like I always have something that I have left undone at the end of the day. I need to have some sort of list system (or something) to get it together. When I was working I had a Coach planner that went everywhere with me. It was pretty much my life. I've quit using though because I couldn't really justify the refill this year to write things like "go to the commissary" or "check the mailbox" as my "main" events. I used to have super cute Whitney English note paper that I did my grocery lists on but I ran out and would you believe that it is nearly impossible to find a piece of paper in this house? My past three grocery lists are on this piece of paper that my doctor wrote me a note on this past summer regarding a bill. Thanks for providing my one and only piece of paper doc!

Off to nurse my hurt toes and rib cage and read my book. I'm currently taking book suggestions. I have a big shipment on the way and I can't wait to get started. I've recently read all The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo books (LOVED), Water For Elephants (LOVED), Mini Shopaholic (just the same as all the others but still made me laugh), and books 1-3 in the Tales of the City Series (VERY GAY, semi-entertaining but need a break from), Hotel New Hampshire (just plain creepy) and re-read one of my all time favorites A Prayer For Owen Meany. So I've been busy. I just ordered The Hunger Games trilogy, Her Fearful Symmetry, A Short History of a Small Place, Special Topics in Calamity Physics and the sequel to Eat Pray Love. Oh yeah, I just read Eat Pray Love too (sometimes wanted to strangle the narrator but ended up liking it enough). That's all! Happy Tuesday and Evans, please stay asleep all night!

Evans In Belgium

2011-02-07T14:58:00.012-05:00

So I think that things are about to change around here for the time being. Deaner has A LOT of traveling coming up and I think that Evans and I are going to stay put for a few trips. Not that it isn't a total blast hauling around a 5 month old and all his belongings AND sharing a hotel room with him but I think that Evans might be sick of traveling for a little bit. He just wants to stay home in his nice cozy crib and hang out with Mama for awhile. Deaner and I took Evans to Brussels last week from Monday to Thursday. We actually had a really good time and Evans was really good while we were there. We just had one tiny problem. Evans practically refused to eat while we were there. This is very interesting coming from a child who will pretty much eat on demand. I mean, I'm not worried about him starving or anything but he does get a little cranky when he is hungry. And why wouldn't he eat? We already knew that he doesn't like the powdered version of his formula AS MUCH as the ready made but we weren't staying in our normal hotel in Brussels so we weren't sure if we would have a fridge in our room or not. Thus, he gets powder. I typically make his powder bottle with bottled water but we also had no microwave and no coffee maker (which is how I normally make it hot in hotel rooms). So I was forced to use warm water from the tap. GASP! Tap water? We found out the hard way that our baby is a water snob. I'm not lying. He would NOT drink the bottles made with tap water. So every time we had to make a bottle Deaner would have to go to the lobby coffee/espresso/hot chocolate machine and get a cup of hot water, dump it in the bottle, fill up the cup again and dump the second cup in the bottle. Only then was it full enough. I might add that it is nearly impossible to pour boiling water from a coffee cup into a bottle without getting water everywhere. Which is what we did. Every. Single. Time. I doubt the receptionists were sad to see us go. It's back to the Marriott for us next time. When there is a next time. Who wouldn't want to deal with all that??

Anyways, when it wasn't raining and Evans wasn't watching Sponge Bob Square Pants in French (yes, I did resort to that one afternoon in desperation) we were exploring the city. We have been here many many times but it is still such a pretty city and I think that Evans really liked being outside so much. Evans and I ate breakfast together every morning in the hotel (I would eat bacon and he would munch on some giraffe leg) before we went exploring.I took him to see the Mannequin PIs and some nice Japanese man offered to take a picture of both of us.In fact, I had to tell him that was enough because on about the 8th picture he took of us my eyes were tearing from the wind whipping in my face. I think he thought we were doing a photo shoot. However he was much nicer than the Italian man that we ran into later that night when we were back with Deaner who I thought was offering to take our picture and he was really telling me to "get out of his way". Some people. I took a few more shots of Evans in the Grand Place but I was hesitant to walk too far away from his stroller because I could just imagine someone running up and stealing him (they would probably return him though when they realized he won't drink tap water!).Deaner and I took E out for dinner all three nights we were there and as usual he was really good. The last night we may or may not have had several margaritas at Chi Chi's (the same place where I may or may not have had several margaritas right before I found out I was pregnant with E!) and we took Evans walking around the city at night. He was happy as a clam.We had another photo shoot at the Mannequin Pis with Daddy (really, why IS this tiny little statue so famous??) because Daddy couldn't stand it that Evans and Mama had a picture there together!And one last picture of Daddy and E on the Grand Place. One day Evans will thank us for dragging him all around Europe and taking all these pictures!I think we all had a pretty good time but we are still going to be taking a break. Sleeping in a strange bed really throws Evans off and therefore it really throws me off. I really value my sleep and I just don't get enough of it when I am in the same room as my child. Deaner has been in England the past two weeks, is there now and will be there all next week. Ugh. Steph has been great and E and I have been having dinner with Aunt Steph and Uncle Jon once a week. I'm hoping that this stint of traveling won't last much longer. It is allowing me to be better about blogging since I can get in bed at night with my laptop!! Happy Monday to everyone! 2 days til my husband returns and 4 days til the weekend!!!!

Things That Annoy Me

2011-02-04T09:37:00.004-05:00

I have been feeling pretty complainy today so I might as well go ahead and make a list of all the things that annoy me. Then perhaps I will get over them and let them quit bothering me. So, here is goes, in no particular order, things that annoy me.....some more than others........

1. Germans who freak out when I pull over for less than one minute to let Deaner jump out of the car and buy a stamp. I do not need you to show me that the street I am on is one way and that I should continue on down the road. I am not hurting you by sitting here for 45 seconds, there is PLENTY of room to go around me AND there is currently no one behind me. MYOB.

2. Germans who honk at me because they are forced to turn their steering wheel 3 inches to go around me while Deaner is out of the car for 45 seconds buying a stamp. It's really not necessary. And while I'm not positive if it is legal or not to pull over like this,it's not hurting you and it is DEFINITELY illegal to honk your car horn at me inside the city limits. Especially since I am not imminently about to hit you. MYOB.

3. When people (I cannot say "Germans" here because I am not 100% sure they were ALL German) disregard the LINE at the customs desk at the airport. It's a line. Get at the end of it. Oh! You thought you could just go to the front?? Well that is not how it works really.

4. When I put together my son's exersaucer and 10 minutes later he has pooped all over it. (of course, I don't blame him I just find it annoying).

5. When my husband watches me change Evans' diaper and then asks me if I used a wipe. WTH? No honey, I put our child's dirty butt into a clean diaper! Seriously?

6. When I go to the German equivalent of Home Depot, ask someone to help me only to have them tell me that what I need to accomplish is "IMPOSSIBLE". I didn't ask you if thought it was impossible. I asked you where the carpet glue was. (just for the record, it was NOT impossible)

7. When a waiter/waitress takes my order, doesn't write it down and then gets my order wrong. This mainly happens in the States because Germans don't make mistakes. :) If you write down my order and make a mistake, I will forgive you. If you don't write it down and make a mistake I am irritated.

8. When my DVD player that is less than a year old quits working while Evans is watching Baby Einstein. It is CRITICAL that the DVD player work expressly for this purpose. Even if it only cost $29, I'm still annoyed that we have to buy another one. STAT.

9. When deciding where to go to lunch or dinner anywhere in Wiesbaden, I have to consider if there is parking or not. What does everyone in Europe have against parking lots anyways? I don't even mind paying as long as it is AVAILABLE!

10. When there is no where to park at the commissary. Evans' carseat is HEAVY and I don't like having to haul it all the way to the grocery carts. Then it doesn't even fit in it properly.

I really could go on but I'd rather not sound like such a grouch. And believe it or not, I am not really annoyed by any of these things right now! Maybe my post worked!! I hope that everyone has a great weekend. My good friend Emory and her husband Bradley will be welcoming their new addition, Anna Claire, to the world today! Keep them in your prayers! I would like to leave y'all with a picture of things that DO NOT annoy me!! Happy Friday!

Finally.......

2011-02-03T13:30:00.002-05:00

What can I say? I have been bad. A very bad bad blogger. I want to do better. I've been receiving death threats from family members about the state of my blog lately. But really, if you were out visiting places like this, would you be able to make time for YOUR blog?? Yes. I know the answer is yes because no one else could possibly be THIS neglectful. It is weird to me because things used to happen in my life and the first thing I would think is "oh, I can't WAIT to write about that on my blog". Now, the only things that happen to me are baby related and I feel like most people don't really think that sort of stuff is all that funny! But I am going to try harder. Much harder. I promise. It's just that it is sooooo cold here in Germany and my bed is sooooo warm when Evans goes down for a nap.....

ANYWAYS, turning over a new leaf! Deaner, Evans and I had a fabulous time over Christmas break spending time with our family and friends. It is always sad for me to come home but this time with Evans it was especially hard. Of course I cried like a baby (ok, well maybe most babies don't cry THAT hard) when my mom dropped us off at the airport to fly home. My dad couldn't make it to the airport with us so we dropped by his office on the way to the airport to sign our wills (to divide up our vast fortune) and say goodbye. He rode down the elevator with us down to his lobby and I could hardly look at him because I knew if I did I would start crying. This time I made it all the way to the curb at Hartsfield before having a nervous breakdown. I think everyone was sad to see us go and we have certainly missed everyone over the past month of being back in Germany.

So what have we been up to? Deaner has been pretty busy with work lately but we managed to sneak away for MLK weekend. We left Wiesbaden early on Friday and drove to Rothenberg for the night. We stayed in a sweet little hotel that was a converted stable. The town was pretty much deserted since it is winter (we have both been here before separately and in the summers it is crazy busy) and we had the whole place to ourselves. Saturday afternoon we continued south to Garmish where we stayed until Monday. We took Evans to the Zugspitz, the highest peak of the Alps in Germany, so he could experience the Alps for himself. Not bad for a 5 month old. I think he liked his form of transportation as well! Once we figured out how to put him in the backpack securely I wasn't even afraid that he would fall out! :)How can you not love that face!? And his new Patagonia snow outfit too!! I had to put him down in the snow just to see if it worked properly! Evans is not so sure of what to think!All in all it was a good trip. Evans was so good that we took him to Brussels with us last weekend for Deaner's work trip. Tomorrow I will post pictures of Evans out on the town during that trip. We really couldn't be luckier to have such a GOOD baby. Sometimes I find myself thinking that something is bound to go wrong and that he is going to "turn bad" one day when I go to get him out of his crib. For now, I am thanking God for a sweet, friendly, easy going baby! I do enjoy writing this blog so I promise that I will be better! And I'll try and keep the baby yakkity yak to a minimum. Oh yeah, maybe someone can help me? It is possible to upload pictures straight from iPhoto to Blogger? I've been having to move them to my desktop and upload from there and that is sort of annoying! Happy Thursday!

Last Day of the Year

2010-12-31T16:47:00.005-05:00

2010 has been a good year for us. I don't think that we can complain. We started the year off with the good news that we would be having a son come August. I spent the spring and early summer remodeling the nursery to make it perfect. I got to travel to Atlanta in April/May for an awesome baby shower. We anxiously awaited our new addition until the August when he finally decided to grace us with his presence. I can hardly believe that I am sitting here on the last day of 2010 with my 4 month old baby boy. It has been a great ride and I can't say that I would do anything differently. We were lucky enough to have all sets of our parents visit us in Germany (some twice!) and I got to spend almost 6 weeks at home in Atlanta after Thanksgiving. It's been a good year. I am looking forward to everything that 2011 might have in store for us. I don't know how it can get any better than this!Tonight we will ring in the new year quietly with a VERY casual dinner, football games and PERHAPS making it til midnight. My how things can change in just a year! Deaner and I met 5 years ago today so it is a special day for us as well. We head back to Germany on Monday and while that flips me out a bit, I guess it is time to get back home. I never really thought I would refer to it as home but I suppose it has grown on me over the past two years. Hopefully we will enjoy the rest of our time here and I won't act like too big a fool come Monday!! Happy New Year to everyone!!

Hi from Atlanta!

2010-12-13T20:35:00.009-05:00

Evans and I are really enjoying our time in Atlanta. Even better is that Deaner will be joining us in less than 48 hours! It has definitely been hard to be away from Daddy for so long. We are both looking forward to picking him up at the airport on Wednesday! Then Deaner and I are really looking forward to taking Evans to see Santa Claus to have his picture taken. We are leaving on Thursday to head to Danville, Virginia to visit Deaner's grandmother and introduce her to her latest great grandchild. I hope Evans cooperates. We have been having some trouble with his sleeping since we have arrived and this desire he has for a bottle at 4:30am is really starting to wear me out! I am crossing my fingers tonight!

No matter how much we have missed Deaner, Evans has been getting A LOT of attention around here. My parents have been loving every minute of having him here and the extra hands are ALWAYS appreciated!Evans had a great time helping pick out the Christmas tree. Thankfully it wasn't 12 degrees yet when we went!Aunt Mimi comes over to help at bathtime. Evans' favorite time of the day!Evans and me at my favorite pizza place, Mellow Mushroom. It was here that we told Deaner's parents last Christmas that Evans was on the way. He really seemed to like it! HA!My awesome friend Erin and her husband Steve and baby James came from Nashville to visit us on Saturday night. It was SO nice to get to see them and meet James. We got to have dinner out while Evans and James stayed home and played with Buddy (my dad).Evans really loves spending time with Buddy surfing the internet!All and all we have had a really good time at home so far. I am already not looking forward to going back to Germany. It seems so far away right now and COLD!!! Just want Deaner to get here!! Happy Monday!!

Home Again Home Again

2010-11-28T09:31:00.008-05:00

Jiggity jig!!! We made it to Atlanta safely! I was pretty nervous to be flying with Evans for the first time without Deaner but everything went smoothly. We flew home with my inlaws and Evans and I had the bulkhead seats with plenty of room. Would you believe that Evans didn't make a peep the entire flight? Seriously, the kid was perfect. He smiled, laughed and slept. All the flight attendants fawned all over him and things could not have gone more smoothly. Evans of course had all his worshippers waiting on him in Atlanta! We had a constant stream of visitors yesterday to pay a visit to the little Prince! First his great aunt and Godmother, Jennifer, Uncle Thomas and cousin baby Thomas came over.Baby Thomas wasn't exactly sure what to make of Evans. Mainly he was just upset that Evans got a binky and he didn't!Aunt Amelia could hardly wait to get her hands on him either. So far she has only been able to see him on Skype!Our good family friend's, the Edwards, stopped by for a visit.
Followed by Evans' Gleaton cousins!!Everyone seemed really happy to meet him! Today promises more visitors and more cuteness by Evans. We had a semi rough night but I suppose that is to be expected when you bring a 3 month old half way across the world. Evans was up several times last night but I am hoping he will become more adjusted today. We have skyped with Daddy already twice and I know that he is REALLY missing his baby boy. Thank goodness for Skype. Alrighty, time to hit up the grocery store and stock up on formula! We are happy to be home!! Maybe now I will have more time to blog!! Happy Sunday!

Picture Update

2010-11-20T13:49:00.019-05:00

Pictures are better than nothing, right? Deaner's parents arrived today and will be with us for Thanksgiving. I'm looking forward to a week of sightseeing, catching up and of course THANKSGIVING!! This year I have 8 for dinner and I am really looking forward to celebrating with family and friends. I love cooking for others and if it is anything like last year, it will be a blast. The only sad part is that our friends Steph and Jon will be in Oklahoma this year!! Boo!! We will definitely miss them. I might also be walking on a cloud because one week from today I will be back in the States showing off my baby! I could not be more excited. Not only will I have a fun week here, I then get to go home! Of course I will miss Deaner A LOT and I know that he will miss us but it just made sense to do things this way. I have too many friends and too much family that want a piece of Evans to only be home for 3 weeks. And let's be honest, with the past month and a half that I have had, it will be nice to have some help at home. I am STILL being treated by my doctor twice a week for my c-section "wound" (I know it sounds like I have been shot or something) and this upcoming week will be my last! I am almost completely healed and right now the treatments are just precautionary. Don't want to take any risks! I have officially been seen by my doctor more times SINCE I have had Evans than when I was pregnant with him. So much for my easy pregnancy!!

Anyways, I thought I would update my blog with some pictures of my precious baby boy. Evans is so great that I can't even say enough about him. He sleeps when he is supposed to, he eats when he is supposed to and laughs at all the point inbetween. He makes me smile. I know he is going to make my parents smile when we get home! Here is Evans getting an EKG at his second doctor's appointment! He didn't seem to mind at all! Too bad he didn't know that the shots were coming!My perfect baby.On a walk with daddy.His new monster hat.Helping with the laundry!This is what happens when Deaner dresses the baby to go on a walk. Seriously? Both these outfits are OUTRAGEOUS!What's up??Evans finds his tongue. And continues to lick everything around!The cutest baby lamb after his bath!Super happy in his carseat.And finally, Evans favorite place to take a nap. Please excuse my unshowered self!That is all for now. Time for me to get in bed and give up on this Ole Miss v. LSU game. Sometimes it is just best to give up on a season. It is better for your health. Plus, I'm finally reading The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and that is WAY more entertaining than this football game. I hope that everything is good with everyone in blog land. I always claim that I am going to be better about the blogging but the truth is that I tend to choose sleep/napping over it on most days. Maybe once I get home next week and have several days of undisturbed sleep while my mom watches Evans, I'll be better. A six week vacation home is JUST what the doctor ordered! Happy Saturday!