274. Go Erin Go!

Erin crushing it during the half marathon portion of the Augusta 70.3 half- ironman 

competition!!!

She did awesome!  Her results...
32:19 swim
5:26 swim to bike transition
2:52:38 bike
3:18 bike to run transition
2:10:15 run
OVERALL: 5:43:56

Showing my triathlon support!

273.

Lots of activity in town this weekend as Augusta hosts a half (70.3) ironman competition.  If you don't know what goes into a half ironman, let me tell you... it is a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and 13.1 (half marathon) run.  My hardcore friend Erin is racing in the Augusta 70.3 tomorrow!  It's her first ironman event and I'm so excited for her.

This morning MM, Baby J, and I went downtown to visit the weekly farmer's market and see all the ironman event set-up.  We also stopped by the expo.  Here are the boys at the fountain outside the Marriott (location of expo).

Erin and I became friends while living in Italy at the same time.  Another fellow Italy friend (of MM's- they deployed to Afghanistan together in the same company) happened to be traveling through Augusta this weekend too.  Justin Booker and his wife are PCSing to Fort Bragg, and stopped by for a visit.  It was so odd having 2 separate people sitting in our living room who we haven't seen outside of Europe.  That's one of the perks of military life, having friends all over the world and getting to bump back into each other in unexpected places years later. 

272. J's Dresser: before/after

Operation 'turn nursery into big boy bedroom for 2nd birthday' included a complete refinishing of Baby J's dresser.  It is a hand-me-down family dresser; which is built well and does it's job, but frankly is pretty ugly.  It screams 1980's home decor!  Since before Baby J was born I have wanted to change it up.  Redoing his bedroom gave me the motivation I've needed.  Having a super talented and wonderfully helpful friend didn't hurt either [Big Jasmin Shout-out!]. 

original paint color I bought... turned out too bright/royal blue.

2nd paint color selection- MUCH better! 

This project (like most DIY projects) sounded simple and easy and quick.  It turned out taking much longer than expected and we hit some roadblocks in the color department that required a complete paint swap, but after some extra sweat (by Jasmin, she did all the hard work) and stress I am loving the end result!

Drumroll Please...

BEFORE

AFTER

271.

1st night in Big Boy Bed excitement!!!

Although we transitioned his crib into a toddler bed months ago, tonight was the first night for him to sleep in a twin sized bed.  The crib is now set up in the corner of our master bedroom, awaiting the arrival of little sister (aka Baby Jellybean).  His dresser is in the process of being remodeled and his room is getting rearranged.  Operation 'turn nursery into big boy bedroom for 2nd birthday' is well under way!

270.

Our adorable Wrigley Bear.
Over his 4 years, he has calmed down a lot.  Choosing to spend much of his time snoring, paws up in the air, on the back of the chase lounge.
But don't let his adorable face fool you... he will steal underwear, tear up anything cardboard, and have a mental meltdown if you leave the house.

269.

I heard Baby J awake over the monitor, but instead of talking I heard muffled movements.  I waited a bit to go upstairs, wondering if he was changing positions in bed and not quite ready to get up from his nap.  When he didn't stop moving I went up to investigate and found that every stuffed animal and every blanket he owns was piled up in his crib.  He was proud of his work.   

268.

 

Happy Birthday to You
Happy Birthday to You
Happy Birthday my sweet, hardworking, loving, wonderful husband
Happy Birthday to You

A hearty breakfast of biscuits & gravy and late arrival to work is the best way to kick off a birthday.

An office full of balloons and a potluck lunch comprised of Italian food is the best way to work.

Taking the afternoon off to do something you love (golfing) is the best way to celebrate yourself.

Having community group interrupted for sherry cake, a birthday staple for the last 5 years, is the best way to bible study.  

267.

Mums are blooming, pumpkins are everywhere, football season is in full swing... yesterday was the official first day of Autumn.  Although Georgia didn't get the memo, the heat and humidity hung around all day yesterday making it a hot and sticky first day of fall.  This morning though, the winds have changed and while the high is still 82 degrees the humidity has dropped substantially and it feels quite lovely outside.
I love fall.  Pulling my sweaters and scarves out of storage.  Sleeping with the windows open.  Falling leaves and pumpkin patches.  The holiday season begins, making me feel festive and getting me in the mood to bake!  And hot coffee tastes even better on chilly mornings.
One more Autumn perk: I get to celebrate the birthdays of my 2 favorite boys in this whole wide world! 

266. birthday date night

Date night to celebrate MM's 31st Birthday!

MM decided on Bees Knees, a tapas restaurant downtown which we have talked about trying since we moved here.  It always gets excellent reviews and both of us are tapas fans, so we were sure this place wouldn't disappoint.  And it did not!  We loved everything we tried.  The food was unique and well flavored, fresh and delicious!  The atmosphere was cozy and our service was good, can't ask for much else.  

A run down of what we ordered... just looking at these photos is making my mouth-water.

Avocado Chop Chop

Smoked Gouda Nachos

Pan Seared Scallops

Goat Cheese Bruschetta

Crab and Artichoke Dip

After dinner we considered going to a sports bar and watching the OU game, but decided we would prefer kicking our feet up on our own couch to watch it.  Our gracious babysitters (The Halls) ended up staying the evening with us, watching the game(s) and visiting.  We had a great time! 
Cheers to many more happy birthdays sweet husband of mine!

265. baf-tuh

How does this thing work?

Who cares how it works; it's fun!

 No, I'm not drinking the bath water. 

264.

Noy before school.  

"Noy" is Baby J's word for milk.  We have no clue where he came up with this word or why he insists on using it.  Maybe one day we will solve the mystery. 

263.

A fellow SAHM friend is leaving Augusta for 2 full months.  This week we made sure to get in plenty of time together: shopping, crafting, and a coffee date.
I helped her design and make a banner for her daughter's birthday party.  Digging my cricut out of the closet sparked a crafty mood in myself, so I decided to spend J's naptime making Christmas gift tags.  Now I have the itch to work on more projects.  Perhaps Baby J will get a birthday banner himself?  Or maybe this brief moment of feeling like I really have time to craft while maintaining our home, cooking the meals, running the family errands, participating in various groups, raising my toddler, and carrying my unborn daughter will pass and I will take a nap instead. 

262.

A rainy day 

provides J with the perfect excuse

to play in his galoshes.  

261.

Sam was able to experience a "regular" day with J and I; including some park fun. 
This evening we had to take her to airport and say our goodbyes.  It has been a great visit. 

I cherish her friendship, we have seen each other through thick and thin for nearly 2 decades.  These times together are much fewer and much farther between than I wish, but when we get together we pick up right where we left off.  I love that girl.

260.

I was happy Sam enjoyed her visit to Quest, it's become such an important place to us and we love bringing friends and family along when they are in town.  After church we made a big, fresh, autumn salad for lunch; it was exactly what I had been craving.

During our riverwalk stroll downtown we decided to check out the Arts in the Heart festival.  There were food stands from "around the world" wafting delicious, exotic smells into the air.  There were art and crafts tents [the fish stamping tent being the coolest] stretching for blocks.  And there was live music- the one band we caught was Von Grey, four sisters playing a a variety of instruments and producing lovely 4-part harmonies.  They meld folk, bluegrass, and country influences into their music, which these four sisters write themselves.  They impressed us.

A red skin potato pizza and comedy movie from redbox was the perfect way to spend Sam's last night in town with us after such an eventful visit. 

259. Asheville, NC

Hotel breakfast buffet.
Shopping.
Downtown Asheville exploration.
Treats at Chocolate Fetish.
Crepes.
J Crew clearance store.
Drive home.
A MM cooked seafood dinner.

258. Biltmore

George Vanderbilt created Biltmore as an escape from everyday life in NYC.  It's doors opened with a party for family and friends on Christmas Eve, 1895, after 5+ years of construction.  In the 1930's his family opened it up to the public.  The 8,000-acre estate sits in the mountains of Asheville, North Carolina. 
It is the largest privately owned home in the United States, at 175,000 square feet (4 acres of floor space) and features 250 rooms; comprised of 34 bedrooms and 43 bathrooms.  The mansion has 65 fireplaces and the basement alone houses a swimming pool, gymnasium and changing rooms, bowling alley, servants' quarters, multiple kitchens.  The Vanderbilt mansion was beyond it's time featuring technologies (indoor plumbing and electricity - even under water electricity to illuminate the pool) unheard of to most!
The grounds of the 125,000-acre estate were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the creator of New York's Central Park and the father of American landscape architecture.  There are nine formal gardens and a conservatory on the property.  

After spending our day exploring and marveling over the Biltmore Estate,  we headed towards downtown Asheville to check into our hotel and freshen up for dinner.  The plan was to eat at Tupelo Honey Cafe, which I have heard multiple rave reviews about, but I guess everyone else has heard the same reviews as there was an hour and half wait to dine after 8pm.  We opted for Chai Pani, a small Indian cafe a block away.  Everything we ordered was delicious!  Asheville's nightlife surprised both Sam and I with it's liveliness.  In a sunken park in the middle of downtown there was a drum circle consisting of 50 or more drummers and hundreds of spectators/dancers.  They played for hours while the rhythmic music filled the air as we window shopped and explored the area.    

257.

watching "baby" videos

Samantha flew in today!
Baby J took an instant liking to her, more quickly than I have ever seen him take a liking to someone.  First crush, perhaps?

The afternoon was dedicated to catching up and toddler play. 
This evening Sam and I searched the racks of the Trinity consignment sale.  We found lots of cute girl clothes, and then spent an equal amount of time narrowing down our favorites.  I didn't do as well at Trinity, as I did at Wee-Peats, but I did come away with half a dozen really adorable (9m-12m) outfits for JellyBean and Baby J acquired an adorable pair of red overalls.   MM and I also hosted a community group social at our house this evening; giving me the chance to introduce Sam to my friends.

It's awesome having her here, makes me wish she lived close and days like today were a weekly occurrence verses a yearly one. 

256.

After a hearty breakfast of greek yogurt, which Mr. Independent here fed himself, there were errands to be ran and guest preparations (Samantha flies in tomorrow!) to be made. 

The highlight of the day was being able to get a little face-time with Baby Jellybean.  She's growing well and looking healthy.   

255.

On Tuesday mornings I attend a women's bible study group at church.  We just finished a Kay Arthur (Lord, teach me to pray) study and at the end of each study we do a luncheon at a member's home.  Today's host has a Gorgeous backyard, something out of a magazine, something I dream of having when I grow up.

J was particularly drawn to the fish pond, excitedly yelling, "La La!!", which is how it sounds when he tries to say water.  Or granola.








The anniversary of today was not lost upon me.  I spent time thinking about and praying for everyone affected by the tragic events in NYC 11 years ago.  The victims, their family and friends, the responders, all the military (and their families) who have felt the aftermath of the attack, facing deployment after deployment, defending and protecting this great nation.  A nation that is very easy to take for granted.  I am blessed to be an American, I am proud to be an American, and I am grateful to be an American.  We will never forget.     

254.

Mr. Dog Walker

Baby J is 100% back to his normal self today, which unfortunately means his nap-fighting habits are back as well.  Besides refusing to sleep, it was a good day.  J played with Mr. Michael (a friend of ours from church) this afternoon so that Momma could work a volunteer shift at another local church.  Trinity On The Hill is hosting a huge kids consignment sale this weekend to raise money for missions.  I spent 4 hours sorting clothes between gender and arranging them according to size.  It wasn't hard manual labor, but my arms and legs and back still became quite tired.  Ohhh pregnancy perks.  Happy to have helped, and happy to have earned a spot at the coveted pre-sale event Thursday.

Unrelated...
A friend and blogger posted a link to this article featuring a tweeter called @HonestToddler.  Is that what you call someone on Twitter?  I'm unsure, as I am VERY rarely on there and not Twitter savy.  Anyway I am linking the article as well because it made me chuckle out loud.  For everyone who is or has ever been a parent you should read!  :)
@HonestToddler's 50 greatest Tweets     

253.

Baby J and I were confined to the house all day as he recovered from his stomach bug.  Thankfully, the vomiting stopped last night and hasn't returned.  His fever persisted during the morning hours, but by lunch (and since) he has been fever free.  A couple good naps, a bath, and fresh air on an evening walk brought our full-of-spunk baby back. 

Here he is about to go to bed, wearing his new lion pajamas. 
He roars repeatedly while wearing them.     

252.

The 3 of us had an early morning of searching for treasures at an estate sale and a few neighborhood-wide garage sales.  Little Sister is in need of a dresser and we were hoping to find the perfect one at the perfect price, but we didn't.  Instead we came home with a winter coat for J, a golf course coffee table book for MM, and a very unanticipated Schwinn double passenger bike trailer.  We scored it for $10, then found the same one listed on amazon for $294.00!

One very happy, frugal heart here!

Then we came home to realize there is nowhere to store our new treasure, which prompted a complete clean out and re-organization of the garage.  More happiness!

The boys busy scrubbing

The morning was wonderfully productive, but the afternoon has been sad and sickly.  Just as we prepared to put J down for his nap he started vomiting.  And it's yet to stop.  He was active and happy all morning; we were really taken by surprise.  The afternoon/evening has been full of cuddles and laundry.  The poor boy is unable to keep anything, including water, down at this point.  Praying for quick healing. 

 

251.

Down home cookin.  Gram's pork chop recipe, with celery gravy and mashed potatoes.

Baby J's favorite meal of the moment.  

"Chop Chop!"

250. cheese please

Everyone has a refrigerator drawer dedicated solely to cheese, right?!

 It may have been brought to my attention (by my husband) that our family's enjoyment of cheese has taken a dangerous turn to pure cheese obsession.  The conversation began while he made a sandwich to take to work for lunch.  He was surprised amazed by the wonderful selection his wife had provided him.  The various sandwich possibilities were great! 

In case I wasn't aware of the cheese(s) had I purchased, he carefully laid out all the cheese in our refrigerator listing them aloud as he went...

cream cheese

american cheese slices

munster cheese slices

gouda cheese slices

sharp cheddar block cheese

mozzerella string cheese- an opened and unopened package

parmesan cheese

cheddar shredded cheese

and

mexican blend shredded cheese

Through hysterical laughter and tears (brought on by the hysterical laughter) I listened...

And then informed him that there is more cheese stored in the freezer.  

249.

 

Rather then rushing on post to commissary shop and rushing back home like usual, this morning we left plenty early to have some fun before buying our weekly groceries.  Baby J and I surprised Daddy at work.  After our visit we went to the park.  Fort Gordon has a really nice playground area.  In the spring they improved the park by adding sun shades over all the play equipment and benches.  Today, I discovered that they had once again improved the park area by fencing the whole thing in.  

This is fabulous news for a pregnant mom of a very quick toddler! 

248.

Call me organized, slightly OCD, or a pregnant woman nesting- either way everything in this house is finding a place or it's no longer allowed to stay!

This is the closet in Baby J's room and I wish I would have thought to take a "before" photo.  It was a mess... the door wouldn't open very far due to everything on the floor, the shelf was haphazardly piled way too high (if I needed something I feared an avalanche) and there was no rhyme or reason to the hanging clothes. 

Awwwww, but now this closet is a breath of fresh air.  I wonder if the amount of joy I feel after organizing is normal? 

247.

The Wee-peats consignment sale is in town.  It's one of the huge bi-annual sales that travels around the state.  Sheila and I showed up as the doors opened to a massive crowd of people waiting to shop.  The AC in the warehouse is broken; we hunted through thousands of items dripping with sweat.  We waited in line for an hour and half to check out.  But, all the hard work was worth it... I scored 20+ name brand outfits (some for Baby J and some of baby girl jellybean), 2 awesome halloween costumes for J (a monkey and a pottery barn kids cow), and I also purchased him a potty chair for when we decide to tackle that adventure.  He thought it was really fun to sit on the potty and say, "poop".  Hopefully his big boy potty actions will happen as easy.

After lunch Uncle Matt, Aunt Sheila and the doggie crew (Addy, Lucky, Chance) headed down the highway back to NC.  It has been a really great weekend with them!  

246.

• Church

• Lunch at Moe's

• Baby J was suppose to nap, instead played in his room for 2 hours, but at least all 4 adults were able to grab a little snooze on the couches. 

• Pool 

• Delicious dinner by Chef MM!  Garlic-Rosemary steaks, Cajun onion potatoes, grilled squash and zucchini.  

• Movie

• Brownie & Ice cream dessert

245.

Sheila and I cooked up a hearty breakfast of biscuits with gravy and spicy scrambled eggs.  Well nourished and ready for the day, we visited the farmers market downtown, from there we drove over to the headgates to show them the Savannah River Rapids Pavilion/Trail.  It was really hot today, nearly 100 degrees and high humidity.
Back at the house, Sheila and I relaxed while Baby J napped; the brothers went out to lunch.
For dinner we dined at Mellow Mushroom- love that pizza place!  Matt had been, but Sheila had not.  We ordered the Thai Dye pizza: olive oil and garlic base, all natural grilled curry chicken, mozzarella cheese, roma tomatoes, and onions.  Topped with fresh basil, cucumbers, and a sweet swirl of Thia chili sauce.  Another amazingly delicious pizza creation, have yet to try one that I haven't loved!  After dinner out we took Baby J to "PWAY!!" at a nearby park.  Swinging, sliding, squealing, and running through the splash pad water sprays. 

Baby J hanging with Uncle Matt & Aunt Sheila