Monday, June 25, 2012

Rain. . . FINALLY

Yesterday was excruciatingly hot.

The humidity wrapped a blanket around your face when you walked outside.

You didn't even find much relief under the shade trees.

The Earth was super dry.  Everything, humans included, were longing for water.

Emma announced that her face was "burning" and she needed to go inside for a drink of Pepsi.

I will admit, I got a little excited at the sight of rain clouds.

They covered the hot sun and gave us all a second of relief.

We were all secretly praying for rain.

And finally, rain it did.

The rain came and stayed a while.

Our ditches and backyard overflowed with water.

I am pretty sure everything outside could be heard singing a sigh of relief.




The girls have never played in the rain.  To be honest, I have never let them.  It isn't something I was ever allowed to do as a child.  Not because my Mom said no but because I never wanted to do it.  I just always thought when it rained, you stayed inside.  Not to mention, I am not a big fan of grass sticking to my feet legs whole body.  

With their little noses pressed to the glass front door, I knew the girls wanted to go out.  I knew they wanted to "jump in muddy puddles" just like Peppa Pig.

"Do y'all want to go out and play?"  They both looked at me dumbfounded.  Before I could change my mind, they were out the door.

I think the rain was a shock at first because they started out kind of slow.  Lightly tiptoeing in the rain then deciding to gently bounce to splash just a little water.

The splashes eventually got bigger and suddenly they never wanted the rain to end.  However, Emma was nervous her white skirt was going to get wet.  She didn't realize the falling rain was soaking it already.  She held on tight to that skirt, protecting it.

I grabbed my camera to capture their first rain dance.

Sometimes when I am shooting, random songs will pop in my head.  Yesterday, Led Zeppelin's Bron-Y-Aur Stomp was the song playing in my head.

Click play and look at the pictures.  You will thank me later.




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"As we walk down the country lanes, I'll be singing a song,
Hear me calling your name.
Hear the wind within the trees, Telling Mother Nature 'bout you and me."

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Bloggy Love: 4 little men and girly twins

Have y'all met Brittany at 4 little men and girly twins?

If not, go meet her and start following her blog!

Watch the video ::I get to be the one::

Love!

Congratulations to Brittany and her precious family!

Friday, June 22, 2012

Happiness this week

- I found these fabulous bowls this past weekend.  I love them.  Definitely make me smile.



-  $2.97 on a bottle of happiness with my most favorite wine glasses ever.




- My July Southern Living came yesterday.  I love a new magazine... especially a new Southern Living.



- Happiness= Sweet Potato Onion bread from Chef & the Farmer Wine Shop.  Best bread ever.




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Happy Weekend!!

Email and prayer

Oh, the conversations we have with our 5 year old...

Hailey: "Caroline, I'm pretty sure you did that on purpose and that is NOT nice!"

Caroline: "I'm pretty sure I didn't do it on purpose!" *eye roll*

Hailey: "Well, I think you did and I think you know that you did it on purpose too."

Caroline: "You need to email Jesus.  I'm serious.  You need to email him.  Yep, because he will tell you that I didn't do it on PURPOSE!"

Hailey:  "I'm pretty sure Jesus doesn't have an email."

Caroline: "WELL, YOU NEED TO PRAY THEN!  START PRAYING!!"  *eye roll*

Thursday, June 21, 2012

The smelly mom

What.a.mess.I.am.

I didn't go to sleep until 2 am Tuesday night (really Wednesday morning).

Caroline was up until 12:15am.

She was screaming.  She said she was scared I was going to leave her.

Psh!  I have no idea where the girl thinks this stuff up.

She finally gave in to sleep when I was crying, she was crying and Ryan came in and saved us both.

I was hoping to go to bed soon after she fell asleep.

No such luck.

I thought I had thrown Ryan's uniform shirts and uniform shorts in the wash.

WRONG.

I just washed the shorts.

Therefore, I was up until 2am washing shirts and waiting to put them in the dryer.

I cried.

A lot.

I am an emotional person at times.

It was a long night and a very early morning.

We had big plans for Wednesday.  We were supposed to go to the movies at 10am.

Since Caroline wouldn't go to sleep the night before, I told her we were not going to the movie.

I felt like complete shiz not taking her but she would not listen to me and "JUST GO TO SLEEEP!".

Even thought the movie did not work out, I could not sit in this house all day.

We went to the Nature Center instead.

Man, I love that place.

I packed a nice lunch of pizza, frozen strawberries, nabs, and fruit snacks.

I went to the refrigerator to grab two juice boxes.

Psh!

We only had regular and diet Mountain Dew.

I opted for the regular.

So while my children ate lunch, they got all jacked up on Mountain Dew.

Side note: I got all jacked up on a large iced black coffee from McDonald's.  These are a lifesaver especially when you are running on 5 hours of sleep.

I am sure I looked like a very responsible parent at the park.

Whatev.

The girls quickly ate their lunch while I quickly sucked down my coffee.

I felt like I had forgotten something.

I had the weird feeling all morning.

The girls were ready to play.

I stood in the hot sun.

OH NO!

I know what I forgot.

In the hustle and bustle of getting myself and two children ready, I FORGOT DEODORANT.

Mother of all things holy!

My heart dropped.

No deodorant?

I am sure I am going to start smelling like a goat and I am SURE I will see 800 people I know.

Shit.

I slowly lifted my arm and sniffed.

It wasn't discreet.

No need in being discreet.

Shew!  I smelled like soap.

Everything was all good for the moment.

I quickly rounded the girls up and averted their attention to the indoor, air conditioned planetarium.

I couldn't make them go home.  I had already taken the movie away.

Inside the planetarium, all was well with my armpits.

We spent a total of 2 non-deodorized hours at the Nature Center and I did not see one single person I knew.

That, my friends, is a record.

As we finished up our adventure and were walking to the car, I realized no deodorant was better than other alternatives.

Things could always be worse.

Much worse.

Do you know what kind of looks I would have gotten if I had forgotten to put on a bra?

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Butterflies


So the other day on FB someone posted this.

I loved it.

I read it over and over.

20 bones getting fractured... wow!  "I really am superwoman," I was thinking to myself.

Holla!

After reading it about 10 times, smiling proudly and patting myself on the back I noticed the picture.

For real?

A baby coming out.

Really?

Ummm.

Nobody wants to see that.

It brings back memories of those 57 del units of pain and makes me want to throw up.

It also made me try to remember if my babies were face up or face down when they were born.

NOT a good memory/image when you are trying to boost a woman's confidence.

What is wrong with butterflies?  Couldn't they have just put a nice butterfly in the background?

Any advice is welcome.


Sorry I haven't blogged in a day or two.  I've lost count.

We are trying to put together a Disney trip.

What a disaster this is!!

Any advice is welcome.

All of the info is soooo overwhelming.

Any advice is welcome.

We have the dates.

Any advice is welcome.

Cinderella's Royal Table is booked already (We are going in September.  I knew it though.  I knew it.)

Any advice is welcome.

Should we do another character dining experience?

Any advice is welcome.

Should we do Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party?

Any advice is welcome.

Where have y'all stayed?

Any advice is welcome.

Did you fly or drive?

Where can I find the princesses?  Namely Ariel and Rapunzel.

Where can I find Buzz, Woody and Jessie?

HELP ME!!!

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Happy Baby Daddy Day!

Even though the Jehovah's Witness doesn't celebrate holidays, I do.

I hope you have the best Father's Day evah!

You are the best Baby Daddy in the world.

We love you to the moon and back!


Saturday, June 16, 2012

Oh, Carolina

Summers in rural Eastern North Carolina are exactly what you would expect them to be.

... Full moons on the mill pond ...


... sunsets that look like the trees are on fire ...
&
... growing tobacco ...


... burning wheat fields ...


... corn ...
... lots of corn ...
... and that's not the kind of corn you eat, folks ...


... pink feathery flowers on the mimosa trees ...


... peanuts ...
... at least I think they are peanuts anyway ...


Southern summers are

... quiet ...
... hot ...
... anything but slow...
... wonderful ...

Be jealous you city slickers.


"Like the sound of a siren song, Oh Carolina, you keep calling me home"
- Eric Church

Friday, June 15, 2012

OMG

One of my favorite songs: Don't Be Shy by Cat Stevens

PLUS

My favorite singer of all time: Eddie Vedder



As someone once said, "It doesn't get Eddie Vedder!"

*Love*

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Razors, weddings, & turtles in one day

* Caroline shaved her face today... with an electric razor.

I very calmly explained to her that she is a girl and girls don't need to shave their faces.

I also very sternly explained that razors (of all sorts) are for adult ONLY!

* Emma invited Caroline to her wedding.

She said she was going to marrying Jay (my Dad) and Poppy (Ryan's dad).

This is weird on so many levels.  Ha!

I explained to her that she could only marry ONE person.

I also explained to her that she could not marry her granddad.

She screamed.

A.lot.

* Zoey tried to kill a turtle.

I went all super hero and saved a turtle... WITH MY CAMERA AROUND MY NECK.  (all for the sake of blogging).

Anyway, Zoey barked and barked and barked and barked.

I walked outside when I noticed her pouncing.

Dogs normally don't pounce.

Found this little guy.



Poor little turtle dude.

I scooped him up and threw him over the fence.

It sounds bad.  I didn't "throw" him.  I just lightly dropped him.

I checked on him a little while later and he was gone.

Superhero, I tell you!

* Caroline ended the day by getting into the bathtub with her underwear still on her body.

** It's going to be a long summer.**

FIRE

Summer brings cucumbers, tomatoes, squash, potatoes, watermelon, blueberries, grapes, and all other sorts of yummies.

Well, this year my husband decided to plant jalapenos and habaneros.

Jalapenos... I understand.

They are delicious... when completely seeded.

Throw a glob of cream cheese in a jalapeno boat, wrap with bacon, and grill.  Oh so good!

We are going to have TONS of jalapenos.


Little Baby Jalapenos.
*So cute*


Now while I understand growing jalapenos, I DO NOT understand growing these bad boys.


Habaneros.

Clearly, you cannot even eat these peppers so what is the point in growing them?

I touched a leaf the other day and got scared.

I immediately went inside and washed my hands.

These peppers are scary.

They will make a grown man cry.

Ryan has lost his mind.  Whatever.

I will not be cooking, dicing, etc. these bad boys.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Texting with Jay.

My Dad can barely turn on a computer.

Technology is stressful for him.

The most technologically advanced he get is his UPS DIAD.

He thought it was so awesome when I set up an email for him.

Speaking of, I wonder how often he checks it?

Anyway, the day my Dad starting texting was the day we thought the world was going to end.

He can even forward messages now.

He mostly forwards the ugly jokes that he laughs about for days.

Well, yesterday we had a texting conversation.


The Big Rock tournament that is going on right now.

Our neighbor at the beach is fishing and I was giving him an update.
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Hailey:  Carolina Time hooked up at 12:19pm.

Hailey: I'll keep you updated

Dad:  Tks

Hailey: Lost (pulled hook) at 12:48

Dad: Tks
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Tks?

WTF is tks?

I thought about it for a minute.

THANKS!

Tks means thanks!

Well, I thought Dad had just made this abbreviation up (more than likely he did).

I googled it just to see if this was actually an abbreviation for thanks.

My google results came in.

Sure enough, TKS means thanks.

Who would have ever thought MY Dad would know this stuff?

I'm proud of you, Dad!

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

I drove a minivan. Vomit.

The Jeep ride is getting inspected.

So, Daddy George let me borrow a car.

Scratch that... a minivan.

A van.

A pimp van.

Y'all know I hate a minivan.

Gross.


I posed and made my 5 year old take my picture with the van.

It is old.

No automatic doors.

No DVD player.

No freaking air conditioner.

As if the van could get any worse.

NO AIR.

As soon as Caroline got in she screamed "WHAT IS THAT SMELL????"

The pimp van smells of cheeseburgers and... urine.

With all that in mind, I said a lot of ugly words driving the pimp van to story time this morning.


I parked behind the library.

Dangerous... I know.

I had to hide the van.

 Thank goodness no one saw us.

What a disaster that would have been.

We can't hide the smell but we can hide the van.

Holler!

Crisis avoided.

UNTIL, I saw this picture.


Dear God.

I was dancing back to the house and Caroline was snapping pictures.

I took one look at this one and notice my zipper was down.

Not only did I show up to story time in a minivan, I went into story time with my zipper down.

Dang, I am so cool!

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* For more giggles: As I was typing this post, Bug walked up to me.  She tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Can we go ride the minivan now?"  She loves it.

Fresh Flowers

My MIL has the biggest, prettiest hydrangea bushes in her yard.

Yesterday, I rode over there with my scissors in hand.

I snipped a few blooms.


When I got home I snapped the green leaves off of the stems.

I put 3 to 4 blooms together to make a big ball.

Arranged them in a tall mason jar.


Aren't they so pretty?

Love them!