Welcome home!

A wonderful, relaxing vacation is always nice.

But coming home is even better.

My beautiful daisies welcomed us home.  Zoey Pearl was pretty stoked to see us too.

Not a hugger or a toucher.

It is nothing against you.  I am just not a hugger.

Aside from Beau and my children, hugs are awkward and weird for me.

With that said, I come from a family of huggers.  So, there are a lot of weird moments at family get togethers.

I don't like touching other people in general.  Not just hugs.

How do I react you ask?

Hives.

Little did I know that Big has my same feelings about hugging.

Yesterday, we were swimming.  Big said, "Mom, I forgot to tell you.  Sarah (her school friend) told us she was going to a different school next year."

She has been out of school for almost a month and she is just now telling me this?  Anyway...

I told her I was sorry that Sarah wouldn't be at her school next year.

She said, "Well, everyone started hugging her.  Guess what Mom?  I had to hug her too."

"Well, that was nice," I said.

"No Mom.  It was weird.  I just felt like since everyone else was hugging her, I couldn't just wave at her and say bye."

"Well, I am sure she was glad that you hugged her."

"It was weird.  Just weird.  I don't understand why you have to touch other people when they are sad.  Weird."

I know Big, I know.

Weird.

Taking Stock {7-9-14}

Making: 

Coffee.  It's 9:46am and we are just waking up.  Oh, the vacation life.

Cooking:

Breakfast/brunch soon.  Yesterday was a full course breakfast so today I am hoping to just be cooking cheese toast.

Drinking:

Coffee.

Reading:

Wanting:

My children to not fight, yell, scream, cry and hit today.  Psh!  Never going to happen.  They have been fighting since before they got out of bed.

Looking:

For the perfect dinner spot tonight.

Playing:
Van Morrison.

Wasting:

The days away with my beautiful family at our most favorite place.

Wishing:

Vacation could last forever.

Enjoying:

My morning spent in front of the computer with my family beside me.

Waiting:

For Beau, Big & Bug to finish there cheese toast so I can clean up.

Liking:

Hummus.

Wondering:

If it is going to be 800% humidity today making it feel like 800 degrees outside.

Loving:

Summer.

Hoping:

For a nice evening on the beach watching Frozen.

Marveling:

That I am so lucky to have a beautiful, healthy family.

Needing:

A piece of chocolate.

Smelling:

Salt air in our hair.

Wearing:

Most days we are in our bathing suits from sun up to sun down.

Following:

No one famous.  I feel like I need to add more famous people to my Instagram.

Noticing:

The older I get, the more I appreciate the small things.  I like to call them God's fingerprints... little reminders on how precious this life is.

Knowing:

I need to go to the grocery store for bread.  Who am I kidding?  I am totally sending Beau.

Thinking:

About having to go downstairs to make up the beds.  It drives me nuts to know that they are not made.

Pinning:

Lots of beach things right now.

Giggling:

As we watch the girl ride their scooters in the driveway everyday.  They are awesome on a scooter and both go about 75 mph.  Every once in a while you'll hear a crash and then a little voice say, "I'M OK!"

Feeling:

Loved.

My newest treasure.

As I walked along the beach yesterday, I was losing hope of finding the perfect shells.

Most of the time after a storm, you can find beautiful shells.

Today was ridiculous.  Little piles of broken shells.  I did not find one auger.  I did not find one olive.  That is unheard of in ENC.  Those should be our state shell.  Why they are not, I will never understand.

I went to the water to "look for shells" one last time.  I sat down in the water determined to find SOMETHING.  I scanned.  I searched.  I pushed broken shells around.  I slid over about a foot.  As soon as I sat, I spotted it.  I jumped up.

There it was.  All by its lonesome.  Sitting on a pile of sand in a pool of water that was gathering as the tide was crashing in.

I carefully picked it up, cradled it in my hand and ran as fast as I could back to my chair.   Looking back on the event, I felt like Charlie from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  I found the golden ticket.  I found a baby sand dollar.

What an amazing feeling.

Cheers from the coast.

Our July 4th weekend was great!

We were worried because our vacation weekend started off with a hurricane.

We decided to ride Hurricane Arthur out at home.

It was yucky.  Lots of wind and rain.  From what we heard, it is a good thing we stayed at home.  Our beach took a pretty direct hit.  Arthur made landfall just a few miles from us.  They said it got rough down here.

We headed down to the beach on the 4th when Arthur made his way north.

We sat on the beach.  Rode the jetski.  Went tubing.  Went to a little island and found beautiful shells.  I have a collection of mini conch shells that I love to find.  Beau found his first one yesterday.  We were so excited.

That is our whole collection of special shells.

Today we plan on searching for more shells, swimming, and just being together.

Cheers from the coast!
Xoxo,
Hailey

The phonebook.

We came home from the pool yesterday and saw a plastic bag at the end of our drive.

I knew it was a new phonebook but the girls were curious.

I didn't tell them what it was and they made 90 to go get it.

They ripped the bag open and pulled out the new phonebook.

"Cool!  A phonebook... and a magnet!!"  Big said.

She started flipping through it.

For nearly 30 minutes, that child played with a phonebook.  Looking up names and businesses.

"Is this thing in alphabetical order by last name?"

"Look Mom!  There are coupons in here too!  LOOK!!  4 coupons for Empire Fire!!  Mom, we have to go.  Hold on.  Let me look up the phone number."

Something once an everyday staple in a home has become practically non-existent.  Let's be honest, google.com can tell you anything.  Even when my girls have and question that I can't answer, their response it, "Well, google.com it Mom."

Along with the art of ironing, sewing, and cursive writing... the phonebook is a thing of the past.

It's sad but very awesome that my children find it so interesting.

I will totally pull the phonebook out again on one of those "we are sooooo bored" days.

Smart one.

I love candles, tart warmers, anything that smells yummy.

About a year ago, I had a tart warmer on.  The house smelled delicious.

We were leaving to go out to dinner, I walked out the door and remember I left it on.  I casually yelled in to Beau, "Get that candle!"

I went to the car and waited... and waited... and waited.

I came back inside to see what was taking him so long.

Beau tried to blow out the tart warmer like a candle.  Wax covered the bookcase, hardwoods and wall.

Great.  Awesome.

Smart one, that man.

Lesson learned... DON'T blow a tart warmer.

Last night I had this little jewel on in the hall bathroom.

Battery operated, vanilla scented, fake candle.  Looks like a real candle.  Smells like a real candle.  Flickers like a real candle.  NOT a real fire-burning candle.

Beau walked by the bathroom and saw it.  I was sitting at the computer.  Unsure of what he was doing, I kept hearing this noise over and over and over again.  Finally I heard, "Damn.  What the hell IS this thing?"

Beau was trying to blow out the fake candle.

Smart one, that man.

Note to self: Find candles to blow Beau's mind.  His reactions are great!  So fun!

Be serious... 34 weeks preggo and running? No thank you.

Excuse me?  Did you see the story in the news about Alysia Montano this past Friday morning?

6 weeks from her due date and the girl ran 800 meters.  Not only did she run 800 meters, she wasn't terribly far from her personal best time.

WTH?

"Thirty-four weeks pregnant, or nearly eight months, Montano ran the 800 meters Thursday in the U.S. track and field championships. The five-time national champion finished in 2 minutes, 32.13 seconds -- nearly 35 seconds slower than her personal best of 1:57.34 in 2010 in Monaco." ESPN

First off, I could barely move when I was pregnant.  I drank Wild Cherry Pepsi & Jungle Juice and ate Nabs, king size Kit-Kats & Snickers.  I barely moved, much less ran anywhere... for any reason.  I could barely put my bra on without running out of breath.

Secondly, I don't know that I could run half a mile and I'm NOT pregnant.  I know there is no way that I would even be close to doing it in 2 minutes 32.13 seconds.

More power to you girl!

Wise words to those pregnant girls out there though... It is totally ok to sit around and eat.  You are only pregnant for 40 weeks.  Gain weight, eat king sized chocolates.  Don't stress.  Let's be serious... we all know if you just breastfeed that weight will drop in no time.  Promise.

New date night restaurant.

Saturday night was date night.

We had a handful of new restaurants to try at the beach.

We decided to try Blackbeard's Grill and Grog in Beaufort, NC.  It is at 1644 Live Oak Street.  They are open for both lunch and dinner.

Where do I start?  Wow!  What an amazing place.

It was quiet when we walked in.  It wasn't overrun with tourists and weekenders which always feels like a breath of fresh air to us.

We are very critical of restaurants.  Not just the food on the menu, the food we put in our mouth, beer/wine selection... we are critical of the way a restaurant looks as well.

This little gem of a restaurant reminded us of the inside of a ship.  Wood everywhere with neat bamboo sticks lining part of the walls.  Holding around 16 dining and pub tables in the dining and bar area, it was a nice size restaurant.

Nestled in the rear of the restaurant was a great size oyster bar.  We actually missed it until we went to the restroom.  We both took a peek inside through the glass doors separating it from the regular dining area.

The bar area was amazing.  Very rustic looking.  There was even a fish decal (or maybe it was painted) that was in the middle of the bar top.  Very neat.  The beer selection was phenomenal.  There were 29 beers on tap.  A good beer list is always a plus in Beau's book.

They have a nice outdoor patio/bar area that was very fun and inviting.  We walked out there to check it out and loved it.  If it hadn't been wet from raining earlier, we would have loved sitting out there for dinner.

Now for the food... my favorite place of the restaurant experience.

We started with the Haystack Onions.They were thinly sliced fried onions served with creamy tigar sauce.  I don't know exactly what tigar sauce is but it was wonderful.  It tasted a bit like sour cream ranch and tartar sauce.  It was a great starter.  I also would like to try the Crock O'Crab Dip and the Fire Coral Shrimp.  All of the starters sounded delicious.

Beau decided on the Sweet 'n' Spicy Scallops.  They definitely did not disappoint.  Bacon wrapped grilled sea scallops with a sweet and spicy plum glaze on a bed of lettuce, served with Asian slaw and fresh steamed vegetable.  The scallops were cooked perfectly.  The sweet and spicy plum glaze was just enough spicy for a little kick.  The Asian slaw was a purple cabbage slaw with a great sesame, teriyaki flavor.  It was wonderful.  The fresh steamed veggie was broccoli which is one of Beau's favorites.

I decided on the The Pirate Burger.  Their fish of the day was mahi.  You can never go wrong with a fresh piece of fish.  The sandwich was actually their fish of the day fried.  I am not a fan of fried fish.  I feel like it looses all flavor when it is fried.  I requested that my mahi be grilled.  They were more than happy to do that for me.  The Pirate Burger was served with lettuce & tomato with a side of fries or kettle chips.  I went with the kettle chips.  It was also served with a very yummy homemade tartar sauce.  It was the perfect combination of mayo, pickle and lemon (there may have been a hint of vinegar as well).  Delicious.  I kept stealing scoops of Beau's Asian slaw for my sandwich.  It added a different texture and flavor that was wonderful.  My recommendation is, if you order The Pirate Burger also order a side of Asian slaw to throw on top of it.  You will thank me later.  I promise.

After being open as Blackbeard's Grill & Grog for about two years (we were told), we are so glad we found this awesome place.  It is not on the water which is a small drawback for some however, the food more than makes up for it.  It is definitely worth the short few minute drive away from the hustle and bustle of the downtown scene.  This place will not disappoint!  We will definitely be back!!

We both highly recommend Blackbeard's Grill & Grog.  We give it 4 thumbs up!

**If you give this place a try, please share your experience with us.  We love to hear about other peoples food experiences in the places that we love.**

{6-26-14} The day my first child had her first sleepover.

Big spent the night with a friend for the first time last night.

I was so against it. I secretly grabbed my phone and texted Ryan a heads up before he got home.

"Caroline wants to spend the night with Emily.  I don't want her too."

I knew she would be taken care of. It was just a milestone I was not ready to cross yet.

After the heads up, I totally expected Beau to walk in and have my back. He so didn't.

Caroline ran up to him as soon as he walked in the door. “Daddy, I NEED to spend the night with Emily. Please, Daddy?”

Without hesitation... without even missing a beat... Beau was like “Sure, Big!! Have fun!!”

Say what? Oh no he didn't.

So, I did what any normal parent would do. I cried.

I might have said an ugly word under my breath to him when the children were out of the room. To say I was heartbroken, would be an understatement. Not only was I just played by my Baby Daddy, I was going to have to let me first born go spend the night away from home. Away from me. Now, don't get me wrong. We are totally fine with both of our girls staying with my parents or Beau's parents. I can't explain why it is different. It just is.

I packed Big's backpack. I shoved a blanket in her pillowcase and sent her pillow.

As soon as I closed the car door and watched her drive out of the driveway, I was ready for her to come home again. I could have lost it and thrown myself in front of the car. I could have shouted, “Ok! Sleepover done! That was fun! Talk to you cats later.”

But, I couldn't. I had to let her go.

Emma had a hard time with her leaving too. She cried and shouted that she didn't understand why Big got to have a sleepover. Beau calmed her down and promised a sleepover in our bed.

He silently acted annoyed with me for making this such a big deal. I openly acted annoyed with him for going against my wishes without discussing it with me first.

I went and got in bed to cuddle with Emma and read my book. I laid on Beau's side of the bed. It just makes me feel better. His side of the bed is more comfy and inviting. It's just better.

Beau came in to get in bed with us. He cuddled with Bug too. He didn't even make me move to my side. He let me sleep on his side of the bed the whole night.  I took that as an apology.

I talked to Big around 10:30pm. They were having a great time and watching Full House.

I picked her up soon after she woke up the next morning. It was actually lunchtime or morning.

She said she had a fabulous time. “And guess what Mom? We stayed up till 3:45am!”

Yay! She was such a pleasant child for the remainder of the day.

So, word to the wise... when your child has her first sleepover, you will have a meltdown and your baby daddy will totally work against you.  However, you will score the good side of the bed and your child will have a fabulous time.  Everything will work out in the end.

A reminder...

Reading.

I made it through my 28 books last year.  28 books for 28 years of life.

This year, I shall attempt 29.  Shew.  28 was difficult.  I thought it would be super easy but was mistaken.

So far in 2014 I have read:
- Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
- The Longest Ride
- The Fault in Our Stars
- The Giver
- Gathering Blue
- Messenger
- Gone Girl

Currently Reading:
- The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (listening to my first audiobook)
- The Widow's Guide to Sex and Dating by Carole Radziwill (I met her a few months back and she actually signed my copy of the book.)

Want to Read list:

- 11/22/63 by Stephen King

- What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

- The Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeannette Walls

- The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty

- The Goldfinch: A Novel (Pulitzer Prize for Fiction) by Donna Tartt

- Uganda Be Kidding Me by Chelsea Handler

- Sparkly Green Earrings: Catching the Light at Every Turn by Melanie Shankle

- The Antelope in the Living Room: The Real Story of Two People Sharing One Life by Melanie Shankle

- Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz

- Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence

- Four Friends by Robyn Carr

- Three Sisters (Blackberry Island) by Susan Mallery

- Chasing God by Angie Smith

- The Nesting Place by Myquillyn Smith

What's on your reading list?

My off day.

Luckily, date nights are not rare at our house.

We are so thankful that date nights happen more weekends than not.  We pretty much crave that alone time together.

We have no rules for date night.  We simply are just together to laugh, talk, watch movies, or sometimes sit quietly with no words at all.

Date nights are special.

What is even more special are those random days that I get a few hours to myself.

Those days are more rare.

Tuesday I had my routine dermatology appointment.  My mom was off work and kept the girls for me.  She told me not to rush and even had me run an errand for her at Target.

After my appointment, I made a quick stop at Starbucks.  I ran in and grabbed a Turkey & Havarti Sandwich.  It was a delicious sandwich with carved oven-roasted turkey with scallion mayo, dill Havarti cheese and lettuce on a harvest wheat bread.  Yes, it was amazing.  Yes, I could have eaten two.  Note to self: find dill Havarti cheese.

I shoved it into my bag with my drink and headed to Target.  I ate and shopped.  I walked around Target for almost an hour.  I was looking for nothing and everything.  It was wonderful.

I finally found Birthday Cake M&M's.  They are delicious.  They are little bits of chocolate deliciousness with a taste of birthday cake.  I did put this big bag back and got the small bag.

I also got a bottle of bubbly wine.  It's the new summer red.  Yum!

Today made me wonder about other moms out there.  How do you spend your rare alone time?  Do you relish in something simple like eating lunch alone during a trip to Target or do you do something special?

Summer To-Do List

Let's be honest... summertime brings out the bad in me.

Most nights my kids are up until way past their bed time.

Most mornings I am up way too early, silently willing them to sleep long enough for me to get a cup of coffee in my body.

I pray that I can expand my knowledge of current events with a little George Stephanopoulos and Robin Roberts before the beasts awaken.

I keep us on the go because, honestly, I can't handle sitting in a house with two fighting children all day.  I also came to the realization a few years ago that the more we do, the more stimulated their brains are, the earlier they go to bed.  Well... sometimes.

Each year we make a summer to-do list.  This is what we decided on this year...

Here's to a jam-packed summer.  Cheers!

Middle finger, pinkie finger... it's all the same.

The finger.
The middle finger.
The bird.
The one finger salute.
The rude finger.
Flip off.
Throw the unicorn.

Clearly it is an obscence hand gesture.

Having an upcoming 3rd grader, this is the new thing in my house.

"MOM!  Big gave me the middle finger."

What?

Then came the scolding.  Then came the questions.

"Why is it bad?" Big wanted to know.

"Well, because it just is.  It is just ugly and we can't do that," I tried to explain.

"But why, Mom?  What does it mean?"

Hummm.  How to explain this.

"Well, it just means an ugly word."

"Which one, Mom?"

Dear sweet baby Jesus, can this conversation please end?

"Ummm, it just means... umm... like you made me mad and I want you to go away now."

"Well, that is NOT an ugly word Mom," Big said as she rolled her eyes.

The conversation ended.  Praise Jesus.

A few weeks passed with little to no middle finger flying.

Then it happened.

There was a battle before tennis one morning.  Big didn't want to wake up and get dressed.  I was being annoying.  Opening her blinds, singing, shaking her awake.  She was mad.  She was mad as fire.

She shot up in the bed with the look of rage upon her otherwise sweet face.  She gritted her teeth and threw up her pinkie finger.

"What was that?  Why did you do that?"

"Well because I can't show you my middle finger."

Why?  Why does this stuff always happen to me?

This child's mind is constantly at work.

I was at a loss of words.  So I did what any normal parent would do.  I laughed.

So, if you see us in public and Caroline is flashing her pinkie finger at everyone...  I am sorry in advance.