I have reached an ultimate low.

Big had softball practice the other night.

It was excruciatingly hot!

"MOM I NEEEEEDDD AN ICE PACK FOR MY NECK!!!  IT SO GOING TO BE SOOOOOO HOT OUT THERE!!!"

Frantically I began searching for the ice packs.  Then it hit me.  Caroline busted both ice packs at softball camp and got in trouble for it.

What am I going to do?
All the other kids will have ice packs, water, Frogg Togg cooling towels, etc.

My kid is going to have nothing.

We don't have time to run to Walmart.... wait!

I got it!!

"Here Big!  Throw this in your bat bag.  It will have to work for tonight."

"But MOM!  That is your wine bag!"

"It has multiple uses, Big.  Multiple uses."

With a slap on the butt and a "Go get 'em champ!" I sent her on her way.

When she came off of the field, hot and sweating, we tucked the handles in the bag and noone ever knew.

It was our little secret.

Food Spotlight: Red Fish Grill

Located on "The Jib" in Morehead City there is a little place called Red Fish Grill.

We have eaten at a lot of places and Red Fish is on the top of our list of favorites.

The atmosphere is great.  The food is amazing.  The service is awesome.

Photo credit: Red Fish Grill Facebook Page

Photo credit: Red Fish Grill Facebook Page

The place is always packed (with good reason).  They have a great wait time app they use.  If there are no available tables, you leave your name and phone number with the hostess.  You can walk around the waterfront and the hostess will text you when your table is ready.  So nice and so convenient.

And here is a little secret: The bar is first come, first serve.  If there is a table available, grab it.  It is yours.  Just be sure to let the hostess know to take you off of the wait list.

As for the food, prepare your taste buds for the most phenomenal meal you have had in a while.

Be sure to try the seared bacon wrapped scallops with honey chipotle sauce appetizer.  Amazing!

As for entrees, be sure to ask about their specials.  The specials are always wonderful.  One night Beau got grilled mahi with honey chipotle sauce, bacon wrapped scallops, mashed potatoes & grilled asparagus.  They also will occasionally have wahoo.  If this is an option, always go for the wahoo.

The tuna tacos are amazing too.  Seared tuna, assorted cabbage (like slaw), topped with that delicious honey chipotle sauce.  Another secret, if you don't want tuna tacos you can request blackened shrimp tacos which are also super yum!

Beau has also had the shrimp gyro topped with lettuce, tomato, onions, & a super amazing tzatziki sauce.  The side of cucumber salad was also great.

The chicken skewers are similar to the gyro.  All of the pieces come seperately.  The homemade pita wedges are warm bits of heaven on a plate, They are served with cucumber salad, onions, and a bowl of tzatziki sauce that you will want to bathe in.

I have to stop.  I want to lick the screen it all looks and sounds so good.

Do yourself a favor and check out Red Fish Grill the next time you are down at the Crystal Coast.

711 Evans Street

Morehead City, NC

28557

Open Monday-Sunday

Seating begins at 4:30pm

Yeah, that time I took my kids to a bar.

Yesterday we went for a ride.

Sometimes we just like driving around.  It's weird but its our thing.

Anyway, Beau drove to the airport and we looked at the few planes that were there.

It started the discussion about my hate of flying.

"Would you fly with Daddy if he was a pilot?"

"I love him something serious, but probably not."

"Would you fly on a plane with Eric Church?"

"Yes, with medication.  Lots of medication."

The list went on and on.

Bug was on my side.  She was quick to remind everyone that she blew chunks all over the plane the last time she flew.

There was a moment of silence.

Then Big's voice quietly said from the backseat, "Yeah, last time Mommy flew she had to go to the bar and drink a beer."

What?  Why do you remember these things??

"Yeah, she sat with an old man at the bar and made us sit at another table."

Beau was silently laughing.

"Yeah, she got us Five Guys and she drank beer so she could get on the plane."

"Yeah, she took 3 kids in a bar to drink beer with an old guy."

Oh, the things she remembers.

But at least we are making memories kids.  Maybe you will thank me later in life.

When did my kids grow up?

If you follow me on Facebook, you saw these pictures yesterday.

I just can't get over how fast my children have grown.

Traveling to Tennessee

Beau was on vacation last week.

He planned a fun week in Tennessee for us.

We live in Eastern North Carolina so Eastern Tennessee is a good 7 hour car ride.

Yay. Fun times!

In the car... For 7 hours... With two fighting children.

Doesn't get much better than that yall.

Thank God for the quiet game.

On the way the girls said some of the  funniest stuff.

 

I quickly types it in my phone to make it a blog post.

     •------------•----------•-------------•

As we approached the mountains, Bug said, "Look! It's Mt. Kilimanjaro!!" Umm... We are not in Africa Buggy.

Big: "This is just too far. Next time we are flying." Amen, sister.

Big reading road signs in the mountains: "Falling rocks. Uneven lanes. These are some scary roads." We are from the flat lands y'all.

You know you child is from a farm of community when she looks out of the window and says, "Well that corn is pitiful."

Wordless Wednesday- {Guess where we are}

The nightmare known as camp.

I went to camp.

Yes.  Camp.

I went with Big the summer between her Kindergarten and 1st grade year.

So, this year I went with Bug.

The three of us.  One big happy family.

It was terrible but I put on a brave face.

It was hot.  I got chigger bites.  I had to clean toilets and public shower mats {gag}.  AND this was my dinner the first night...

Gross.  Just freaking gross.

On the first night, we did a nightly devotion as a cabin.  We were laying in our uncomfortable metal beds.  I wanted to cry.  I wanted to call Beau and tell him I was done and to come get me.

Then the little 19 year old camp counselors were all like, "What was your favorite part of today?"

They went around to each of the 12 metal beds asking mothers and daughters.

I was 3rd to go.  "Mrs. Hailey, what was your favorite part of the day?"

Without hesitation I sang, "SHOWERRRRRRRRRRRSSSSSSSSSS!!"

Giggles came from all around.

It was true.  That shower was pretty awesome.  Not as good as the shower after you give birth but it was definitely the number 2 best shower of my life.

Other mothers and daughters answered.

"My favorite part was being with Maria."

"My favorite part was being with Sadie."

"My favorite part was spending the WHOLE day with Lucy."

Blah. Blah.  Blah.

Big turned to me, "Thanks.  All the other mothers said their favorite part of the day was being with their daughters.  You said SHOWERS!"

I kindly explained to her and Bug that I enjoyed being with them but that the shower I took after climbing mountains was honestly my favorite part of the day.  I may have also thrown in that the other mothers just didn't have anything else to say so they had to say they enjoyed being with their daughters.  Suck-ups.  *eye roll*

Reason 8,420 my kids will need therapy.  Sorry girls.

As retribution for my shitty response to my favorite part of the day, I dissected dried up owl vomit.  I even found of biggest rodent skull in the whole class.

Suck on that other mothers.

Big opening her tin foil of owl vomit.

Bug with the biggest rodent skull in the class.  You are welcome little nugget.

PS- I am probably never going back to camp.  Thanks but no thanks.

Wordless Wednesday: {Siamese Squash}

NYC: Day Four

I woke up that last day silently wishing our plane would be delayed and we would have to stay just one more night.

For breakfast, we headed to Ellen's Stardust Diner.

I had heard from a friend that this was an awesome place to take kids.

HELLO?!?!  Home of the singing waitstaff??  DUH!  It's going to be awesome.

The waitstaff sings the entire time you are there.  It is so fun and awesome.  It is a 50s theme diner so that was even more cool.

The girls LOVED it and had the best chocolate chip pancakes EVER.

I had the Brooklyn Bagel.  2 scrambled eggs and bacon with melted american cheese on a toasted bagel with a side of fried potatoes.

On our walk back to the hotel, we found a little place called Caroline's.

Caroline was stoked.

We stopped at M&M's World which was neat.  They have every color M&M you can think of.

Of course, we brought home M&M souvenirs.

By the time we got back to the hotel and grabbed our bags, our car was waiting to take us to the airport.

Have I told y'all how much I LOVE a car service?  Love.it.

I had been anticipating our flight all morning.

Note to self: Next time I fly, I need heavy medication.  Very heavy medication.

I felt like I was going to vomit in this picture.  For realz.

When we made it to the airport, I had one mission on my mind... find a beer.

Of course, we were on the side of the airport with NO alcohol.  I had to go back through security with 3 kids for Five Guys and expensive beers.

It was worth it. It calmed my nerves.

I was able to get on the plane without feeling like I was going to explode or rip my face off.

I sat with Bug.  We sent Beau a selfie to let him know we were coming home.  :-)

By this time, I was silently singing in my head... "I'm coming home... coming home... tell the world I'm coming... HOME!"

It was a decent flight.  I don't know if it was the alcohol or if it was actually a good flight.

There were clouds right below us the whole time which was a huge plus for me.

You can totally lie to yourself, like I did, and tell yourself that if the plane starts going down... the clouds will catch you.

I am crazy.  I know.

We had a rough landing.  Imagine this... you are on a roller coaster that keeps dropping and a boat that is rocking back and forth.  That was our landing.

This cute little nugget...

... blew chunks all over everywhere when we landed.

The pilot even came out and personally spoke to us.  He jokingly said, "If you had had a better pilot, this would have never happened."

Amen!

We were back on NC soil.

We missed New York already but we were ready to see Beau.

Guess what I saw as soon as I got back home and ran to the grocery store?

A truck full of dead chickens.

I was definitely not in New York anymore.

Welcome home, Hailey.  Welcome home.

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UP NEXT: Things we wanted to do but did not get to

NYC: Day Three

After planning this whole trip for my girls, I had one day that I planned more for me.

Downtown is my favorite place in the whole city.

Downtown is a whole different feel.  There is the same hustle and bustle but somehow, it is slower down there.

We woke up Sunday with plans to go downtown.  Yay!!

BUT, we woke up to rain.

Yuck!  Rain in New York is NO fun.

We wanted to do breakfast at Bubby's in Tribeca on Hudson at North Moore.

This is my Mom's favorite place in the city.  Bubby's is where John Kennedy Jr. frequented for many meals.  His apartment was around the corner from Bubby's at 20 North Moore Apartment 9E.  Yes, my Mom has touched the door handle and had her picture made on the front steps.

I was so looking forward to breakfast at Bubby's.  I had been to 20 North Moore but never Bubby's.

I picked up my phone to check what time they opened.  We were jumping out of our skins to get there.

CLOSED!

What?

Yes, CLOSED for renovations.

Rain + Bubby's is closed= DEVASTATED!

This did NOT dampen my spirits.  I was in New York that is all that mattered!

We chose to take the subway downtown.  I wanted the girls to experience it all.

They enjoyed the subway UNTIL a man got super loud on the train.  He was preaching and my girls were NOT a fan.

Our first stop was the 9/11 Memorial.  Even in the rain, it brings overwhelming emotion.

The fountains are beautiful.  The names surrounding it are beautiful.

We also found the tree that stood through both buildings collapsing.

Caroline had a request for our visit downtown.

She LOVES Cupcake Wars.  She also LOVES the judge on the show, Candace Nelson.  Candace is the founder and pastry chef of Sprinkles Cupcakes, the world's first cupcake bakery.

Caroline HAD to go!

We went to the Sprinkles at Brookfield Place.  It is located in the Hudson Eats Food Court.  It was a little hard to find but after asking a hip downtown mom pushing a Bugaboo for help, she pointed us in the right direction.

We ordered cupcakes and glass bottle cokes.  I had the red velvet.  Insane.  So good.  It should be illegal for something to be so delicious.

After finishing her cupcake, Caroline shyly went up to the server and asked if Candace Nelson was there.  So sweet!  She had actually JUST left New York the day before.  We had just missed her.

Caroline was starstruck and I loved it.

We traveled as far as we could using The World Trade Center West Concourse.  It is a beautiful underground passageway which was AWESOME since it was raining.

We went as far as the concourse would take us and headed back out into the rain.  We went to Century 21 on Cortlandt Street.  I held a few Louis Vuitton bags and then made my way to the more reasonably priced items.

Next, we headed to Bleecker Street.

I mean look at the Bleecker Street subway signs.  Fancy, huh?  Coolest street in the city.

We walked down Bleecker and had lunch at John's Pizza.

It is claimed that this is the best pizza in the city.  I have to agree.  It was the best pizza I had ever eaten.  Delicious.

We headed back out in the the rain.

For dessert we decided on macarons.  I really wanted to try Magnolia Bakery but we had already eaten cupcakes earlier in the day.

We stopped in Sugar & Plumm.

I had a beautiful salted caramel macaron.  It was so light and airy and AMAZING!

We headed back in the rain.

Rain.  Rain.  More rain.

Back to the hotel we went.

After resting and changing into dry clothes, we decided to go back down to Chelsea Market.

Big & Bug are standing under this amazing Christmas light display.  Can you find them??

Nestled in the Meatpacking District of Manhattan, Chelsea Market was on my list of places to visit because it is known as one of the greatest indoor food halls of the world.

HELLO?!?!  Heaven on EARTH!

It was full of people eating lobster tails at little silver tables and fabulous artisan shops.  It also holds a two story Anthropologie!

I would love for me and Ryan to go back and taste from every vendor in the beautiful brick building.

Like the website says, "For foodies and even casual tourists, it is possible to enter the Market at one end in the morning and not exit the other until lunchtime, without ever growing bored—and certainly without ever going hungry."

DONE!  It's on my bucket list.

We sampled a few things at the market but decided on Mexican in Midtown for dinner.

We took a cab to Hell's Kitchen.  At 9th Avenue at 51st Street is a little Mexican restaurant called Arriba Arriba.

Their margaritas were amazing and come in 3 sizes... Bebe, Papa & Mama.  I suggest just splurging and getting the Mama.  You will not regret it.  27 ounces of pure happiness.

Full of margarita, chips, salsa and food, we headed back to the hotel.

We realized it was our last night in the city.

Our heart ached for more.  Just one more walk to Rockefeller Plaza.

I walked past St. Patrick's Cathedral at least twice before I saw it on our last night.

Seeing it at night was breathtaking.

The GE Building was also beautiful.

One last trip to one of my favorite places...

On our walk home, we spotted Radio City Music Hall.

We made it back to the hotel soaking wet but so happy.

One last sleep and we would have to go back to NC.

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UP NEXT: Day Four- A few last minute trips and our plane ride home