Well, today I typed the words “The End” on my current deadline (not officially due until May 1st, tentatively titled Paige Rewritten). I have a love/hate relationship with those two words. If you’re ever reading one of my books and feel like I typed “The End” with my hand covering my eyes, you may or may not be correct.

But, I’m feeling really good about the way it ended. And I’m feeling even better because I’ve still got a month to look it over and make the many corrections I know exist. Yay!

Good news on the home front as well – Nathan did not cough at all last night and seems to be a lot better today. He’s still having some snot issues (some of which aren’t just mucus related. But seriously. What 20-month-old doesn’t?), but he’s slowly turning back into my normal, crazy son. 😉

The popsicle helped.

Today, we headed over to Gammy’s house and it was a little bright outside:

I looked back a little later and saw this:

 

Ha! He’s still getting the hang of the new sunglasses. 😉 (And um, no, of course I did not take this picture while driving.)

Gammy watched Nathan today while I finished up the manuscript and so that left me his entire nap time with nothing but free time. And OH DID I ENJOY IT. Free time is a long sought after treat in this house.

First, I sat out on our back porch in an effort to correct my horrible short-sleeved shirt tan that I have already achieved this year after one unfortunate sunburn. And I read. I love to read and I don’t do it often enough anymore. I did read The Hunger Games earlier this week since I felt like the only person on the face of the world who hadn’t read it and I just don’t like feeling lonely.

Now, I would like to see the movie and I’m thinking about hinting to a certain cute teacher who happens to live with me if he’d like to ask me to go see it with him.

We could even eat dinner at a nice restaurant before we go.

I am very fond of food that I didn’t cook or have to clean up after.

Particularly if said food involves tiramisu.

I’m just saying. 😉

Even ear infections. 🙁

Nathan has been congested, coughing and running a fever off and on since Friday. He’s cutting two teeth, so I figured it was teething related at first, but I finally took him in today because it wasn’t getting any better. And he had a double ear infection.

At least it explains the grouchiness. On both our parts. Staying home is not really my strong point and sadly, my son inherited that trait.

I’m praying that tonight is a much better night as far as his and our sleeping goes. I hate hearing him cough away in his crib. 🙁

So, Wednesday afternoon I was standing in the kitchen and opened my
purse to get something and touched a sticky mass in the bottom of my
purse.

Apparently, I or Nathan had thrown a Chick-Fil-A sauce into my
purse awhile back and it had exploded all over the bottom of it,
capturing the attention of a huge handful of cough drops that I also did
not realize was at the bottom of my purse.

Before you all swear to never come into my home and eat at my
table, I’ll just assure you that this doesn’t happen that often and I do
try to live as cleanly as someone with a 20-month-old boy can live.

So, between that and the huge rip around the button holding the
front pocket closed, I decided it was time for a new purse and dumped
the old one in the trash. Which means that I will be purse shopping
today because I’ve been putting all my stuff in Nathan’s little
backpack/diaper bag these last four days and it makes me nuts that my
chapstick always ends up in the bottom of his bag and I can’t find it.

Easy access to chapstick is a necessity for me.

So, today’s post is going to be a mess of purses and cute spring-ish outfits that I am attempting to budget in. 😉

1. Rosetti Capri Belted Snakeskin Shopper in White/Black

I couldn’t get the picture to transfer over here, but I think
this is cute. I always feel like I’m flirting on the edge of old lady
bag when I’m trying to find a purse that works for me. It needs to be
big enough to fit a diaper and wipes case into if I need to but small
enough that I’m not lugging a suitcase around with me. And good grief,
why in the world are purses so expensive???


2. Lou-ella Zip-top Scoop Tote

I think this is a really cute purse. It looks small enough to not
be considered luggage and large enough to hold the 473 things that I
apparently think are essentials to keep with me at all times.

I’m remembering the days of just shoving my phone, chapstick, ID and debit card in my pockets with sweet fondness right now.

3. AE Lightweight Boyfriend Cardigan

This is adorable and I think it would be perfect thing to put on
over a tank top and jeans when the nights get a little chilly. I
particularly like the charcoal color.

4. Women’s Sueded Espadrille Flats

These
are too cute and I love this color but I’m not sure that I could think
of enough outfits to wear with them to warrant a new pair of shoes. But,
I do love them.

5. Women’s Striped Tie-Front Jersey Dress

I
am so into jersey this summer. I envied people all last summer who were
wearing these cute little jersey dresses and skirts and I’m SLOWLY
adding them to my wardrobe this summer. This is way cute and Old Navy
even has all their dresses on sale right now.

6. Women’s Smocked Chiffon Dress

I think this is really sweet, I’m just not sure I have the right
body type to wear it. However, I think it would be the perfect date
night dress for someone and it is also on sale.

We’ve spent the day at home today. Nathan is coughing and both of
us are sneezing and itching the eyes, so I’m hoping it’s just good old
fashioned allergies. I don’t want my baby to grow up any faster, but I
honestly can’t wait until he’s two and I can give him some cough
medicine. Poor baby has barely slept in the past three days from all this drainage. 🙁

Today has been a relatively quiet day. Gammy came over and played with Nathan this morning while I got some writing done, then we had a lunch of sandwiches and Nathan went down for his nap. So, I’ve been doing a little more writing, working out and making cookies in the meantime (because all good workouts should be followed by cookie dough consumption. My thought, anyway).

A few things that are all pretty much unrelated to each other (which is also sort of my thoughts on second-cousins-in-law):

1. I am back on the coffee train. I realize there were many of you who were infinitely concerned about me and this whole chai tea business, but fear not. I’ve had some form of coffee every day this week (sometimes twice a day). My favorite form to drink it in is something my sister got me hooked on: Iced Caramel Macchiatos with extra caramel syrup. But, I am still drinking decaf. After the Week of Horror that came when I cut caffeine cold turkey when we were trying to get pregnant with Nathan, I have sworn off regular caffeine until after we are completely done with children. Yes, my personality has taken a hit.

2. Jon and I are totally stuck on a new show – Psyche. Have y’all seen it? I think it’s hilarious. We don’t have cable anymore, but it’s on Netflix. It’s all-in-all a fairly clean show. There’s the occasional mild cuss word every now and then and nothing else. I really appreciate that!

3. I started doing Pilates again and always in the middle of a workout I wonder, why am I doing this to myself? Not only do I feel incredibly goofy and uncoordinated through most of it, I am so sore afterward for days on end. There is a reason I do it in the privacy of my own home when the only other person in the home during the day is down for a nap. I’ll leave it at that. However, I have done it the last three days. I’m hoping the goofiness will fade with repetition.

4. I read Psalm 40 today and was really struck by verses 1 and 3: “I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me and heard my cry… He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and will trust in the Lord.” I love that – to my fellow waiters out there, I have to think that maybe the reason He still has us waiting is so that “many will see” and then “trust in the Lord.” So hold out hope, friends. 🙂

5. I always do this, but after cutting my hair off a few months ago, I am trying to grow it back out. Mostly because I keep seeing all these girls with side braids (like my sister) and I just think they’re adorable. My hair is super thick so in order to do even a semi-cute braid, it’s going to have to be a lot longer to put some of the thickness out, if that makes sense. But if tradition holds, it’ll finally get long enough and I’ll cut it off again because it’s driving me crazy. It’s a vicious cycle.

I think that’s all I’ve got for today. Now to go take something for my muscles.

Yesterday, Nathan and I went to a bounce house here in town with some friends. And OH THE FUN. I think Nathan would have never left except I bribed him with macaroni and cheese.

The place was huge. There were two gigantic rooms full of inflatable obstacle courses, slides and the regular bounce houses. Nathan went ballistic. He was jumping on one of them before I even had a chance to take his coat off. I finally caught him long enough to pull it off. 😉

I meant to take my good camera with me, but remembered it after I was too far away from the house to go back and get it. And it actually ended up being a good thing. I’d thrown a pair of socks in my purse just in case I decided to play with him and I ended up going through most of it with him. It’s just hard to capture a boy moving 87 miles an hour on a phone camera. 

It was lots of fun. 🙂 He laughed the entire time.

I even hoisted him up and went down this probably ten foot slide with him. Pardon my hair in the next picture – this was at the end of the day and both of us were feeling the static by then. 😉

One of the blogs I read frequently posted this verse the other day and it was just so encouraging to me, so I thought I’d repost it here. “Lord, be gracious to us! We wait for You. Be our strength every morning…” I love that!

Wow. It has been a CRAZY Spring Break!! 🙂 So sorry for the long absence. I even took my computer with us to blog while we were out of town, but I should know by now that never happens. 😉

First, I realized when I was transferring pictures from my camera that I’d forgotten to transfer a few from a couple of weeks ago. Pops and Gammy came by for a little bit one night before their Bible study to say hi. Nathan decided he needed Pops’ reading glasses and apparently this is the face you have to make with them on:

I walked in the other night to check on Nathan and pray for him before I went to bed and found this adorable little scene. I love how there are two pacis and Lucky on his chest! And my favorite part of this picture is his feet – he’s slept with his feet like that since he was born.

This last week was SO MUCH FUN. We packed up everything and drove to Dallas at a very ungodly hour of the morning.  We left early though so we could see this dear, dear girl and her parents for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory:

One of my bestest friends in the world, Shannon! I just adore her and her family!! We have been friends since middle school and I am so thankful for her friendship. 🙂

We spent the rest of the time with my dad’s family. We had the BEST time! Nathan got to meet his second cousins (or first once removed? I have no idea how that works) for the first time – Trenton and Jovie. 🙂 They are actually in birth order in this picture – Trenton was born eleven days before Nathan and Jovie was born four weeks later.

 Trenton and his mom, Christi, my cousin. 🙂

We spent the majority of the time at my Aunt Julie and Uncle Clay’s house. They have a bunch of land with a pool, lots of room to play, two dogs and chickens to chase. Nathan was in absolute heaven. I loved watching the older guys teach the little ones to play football!

 

 

Some of the whole family – it was my cousin Cade’s birthday while we were there. So much fun!

He had lots of help opening his presents. 😉

A few of games of Peanuts were played – we grew up playing this game! 

Gammy and Nathan. 🙂 The wind chime was a source of joy for Nathan and headaches for everyone else in the nearby vicinity.

I was looking back through the pictures, saw this one and just could not believe how OLD he looks!

 Trenton and Nathan invented a great (heh) game of throwing the basketballs into the pool and then waiting for them to float back, begging one of the adults to fish them out and then throwing them in again. It was very sweet of my aunts to stand there and play with them!

The kids got to go “help” collect eggs – the two that Nathan got he dropped on the patio while he tried to show us what a chicken does. Here’s Aunt Jill with Jovie, Nathan and Aunt Julie and my mom with Trenton.

“What is this, anyway?”

My cousin Taylor and Cayce. 🙂

We had two very tired boys at the end of the day!

I absolutely love this picture of Nathan and Cayce in the car on the way there!!

Jon and I also celebrated our 4th anniversary in Dallas. I am so blessed to be married to my best friend in the world. I love you, honey!

On our last night there, we got to go watch Cade’s baseball game. He made the game ending out! Nathan loved cheering for him, but wasn’t too sure about Cade’s face paint when he came over to say hi. Ha! But the whole way back to Julie’s he kept saying, “Tade? Bayball? Tade? Bayball?” Ha!

And last, but certainly not least, we HAD to go to In-N-Out while we were there and Nathan got to have his very first In-N-Out burger! He demolished it!! I think we have a child after our own hearts. 😉

Whew! Lots of catching up! I hope your spring break was wonderful! What did you do?

Spring break is always a good time to go through the winter clothes we didn’t wear and summer clothes we’d packed away – a.k.a. the most fun EVER for a 20-month old. 😉

(I filmed this on my phone and for whatever reason, it didn’t transfer a very sharp image. So very sad!)
 

The word “help” has taken on new meaning for me these days.

It is seriously Nathan’s favorite word in the world. He says it at least 957 times a day. “HOULP! Houlp, Mommy.” Which means, he would like to help Mommy.

He’s a pro at dragging chairs over to the counter to help me make dinner, he’s put himself in charge of setting the table for 19 people, he always runs to the laundry room to help me move the loads and he’s even become proficient at unloading the groceries:

We apparently have grease problems in our shower. 😉 With all this help, it’s amazing it only takes me an extra thirty minutes to do every task. 😉 But honestly, I do love his helpful heart. Though, it has led to a few fits when he doesn’t get to help Mommy cook stir fry or cut raw chicken or things of that nature.

Tonight, we all went to eat dinner at one of my favorite places growing up – Dion’s Pizza. Nathan CHOWED DOWN. He ate almost as much as I did, which is wonderful news because we discovered today during our Old Navy shopping spree that he fits into 2T shirts and 12/18 month shorts. I fear the days when he doesn’t have a diaper helping to hold up his pants. 😉

It was a fun way to welcome spring break! What are you guys doing over the break (if you’ve got one)?

So, ever since I was a little kid, winter has always, always been my favorite time of the year. There was just so much about it that I loved – the excuse to stay inside and read, the ability to drink hot drinks all day and never feel weird about it, fires in the fireplace, Christmas, my birthday, etc.

But now, since Nathan is old enough to go outside and play, I’m really looking forward to this summer. And I’ve been dreading this spring terribly. Spring here means winds at 512 miles an hour and horrific allergies to go with them. I hate March.

I keep praying that surely the winds will die down soon and we can go play at the park.

But in the meantime, we’ve been playing inside. That’s also Nathan’s new favorite word.

“PLAY??!!” And he usually is yelling it while grabbing my hand and yanking me toward his play room. 😉

Yesterday, we stayed at home most of the day and just did stuff around the house. I’m on the home stretch for the deadline which is honestly the hardest part for me to write. Tying up loose ends is not my favorite part of writing a book. So if any of my novels ever just ends with no warning, consider this my apology. 😉

I let him eat his snack of “Cheetos” in the living room the other day while I was trying to get a little bit more in my word count for the day, but decided to be proactive about the inevitable crunchy mess and put a towel down on the couch. It worked great until Nathan noticed that the towel was covered in crumbs and decided to brush them all on the floor. 😉

There have been quite a few sales for summer clothes around here lately, so we spent part of the day today trying on some new outfits that I’d picked up at the end of summer last year or he got as gifts so I could see what we still needed. Apparently, he decided that this meant he needed to model for me. He moved his arms around, sat down, laid down, stood up, smiled, etc. I was dying. Then he struck this pose:

 Y’all. I’m totally in love with this kid.

Saturday morning, Jon and I were finishing up breakfast while Nathan decided that our pantry needed to be rearranged. He would take something out, yell what it was and then set it on the kitchen floor.

“OMEO!” (or Oatmeal, as most of us like to call it.)

“OREO!” (Translated: Cereal. Or anything that appears crunchy.)

Then followed a whole string of things that I could not translate at all. Finally, he got to our coffee stash. He pulled out a bag of Starbucks, pointed to the logo and said, “Taysee!”

Which is what he calls my sister. Who works at Starbucks.

Jon and I laughed SO hard. We drove by a Starbucks on our way to church the next morning and he again pointed out the window and said, “Taysee! Taysee!”

Hilarious. And not a bad thing to be known for. 😉 He loves his Auntie Cayce so much! As soon as I mention we’re going to see her, he becomes the happiest little boy in the whole world. I asked him this weekend if he loved his Aunt Cayce and he said, “Yeah. Taysee and Dodo.” (Dodo = Kody) I’m so glad that his short list of people he loves includes his dog who can still barely stand him and doesn’t include his parents who adore him. 😉

Saturday night, we were again watching (what else?) Tangled while we were finishing getting ready for our fun dinner date with Hayley, Clint and Leigh Ann and Nathan insisted on watching it like this:

He’s apparently into horses at the moment. 😉 And I promise I don’t let him watch TV all the time. Just when we’re sick or when I’d prefer if he wasn’t “helping” me get my makeup on. 😉

We had such a fun triple date on Saturday! Nathan was so excited about it he just had to get Hayley Grace some flowers.

I’m not sure he quite got the idea of giving the flowers to her – he was more interested in shoving them at her. We’re working on being gentle. 😉

I just love these two!

Sunday, we met Gammy and Pops after church and they took Nathan home with them so Jon and I could go to church and then go to a Fiery Foods Festival here. Because we are such connoisseurs of spicy foods, seeing as how sometimes Pace Picante Sauce is too hot for us.

One of Jon’s students gave him the tickets and it’s kind of a big thing here and neither of us had ever gone, so we decided to try it. It was SO crowded. I don’t get claustrophobic very often, but I was definitely feeling squeezed in there.

The good news is they did have a bunch of chocolate and popcorn stands as well as salsa. 😉

Today, Lunch Bunch was at my house and I made this Tomato Soup that I thought was just delicious. I added maybe a 1/4 cup of heavy cream to it just because I like to make my recipes less healthy. 😉 It was a nice light spring lunch!

Nathan spent most of the time annoying being mean to playing with Julia. This cute little sandbox scene lasted all of about fifteen minutes before they started dumping the sand all over the porch, all over my patio furniture and then all over each other. Sand was everywhere – in their hair, in their clothes, and caked into their diapers. So, they got to have bath together this afternoon.

 

They just make me laugh. 🙂 Nathan doesn’t realize this yet (and probably won’t for MANY years), but he has been blessed with some amazing and fun girls in his life!!