Jinx

It seems that I spoke too soon about being all better, and the internet knew, so it jinxed us. After we spent a few days at home to recuperate, hives happened to Cole. Not sure if they were from a virus or a reaction to the antibiotic. Either way, now we're all better and gearing up for a trip to Birmingham!

Football

Cole enjoyed having boys his age to play with over the weekend. They taught him his new favorite game: football. He quickly got the hang of it; just run after the person with the football. 

Then run the other way after the person with the football. 

Then get ready to tackle the person holding a camera.  

Now We're All Better

Maybe I spoke too soon about being better. But now we are all better. We've been sidelined this week with sickness. It seems that our good friends shared more than just fun times and laughs; we'll take tonsillitis for a good visit with friends any day...well, almost any day.

Much Better

I vented, went on a date with my husband and had a beach picnic. I feel much better, thank you. Now I'm looking forward to a fun-filled weekend with friends coming in town for a visit. 

Frustration

Oh, the pressure of what to write about on the blog and not. It's hard to put fingers to keyboard, and maintain a mental speed bump, so that I don't spill, gush, spew or spit (depending on my mood) every thought out into the great wide open.

I like to think I'm generally a positive, easy-going person. Everyone has their days, but it seems that since our move to the beach, Wade and I have a lot more of those days than usual. I suppose working 14 hour days for the last year will take it's toll. Combine that with a move into your parents' vacation home, and you've got a recipe for a lot of bad days.

Don't get me wrong, we both realize how fortunate we are, and we do not take any of this for granted. I mean, living at the beach in a vacation house is awesome. The hard part is realizing that:
1) you're not on vacation and 2) it's not your permanent home.

I guess what all our sour days boil down to is a lack of time together as a family and our pathetic social life. (I'll save my ramblings on our social calendar for another day.)

After getting all this off my chest, I can take a look at this picture, and know that everything is as it should be, and we are exactly where we're suppose to be.

Captain

{Just call him Captain 'D'}

Sunday we went for a quick boat ride. Mr. Joe kept a watchful eye over Cole while he drove the boat. If anyone happened to be just outside the pass in Destin, and saw a boat spinning in circles right off the beach, no worries, it was just us with Cole at the helm.

Lucky Cupcakes

I don't want to take all the credit away from the Auburn players and coaching staff, but it seems my spirited little sweets definitely helped the team to pull out a big "W" on Thursday night!

We're ready for some football

I'm well aware that college football season kicked off last weekend. But, our weekend was full of the annual dove shooting extravaganza (which I'll fill you in on later). As a result of all the activities, very little football was watched. Besides, Auburn wasn't on television. So, in my book, college football hasn't officially started. That is, until tonight. I'm just finishing up making hamburgers and putting the finishing touches on my Auburn Tiger cupcakes. Now, if Auburn can't pull out a win tonight, at least we have something else sweet to enjoy tomorrow. War Eagle!

See ya, seersucker

We had a good time this summer, seersucker. We enjoy you so much. Thanks for helping to make beautiful memories. See you next year.

Bicycle

I realize I haven't gotten around to posting about Cole's second birthday (and I'm aware it was over a month ago). Rest assured, this blog is not the only thing I procrastinate over. If it helps, it's taken me that long to go to a bike shop and buy Cole his very own bicycle helmet. You see, for children under the age of three, those big box stores do not carry helmets for kids so small. (You'd think that would be a hint) Instead, a special trip must be made to a shop that specializes in bicycles and cycling accessories. Why would Cole need such a helmet, you ask. After all, he's just two. Isn't he just riding around on one of those push toys? Oh, perhaps he received a tricycle for his birthday, and you're an overly cautious mother who is insisting he have a helmet?

Nope.

You see, our wonderful (and well-intentioned) family friend surprised Cole with a bicycle for his birthday. Yes, a full-fledged bicycle. Well, I shouldn't say 'full-fledge' because it does have training wheels. But still. It's a bicycle.

Of course, with very little coaxing, he was already warming to the idea of this new riding toy.

And, as you can clearly see, he took right to the thing. Thus, leading to the need of a helmet.

So, now that Cole has the helmet (and my blog has an update), we're waiting (alright, procrastinating) for the weekend so that Daddy can take him on his very first bike ride.

Mudmuddles

It seems that I have neglected my poor blog, and I am sorry. Not that I have ever been particularly good at keeping it updated. I just hope you understand how hard it is to document my daily life, especially when it involves a two-year old boy (yes, that's right, Cole's 2 and I still haven't blogged about his birthday) that loves to play in 'mudmuddles.' Dirt and water do not make for a good camera partner. But, I took a risk to document Cole's current favorite pastime: getting wet and dirty.  

I'm sorry. It's his second favorite pastime; his first would be getting his trucks wet and dirty.

Talking Points

I spent this past weekend in Auburn with my college friends. To say we had fun would be a huge understatement. We talked and ate and drank wine. We walked around campus and sweated and reminisced. Then we talked more and stayed up way too late. By Sunday, I think we had caught up completely since our last get together four years ago.

I love my girls. I wish we could get together more often. I wish I'd taken advantage of every minute I had to spend with them because who knew college would go by so quickly, and that life would sweep us in so many different directions. 

Reboot Today

Right now, I'm on hold. I'm waiting for Suraj, my tech support guy from my computer company, to tell me how to get my product key for MS Office. It seems that when I initially ordered my computer, it never got built. When FedEx and I figured this out, the computer company quickly made my computer and rushed it out to me. In their haste, they forgot to include any of the cds that come along with your computer. As I was talking to my friend, he asked if I had any cds and I told him no. Apparently, I should have gotten as many as 10-12 discs. So, Suraj called Microsoft and got me a product key, and is now sending me a boatload of cds. Good thing, since I paid for them back in April.

Other fun events today: a lady in the walmarts (you'll see why I had to call it that), caressed my hair. Yes, you read that right. I was standing in the check-out line when she commented on how nice Cole's hair is, and how he must have gotten it from me. Before I knew what was happening, she had leaned over and grabbed my hair into a ponytail and slowly let it fall through her fingers.

Of course, this reminded me of the time that I was at the salon waiting to get my hair done, when a little old man looked down at my feet and screeched that I had the biggest bunions he'd ever seen. As you can imagine, awesome feeling creeping over me as the whole beauty shop turned my way. I try to take solace in the fact he was a retired podiatrist, but it still doesn't seem to help as much as I wished it did.

{proud bunion feet going for a dip}

Speaking of hair, it's been way too long since I've had it cut or highlighted (just found my first grays; another awesome feeling creeping over me). I'm going to see some friends from college this weekend. We'll see how true of a friend they are by how well they can contain themselves when they see how bad I look. Hopefully, my bushy brows, which harken back to college, will distract them.

One more random note: I'm a bit sad that The Hills on MTV is over. It was thanks to them that I was able to stay hip with my musical downloads. Now I don't know what I'm going to put on my iPod.

Busy

Busy, busy is the only thing I can say right now. This picture sums up our life with a two-year old. That's right....Cole woke up on his birthday, and had officially entered the terrible twos with tantrum and all.

Hope our family portrait from the 4th of July will tide you over until I get a minute to update with more stuff.

Garden

I am not a gardener, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. I guess Wade and I should be. After all, he grew up on a farm that included a landing strip for crop dusters in his front yard, and I have parents that can grow pretty much anything. Case in point, mom's garden. This is the upper garden, and her personal garden. She grows whatever she wants in it, which means she sows rows of zinnias mixed in with all the veggies and herbs.

This is one of my favorite things in the garden. I no longer mind getting up early, before the sun gets too hot, to pick these. There's nothing like eating blueberries covered in dew. I just wish I could get Wade and Cole to think the same thing.

Doesn't this look like the most wonderful place to play if you are a six-year-old kid? Oh, I could have spent days in that canopy of beans. On a farm note, this is the best way to grow beans: you can weave the runners back in and it's a breeze walking through to pick. Plus it's so cool and shady under there. I just wish it was a breeze to string and snap them too.

Can't you just taste some yummy fig jam! Mom's fig trees are huge and covered in figs. A real accomplishment considering they were brought in on a tractor trailer and transplanted just last year.

This fluffy bunch of green is something mom planted called minuette basil. It tastes just like basil, but each leaf is itty bitty. That means no chopping and bruising those leaves.

Mom admiring her handiwork (if she actually read my blog, she would kill me for posting this picture of her. But, since she's too busy in her garden, I think I'm safe). I don't blame her. She works hard at it, and I'm so glad because we get to reap what she sows!

On to my favorite part of her gardens: flowers. This year was a good year for hydrangeas, and I was lucky enough to take a trip to Carrollton to admire all the blooms. Cole is inspecting his dad's hydrangea. That's right, my mom bought Wade a hydrangea and planted it at her house until we have a permanent home. It's a Vince Dooley hydrangea. Unfortunately, Wade is a UGA football fan. I think this is a nice compromise for two rivals: an Auburn fan that loves flowers and a Georgia fan that could care less about flowers. Works out pretty nicely.

I know it's been hot this summer, but this is one reason to love summer in the south! Now, if only we could get some rain.

Vanilla

I enjoy cooking. I especially enjoy cooking when I have the time, and when Wade's around to clean up. I know I don't share a lot about my cooking. I don't because I don't have true recipes. I just watch Giada or Ina, and pick up bits and pieces or at a restaurant I try to figure out what's in a dish. That's how I cook; by guessing, a lot.  

So, instead of sharing recipes, Ill just share my new favorite product: Adams Best Vanilla. I know vanilla is suppose to be well, just vanilla, but this my friends is not just plain ol vanilla. Walking through the aisle at my local Wally World, I decided to grab some vanilla to use in Wade's new ice cream maker that Cole so gladly bought his daddy for Father's Day. I reached for my usual brand, but then saw Adams and noticed the price was comparable, so I decided to try something new. After all, when it comes to food, I love trying new things. I just have to say that I've tried fancy vanilla from Williams Sonoma and tasted the rare Madagascar and highly-prized Mexican vanilla. But, this little bottle rivals the best of them. It's Adams Extract and it's good!  

{Now I know what Ina means when she says to use good vanilla extract.}

So far, I've used the vanilla in oatmeal, ice cream, milk and another bowl of oatmeal despite the sweltering heat. It's that good!

etsy

Why did no one tell me the wonder that is etsy?

I'd heard of etsy.com for years, but I just had no idea. In anticipation of Cole's 2nd birthday, I decided to do some research that turned into lots of purchasing. For those of you still out of the loop on etsy.com, it's a wonderfully wholesome site dedicated to homemade crafts for those lacking crafting skill or desire or both.

I've included some sneak peaks of what's in store for Cole's birthday party. It will revolve around trucks and tractors!

{kidscakes via etsy.com}

{birthdaycouture via etsy.com}

I'm off to keep working on his answer to how old he'll be. He's got the wording down pat, but the tricky part is holding up 2 fingers. For now, he's putting out his fist for each time he says "twoooo!"

Oil & Houseguests

I know most of you have heard that oil made landfall on our coast this week. I drove as fast as I could back home so that we could make it on the beach before the oil hit. We didn't make it. Instead, this is what we found:

workers leaving the beach after picking up tar balls. And then,

more workers walking up the beach with bags full of oil

Since those first tar balls, there's been nothing....thank goodness. If it wasn't for the fishing boat captains in Destin searching for the oil, spotting it, placing boom, then sucking it up, things would be much, much worse. I realize we're in the beginning stages of this disaster affecting us, but I'm hoping for the best. Now, if BP and Obama would just get their s**t together, we might actually be able to keep doing this the rest of the summer.

On to happy thoughts....

Cousins Cameron and Chance are visiting this weekend. Big Un wanted to have his whole family here for Father's Day. Well, he's got us and its a madhouse. But worth every memory...broken lamp and all!

Snapper Season

Cole took a real liking to his fish buddies. Let's just hope these red fellas will be back and even better once this oil is stopped.

Beach Babe

Cole is so excited because we just got word that our temporary move to the beach has been extended. We'll be down here for the next two years perfecting our beach bum lifestyle. So far, we're doing a fair job of it. There's much more practice to be had, and lots of hope that this oil doesn't hamper our plans. 

All of my thoughts and prayers are with those that are and will be impacted by this disaster. 

Happy Anniversary

Happy wedding anniversary, Wade. It's funny how it doesn't seem like five years ago that we said our vows, while laughing because our rings got mixed up. I think the best part of our wedding was the feeling that I was making the best decision; and that choice is still paying off.

Gotta go fulfill my husband's anniversary request: rice krispie treats!

* I must credit my friend Kim for this picture...not only did she take it, but she also sent it to me so that I could have a wedding picture for the blog. It seems our wedding album didn't make the cut for our temporary move.

Big Help

With our recent move, it's nice to have some help. Good thing Cole has his breakfast under control. 

Shiny & New

Haircut...his first big boy one. He sure did grow up overnight.

Be back real soon

I promise I haven't forgotten about y'all. It's just that moving and getting a new computer (yay!) takes a lot of time. I've got a few stories and pictures to share, and I plan to do that this week. For now, I just wanted to say a quick "hi!" Gotta go now, and get my strawberry cobbler with chocolate chips out of the oven!

Moving Day

Please be patient as we pack up and move out. You can see Cole's handling all the heavy lifting.

We'll be back as soon as we're settled in our new location.

Tasty Spring

Nothing's sweeter than that first taste of spring.