InstaFriday 10.4.13

 

Guess who scored his first goal of the soccer season?!  This little dude!  And I had to pay up; I'd bribed him with $5 for scoring.  There may or may not have been some parents on the opposing team that I wanted to impress.  But that is another post for another day.

Guess who woke up a whole year older on Monday?  This girl!  My Instagram caption read "Good morning, 33.  Be good, please.  But even if not....thank you, God, for more days to enjoy and celebrate the amazing gifts you've given me."  Would it be weird if I print out this picture and keep it handy and visible to remind me on the hard days of the prayer of that birthday morning?  I really want to mean it...

Guess who got to hang with Auntie KK and the pup-pups for a whole day while Mommy and Daddy ran grown-up errands?  That little piece of adorableness.  I just love everything about this picture....that Blue is kissing him.  That their hair is the same color.  That now I know Karen didn't even set up the pack-n-play for naptime.  They just snuggled the afternoon away.

Guess who got to stay up past her bedtime to have dinner, ice cream, and some leotard shopping with her two favorite girls?  Tiffany!  And she found a sweet pink, sparkly leotard, too. ;)  Just kidding.  It's the other blonde beauty.  I pray that we are both loving and leading her as best as possible.

Guess who still has two separate bouquets of birthday blooms brightening her kitchen and bedroom?  I love fresh flowers, especially fall ones.  That said, I think I've decided I'm not going to put mums on the front porch this year.  That's a first for me....we shall see if I change my mind on impulse.

Speaking of my front porch....I'm still "feathering."  (Not that you'd know that it's "still," since I haven't blogged any pictures of the decor I've put out thus far.  But I digress.)  I bought corn stalks for the first time, and I'm loving them.  Loving them enough that I'm gonna get a couple more. Yeehaw!

And that's my week, y'all.  Or at least the week that actually made it to my Instagram account. ;)  I'm linking up with Jeanette at life.rearranged.  Won't you join us?

BLTN: Tennessee getaway, Instagram style

Jim and I were able to get away for an anniversary getaway a few weeks ago, and it was WONDERFUL.  I will have a handful more pictures to share (from the regular camera), but wanted to get some Insta-proof up in the meantime!

It was our briefest visit ever,  but it was so wonderful to have lunch with Tiffany, and to catch up, and to get on her case about a half-dozen things like the surrogate parent-siblings that we are. ;)

Friday morning, after a yummy breakfast at Panera (if you haven’t had their breakfast panini, you totally should try it!), we headed east from Nashville towards Knoxville.  It was a dreary day, but traffic was light, and it was just a nice drive through the mountains.

One of the best moments of the trip was arriving at our time share and discovering a bouquet of birthday balloons in the dining area.  (There were more balloons and roses for our anniversary in the bedroom.)  I was just so impressed with the activities staff, and it just set the tone for the weekend.

Saturday, we took a guided ATV ride to some ridge of some mountain range….forgive me for not remembering the details.  They were jarred right out of my brain with the bone-rattling ride.  But the view from the top was worth it – both of the scenery and the happy smile on Jim’s face.  I don’t feel the need to ever do that again, but I’m SO glad I did it this one time, with, and for him.

After our ride, we were famished, and though we’d planned to visit our favorite local pizza place, we came across the Mellow Mushroom sooner, so we just stopped there.  The pizza (a version of BBQ chicken meets Hawaiian meets buffalo chicken) was stellar, and the service (waiter who just “assumed” we would give our check check for his tip) was subpar, but it was YUMMY!

We were EXHAUSTED Saturday after our ride and then a couple hours of shopping at the outlets, so we crashed when we returned to our townhouse.  Like, showered and then fell asleep on the bed in a towel version of “crashed.”  Which translated to not getting ready and heading into town for dinner until 8 PM.  Which, and I know this will sound silly, made me feel like a real grown up – getting to put on clothes that didn’t have to be nursing mom-friendly, and eating dinner after 9:30.  It was a wonderful pick me up for me, to be able to take my time to pretty up for Jim and wear grown up clothes.

This was the view from our balcony:  perfect and private and oh, so pretty.

My Arby’s cup on the way home summed up how I felt about the trip, but also how excited I was to be seeing my littles after 6 days.

 

And then there was James…..who smiled when he first laid eyes on me, but then acted like a stereotypical cat (you know, who gets left alone for a few days and then hisses at his owner when she returns, and pees on everything?) for the next few days.  He cried and screamed and fought me, and didn’t want to nurse, and was generally not my happy baby.  Which I guess I deserve for leaving him for so long.  But then he got over it, and I’m once again his favorite person.  Yea!

And that is the abbreviated version. =)  There is more – the trip down, the Steelers/Titans game with some of our besties, dinner with some former business associates of Jim’s….but we’ll get to that eventually.

Have you ever been to Gatlinburg?  Do you have any traditions or must-see/eat places to visit?  How do you feel about Dolly Parton?

InstaFriday 10.26.12

Ugh.

Stupid mid-post-drafting computer updates.  It ate my post captions.  And now I’m embracing imperfection and posting my Instagram pics from last week without the captions.  Because I want to document the week, but not neglect my children in my attempt to perfectly center photos and describe their contents….

So….make up your owl own captions.  We’ll see how close y’all get to the reality.

 

InstaFriday 9.27.12

Such a beautiful night

Loving the happiness these cut hydrangeas bring to my kitchen

My weirdo daughter who now eats most foods typewriter style.  Exhibit A: banana

In honor of my Tennesseean gals….orange toes for game day

Prettied up for Emma Janes’s baby shower

It’s a corny $15 velcro-to-the-doorframe screen, but it makes my life breezier and happier
  Missing my Tiffany girl

Using up tomato bounty in leftovers for lunch

My new phone wallpaper.  Perfection.

The way Jim unloads the groceries into the freezer.  Sigh.

 
Reality most days.

Chasing the sunset on a rough night.

Head, shoulder, knees, AND toes?!  No way!!!

‘bout to get my Salted Caramel Mocha on.  Makes early morning steering team meetings easier

Nap time fun, apparently.
 She was dialing in a Steelers win.  She dialed the wrong number.
 Oh, sweetheart.  Love him to pieces.
  Even on birthday date night, I’m still just a taxi-driving mom with a sunglass headband

It only took 9 months,but I finally moved my plates
into the cabinet where I always look for them.  I can breathe easier now.
 First back-in-Ohio praise team rehearsal. Like riding a bike.
 Little Miss Woke-Up-Too-Early gave it up at 9 am.  Ah, peace.
 Poor little man.  Ear infection to start,
and then waiting 1.5 hours for the doctor is just insult to injury.

Hey.  The sound of the hairdryer calms him down.  Don’t judge.