Want a Good Laugh?

Check out this video of my Core 4 friend, Julie's little girl, Riley. Cracks me up every time!



Can you believe that Riley is almost 1 year old (well, a few months from it) and I have never seen her cute face live and in person? I'm trying to change that at the end of this month. More on that later. For now, watch that video again. It'll put a smile on your face. Again!

Go Heels!

First off, we are so excited that the UNC Tarheels are going to the Final Four!!! Go Heels! Kingston wore his nearly too small UNC T-shirt for one of it's final times. He is growing like a weed! I couldn't get over how cute he looked in his shorts and T-shirt. Bring on the warm weather!

We also like to play with parts of the vacuum. But that's another story.

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Kingston got a new toy from one of our faithful blog readers, who happens to be one of Nana's really good friends. Thanks, Mrs. Kathy! Kingston has already cut the backyard! He at first thought it was a ride-on. . .

but he figured out how to make it work!

I like a man who isn't afraid of a lawnmower. Especially one who looks really cute using it!

5 Years, 2 Puddles and the 80's

Nigel and I have been married 5 years as of yesterday. Usually we don't do gifts or even cards but Nigel did both this year. He gave me a card first thing in the morning then sent me flowers at work. What a guy! I bought him a case of beer on the way home from work. Fair trade, I think!

Tonight we went out to dinner at Owen's-one of our favorite places. It was delicious, as usual. I actually managed to get out of there without eating so much I want to die. That is quite an accomplishment, I must say!!!

We had a great anniversary and I look forward to many more years with my favorite husband!

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Puddle #1-

After dragging Kingston along with me to deliver some food today, it was time for a very late, overdue nap. Since it was much warmer outside than I first expected (I had dressed him in a T and corduroy pants) and Kingston was really hot and fussy, I changed his diaper quickly and put him in his crib in just a diaper and T-shirt. I kept periodically hearing him talking and making silly noises for quite some time so I'm not sure he ever even went to sleep. After a little over an hour I heard him start to fuss like he was awake and ready to get up.

I went in his room and found this: (Caution-the first picture contains full frontal nudity!)

First I saw the puddle and went to figure out where the major leak in the diaper came from. As I lifted the bottom of his T up, I realized that there was no diaper to even leak! The diaper was wedged between the bumper and the wall. See it in the second picture? The crazy kid had taken his diaper off and peed in his crib at some point in the past hour and a half. I must say he looked quite proud of himself. I couldn't even be mad at him because I was laughing so hard! I have learned my lesson and will always put him down with pants or shorts on!

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Puddle #2-

When Nigel got home from surfing Kingston wanted to go outside and see him. It was fairly dry outside since the rain had subsided for a few minutes. Nigel was spraying off his wetsuit and booties and Kingston wanted to get down. I put him on the ground in one of the puddles and he loved splashing around in his bare feet. I was hoping he would stay standing and not actually fall in the puddles and get his shorts wet but of course that didn't happen. Kingston's new favorite game is to turn in circles until he gets dizzy and falls down and laughs. It's all fun and good until someone falls down and busts his lip (which he did inside earlier) or falls in a puddle and gets wet (which he did on this occasion)! He had a blast in the puddles! Good, clean fun. I can't wait to play in the rain with him in the summer!

One small problem. He thought he should lick the water from his hands. At least it was straight from the hose and not some funky water in a ditch. That makes it OK, right?

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Oh. Does anyone remember these charm necklaces from the 80's? I went to an 80's party last night and rocked my very own charm necklace, circa 1986-ish. Yes, for some reason I still have it. Did you have one?

Oh, To Be a Baby

I wish I could sleep in the car. Under any circumstances. At the drop of a hat. And be out cold for hours on end. Not even knowing that I had been taken out of the car and moved to another location at some point.

This was Monday, after "helping" me at work for a few hours. He was hungry and fussy so I gave him a cracker. What inspired the picture taking was his little tongue almost sticking out of his mouth as if he fell asleep as the cracker was heading to his lips.

And this was Wednesday, after his 15 month check-up (which he aced!) and a shot. The appointment was at 11:30 and I had planned to meet a friend for lunch after. I figured it would be pushing it but I chose to follow through anyway. He was asleep before we even got out of the Dr.'s office parking lot. Again with the cracker. He tried to put it in his mouth without taking his paci (which he now only uses for naps, bedtime and apparently shots) out. I reached back and removed said paci while I was waiting for the light to turn green. By the time the light turned and I looked back again, he had found the paci beside his leg and had put it in his mouth and had fallen asleep. I carried him in the restaurant, ordered at the counter, put my things down in the booth, got a highchair and he didn't budge until I tried to lay him on the booth seat. Perhaps if I had been a bit smoother with the transition it would have worked but I jostled him pretty good and he woke up.

Oh, to be a baby. Life is so good!

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Big thanks to Eden for re-doing my blog! I think it is the best look yet! Thanks, friend. You are really neat.

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Please keep praying for Baby Stellan. He is still in the hospital and in serious condition. His poor little heart is beating way too fast.

Not Stellan Monday

Please go to MckMama's blog and read up on poor little Stellan and his poor mama. I feel so bad for them right now, and I pray for a positive solution to their problems soon.

Stellan does NOT deserve the pain and discomfort he is in. He is a sick baby.

MckMama has NOT slept in a really long time. Can you imagine her worry?

I CANNOT even fathom what they are going through.

My thoughts are with them today.

Manual Labor

While I was slaving away at a fundraiser yesterday, Kingston was hard at work with Uncle Mark.

Uncle Mark claims that once Kingston reaches 50 pounds he is going to take him into the backyard and roll him around in the dirt. I have a feeling Kingston will think that is the greatest thing ever! He is pretty fascinated by Uncle Mark. And I mean, if he is anything like his dad, he will be in middle school when he reaches 50 pounds! If he is more like his mom, he might make that by the time Kindergarten rolls around!

The Hunter Presgrave Fund

Just so you know, we raised a TON of money today at our BarbeCURE fundraiser for Holly's little boy, Hunter! And in the process of raising a TON of money, we served up a TON of BBQ! Things got a little stressful a couple of times, but we managed to pull it off. Big thanks to John and Sarah White who put this whole thing together. And big thanks to all of our friends who came out and helped pull it off, as well as the staff of Stan White Realty and Construction who went above and beyond a day's work. Also, big thanks to all of the restaurants who donated or deeply discounted food or other necessary items to make allow us to give all of the proceeds to the Presgrave family (some in our desperate time of need today!). Big Al's, Mama Kwan's, Pigman's BBQ, High Cotton BBQ, US Foods, just to name a few.

Word on the street is that the Hunter Presgrave Fund at the OBX Bank will soon have THOUSANDS of dollars in it. You know, as of Monday, when someone can actually get there and fill out the deposit slip. Wow. I am so impressed with our community. People came from near and far and gave what they had to this special family. We heard a bunch of fun stories of people who travelled from Virginia just for this event, who came representing other families with children who are dealing with this same cancer, and who just heard the announcements on the radio and felt called to come. Amazing.

Holly and her family were there for most of the day. It was so great to see them. Hunter looked really good and seemed to be feeling good. When the event was over Hunter started to get a little tired but he was definitely not the only one who needed to go home and take a nap! I think he had a good day. He even got to talk live on the radio-what more could you ask for?!

I took my camera but didn't take any pictures. Darn. Hopefully I can get a picture when we all gather together once the final check is written and it is "officially" handed over. We hope to get to do that soon. I'll keep you posted on our final total. I can't wait to hear!

Thanks again to everyone who came out and to those who bought tickets or simply donated. You have helped make a family's difficult time just that much more bearable.

We love you Holly, Ben and Hunter! (Just found out that Holly reads my blog so feel free to leave a comment on this post for her!) We are with you every step of the way!

Playground, Marina, and Horses

What do these 3 things have in common?

We had fun with all of them today! Kingston and I met Eden and Little Miss in Manteo for a playdate this morning. The kiddies played on the swings and slides while the adults chatted it up. It was so fun to catch up with Eden live and in person! We had a great time. This time I remembered my camera!

After playing and relaxing a bit, we loaded into Eden's car and headed to the Marina in Wanchese where we had lunch. (Hey, Eden, does that place even have a name?! It didn't even have a sign out front!) I LOVE eating at "greasy spoon" places and this was perfect! Do you want a cheeseburger with fries, a chicken sandwich with fries or a chicken salad sandwich with fries? We opted for the cheeseburger and fries and a sweet tea and I was in heaven! We even got to see Missy's mom, who runs the register.

Lunch at the Marina was great, Kingston was getting a bit sleepy-even though Little Miss kept telling him "Kingston open your eyes!"-but we still hadn't visited the horses. Off we went! I went to a part of Wanchese I had never been before and we got to see all of the horses that Eden and Missy always talk about. Mack was the only one who would give us the time of day. He was a beautiful horse. Kingston was not his biggest fan. A little too big for my sleepy boy! Maybe next time we will see the horses first, then do the other fun stuff!! I'm not exactly a "horse" person because I've never really been around them much. But look at this picture! How beautiful is he? And check out Kingston's reflection in his eye. So cool.

Kingston fell asleep in Eden's car before we got back to the playground where my car was. I moved him in his car seat without disturbing him!

He slept the whole way home, I moved him to his crib, and he slept for another hour, until we had visitors and Able's barking woke him up. My good friend Kerrie is in town from Charlotte with her 5 week old little boy, Noah. I got to hold that sweet little nugget until Kingston woke up and he was so precious! We got the boys together for a quick photo op before Noah had to go have a late afternoon snack. Kingston looks like a good big brother, don't you think? Well, he'll look even better as a big brother when he is 5 or 6 years old!!! Don't get excited, people.

We had such a fabulous day. There is nothing quite like hanging out outside for most of the day and spending some time with good friends-and their sweet kids.

Kingston and His Buddy Leif

Kingston and I stopped by my friend Katy's house this afternoon after work/daycare. (Side note: Kingston had a GREAT day at daycare and even came home with a shamrock painted on his cheek!) Katy's camera was missing a battery so she snapped a quick pic of the boys with her cell phone. She put Leif next to Kingston and he immediately tried to "love" him! (That's what he's doing. "Loving" Leif!)




Kingston loved Leif as long as I wasn't holding him! He doesn't like to share his mama! Sweet ol boy! These two are going to be buddies in a year or 2. I can't wait to see them playing together!

And Lift, And Stretch

Why do kids prefer to play with things that aren't really toys? I'm sure Uncle Mark really appreciated the sounds this particular workout was creating in his home directly below ours.

And one, and two and lift and stretch! Whew!

And then there's this picture. Does he look like a teenager texting, or what? Disregard the fact that he is in the dog's pen (which actually makes this picture even more entertaining) and picture him in his bedroom in about 13 years. Yikes! Anyone know a good boarding school? ;)

Another rainy, dreary day. We went to High Cotton for Kingston to run around the dining room a bit this morning just to get out of the house. Man, we are ready for some more of that good, warm weather.

I'm Getting There. . .

The front part of the house is at least relatively clean. I have even gone so far as to wipe the fronts of cabinets. Remember this post? We had that exact same conversation this morning. I swear we did.

Still left to do: Put the books and DVD's back on the shelf that Kingston keeps taking them off of and throwing them on the floor. Clean the bathroom. Vacuum and mop. Bake focaccia bread that I made this morning. Cut brownies that I made last night. Clear the last bit of clutter off of the kitchen table and countertops.

Sounds like I have a lot left to do but you should have seen how much I've already gotten accomplished today! Now watch. . . no one will show up!!! Just kidding, I know at least 1 person is definitely coming. I can always count on Brandy to show up to any scheduled event! A few girls have already said they can't come for one reason or another. Holly won't be making it because Hunter isn't feeling well today and he goes back to Children's Hospital of the Kings Daughters tomorrow for his second chemo treatment. She says he is now terrified of needles so no trip to the hospital will be a fun one for poor little Hunter. Let's say a few more prayers for him.

And on that note, friends Sara and John have organized a BarbeCure fundraiser to raise money for Hunter and his family. It will be at Stan White Realty this Saturday, March 21 from 11-2. There will be food and music and lots of lovely people to meet (including me!). Tickets are $5.00 each so if you are in the area and would like to come, please email me for an advanced ticket or just show up and join in the fun! There will also be a yard sale hosted by Stan White Realty to benefit Relay For Life so check that out, too. If you don't live in the area and would still like to contribute something to this special family, please email me and I will tell you where to send a check. The Hunter Presgrave Fund has been set up at a local bank.

Gotta get back to it. A mom/girlfriend/wife/hostess' work is never done!

Shhhhh. They're Sleeeeeping!

The boys in my house are napping. I am avoiding cleaning by playing on the computer. Which is exactly what I SHOULDN'T be doing, considering I have invited about 10 girls over tomorrow night for a little girls' night out (well, IN for me, but you know what I mean). I at least need to make the living room, kitchen and bathroom presentable in the next 24 hours. Yikes. Guess I know what I'll be doing all day tomorrow. . . Good thing is, almost all of the girls have children so at least they will appreciate the kid clutter. They might not, however, appreciate the fact that you can't even see that I own a kitchen table or kitchen counter tops because they are covered in stuff. I can't explain it. Where do we get so much stuff?

You know what I really want to do instead of clean? Bake the Ghirardelli Ulitmate Fudge Brownies that I bought at the grocery store this morning. And eat. Them. All.

I've Been Called Out!

So apparently, someone, and I won't name any names, is complaining about the fact that I have not been posting as regularly as I once was. Come on. Give me a break. I'm working 3 whole days a week and I have a 14 month old little boy. My house is spotless because I clean it so much and my laundry is totally caught up. Do you think I have time to blog on the regular?




Did you believe any of that? I didn't think so. I was totally kidding about all of it. My house is a wreck and I only work 3 days a week. My laundry is piled high. The only truth is that I do have a 14 month old little boy and he does keep me pretty busy. But I honestly do have time to do things such as blog (which means I have time to clean, too, but I digress). I've been lazy. There. I said it. And I apologize. I will try to do better. OK, Mrs. Kathy? :)

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We have had the best time playing outside the last few days. Kingston is now fully walking everywhere and even standing up all by himself without pulling up on anything (finally!). He is enjoying his sand table that Nana got him (and he even said "Nana" when she came over today!). He has learned how to go down the big boy slide all by himself, too! He even got a new hat from Whalebone. Wanna see?
























There now. Good post? I thought so. I promise to try to do better. Even if I have to make up some stuff. Just kidding. Good to know you're paying attention!

They're Home!

Holly, Hunter and Ben are home from the hospital! They were so excited about their clean house and stocked fridge and cabinets. Apparently Hunter was especially excited about the Pop-Tarts! Good thinking, Myra! Poor Holly has to go back to work today so pray for her. I'm sure it will be a tough day for her since it is her first day away from Hunter in over a week.

There are various fundraisers and events coming up in the next few weeks. I'll keep you posted and give you some details if you are interested in donating something to this special family. Email me for more information for now. You can use the "Email Me" button that Eden so kindly set up for me! (Safe travels, Eden!)