tis the season: christmasville

several years ago, our city began hosting a christmas festival called christmasville. matt and i were immediately fans. (matt loves the city, i love fesitvals. perfect match). with spencer being older when it first began, we have struggled to find things for everyone. this year was no different. coleman was old enough to enjoy some pieces...and we just drag spencer along for the ride. 

we did some shopping with local vendors. we checked out the gingerbread house contest (always one of spencer's highlights). we toughed out a long line so coleman could take a train ride...and it was worth it. look at this face....

 

and these faces aren't too bad either... 

 

the last thing we did was catch a dog comedy show. it was pretty darned entertaining! i think we all enjoyed it! here are my boys in the audience...

tis the season: penland tree farm

one of the reasons i love the holiday season so much is because of traditions. christmastime just screams "family traditions", and i'm not quoting hank williams, jr. here. i'm all about trying new things, but i also adore finding something that works and sticking with it. making memories each year. passing those things on to new little folks and even new generations...

 

penland tree farm is one of those meanignful traditions for our family. it's only a few years old (see, to find awesome traditions, you have to be willing to try something new!!). all four of us love and look forward to choosing our tree there. 

 

instagram photos; collage created in diptic app

it's not just the christmas trees. it's the ambience. the overall experience. the free hot chocolate  and coffee (spencer's favorite) and the bonfire. it's the huge hill for climbing. it's the incredibly nice staff and even the reasonable prices. (though i would gladly overpay for the tree to get the experience). 

i adore this photo of matt. i don't even remember why exactly he laughing so hard but i love that i captured a moment of true joy. 

and this is the hill. the hill that creates a battle with coleman every year when it's time to leave. but it's worth it. the boys have a blast, despite the decade between them. they go home filthy, happy and exhausted. 

what big brother does...

...so goes little brother...

...monkey see, monkey do...

and the photo of the day goes to this snapshot. 

in full disclosure: this was edited. the original photo included the silhouette and the sunset. but i tweaked it in PSE7 to make it a bit more dramatic. so sue me. 

career mama: a new low

so, i may have just reached a whole new low. or maybe a high. depends on your perspective, i suppose.

i just made goody bags for the daycare christmas party. in the car. while driving. including curly ribbon. and when I realized I didn't have scissors within reach (because they are in the car somewhere), I just used my pocket knife. cuz I'm classy like that. (and yes it worked...curled like a charm).

for what it's worth, this wasn't my original intent. I brought the stuff to work thinking I'd whip them up there. I have no idea WHY I thought that, other than I must've been smoking some mighty fine crack. When I left work early, i figured I'd run my errands and throw the bags together at home before hitting the party...and then I hit the interstate, which greatly resembled a parking lot. at that point my brain went into improv mode. by the time my speedometer hit 60, I had one wrapped teacher gift and 8 goody bags adorned with redneck-curled ribbon

final analysis of this experience:
+2 points for thinking quickly and finding a solution
-10 points for doing something so stupid while driving
+5 points for pocket knife use
-4 points for being lazy and not having done the bags the night before
+3 points for sharing my new low in a public forum so other moms can feel better about themselves
-3 points for typing this post while driving
+2 points for actually writing a blog post at all.
+3 points for actually using numbers and the word "analysis" in a post about goody bags
+2 good behavior points for not flipping off the suburban in front me going 60 in the left lane.

Did you do the math? It's a wash. But the bags are done and I'm alive.

tradition {letters from santa}

a couple of years ago, i discovered the most amazing website that sends letters from santa to your child(ren). the price is reasonable and letters can be entirely customized by you. they come in a shiny package with authentic north pole postmark. 

spencer with the letter from santa - 2009

spencer was already eleven years old when i first began this and he was still pretty excited about it. even last year, at 12, he thought it was cool. he enjoyed opening the letter and reading it to his little brother. 

photos from letter arrival 2010

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

disclaimer: i have no affiliation with this site, nor have i received any free product from them. i simply think it's awesome and would highly recommend it to anyone to help bring the spirit of santa into your home. 

celebrate {july 2011}

celebrate {big moments}

• happy independence day with multiple celebrations 
• we celebrated my 33rd birthday
• reached 1,000 on my one thousands gifts list

 

celebrate {little moments}

• we all went shopping at ikea - mainly for work 
• the end of spencer's spring/summer baseball season
• spencer tried out for fall baseball 
• neighborhood playground

celebrate {struggles}

• i had two more flat tires. no, not on the same day. 
• almost house fire
• laptop died 

 

  celebrate {family}

• wrapped up our family beach vacation
• fourth of july at britt's house - cookout, pool

celebrate {friends}

• fourth of july shindig at the chandler home
• fireworks and water play time with the monks
• spencer's friend, heath, spent the night
• coleman and i went on a park playdate with cassidy and giada 

  celebrate {home}

• captured a week in the life (in photos via iphone + instagram)
• matt tried diligently to clean our home of the smoky smell
• organized some of spencer's old school work

'tis the season: daniel stowe botanical gardens

while michelle & maggie were in town for thanksgiving, us girls (and coleman) decided to do something christmasy. we looked over our options and chose to drive up to daniel stowe botanical gardens. it had been a few years since i had been (and this was coleman's first go 'round). i knew he'd love it. it's all about running around outside and checking out awesome christmas lights...what rambunctious toddler wouldn't love that???

as soon as we arrived, we hopped over to see santa clause. coleman wasn't a fan last year and i wasn't expecting much this time, but why not try??? i went to santa, so he followed, but on the other side of me (see top photo below). he was forced to walk in front of him and gladly took the offered candy cane...but that was it. 


later, after we were back inside, aunt sherry had her photo taken with santa (standing up casually, not a "formal" setting). i seized the opportunity to sneak up beside santa. there was a little more interaction this time. still apprehensive but no tears and an overall good experience. we were lucky that santa is so kind and wonderful with children! maybe this positive experience will help coleman warm up to the jolly ole fellow!

all photos taken on my iphone 4 and edited with the instagram and diptic apps. 

celebrate {coleman - november 2011}

coleman...so full of personality. i love all of the awesome and quirky things you say. here's a little piece of who you are. right now. 

"my pennies" a new found fascination with coins. all of which you call "pennies". you will dig and search to find them wherever you can. line them up. stuff them in your pockets. count them. 

"no" a favorite word these days...full of attitude and defiance. despite that adorable face, you are quite the handful. you are independent and so very strong-willed. i love that you have these characteristics. seriously. they make our everyday life quite difficult. you are testing and pushing...and your dear mama just isn't the most patient chicadee in the world. i won't lie. it's tough. but you know what? it will be worth it. i want you to be strong and independent. if that means a few battles along the way, i'm ready. 

"more candy, mommy?" you have realized the awesomeness of tasty treats...and you apparently have a nice little sweet tooth. this made the concept of trick-or-treating quite appealing. you thought it was pretty cool that you could just go to people's door and they'd hand you more and more candy! you particularly love lollipops and ring pops (a treat that you learned to associate with baseball games). you immediately point to the concession stand, knowing it's the temple that holds your special treat! you also took a liking to candy corn and i even caught you climbing on the kitchen counter to get the bowl i'd already hidden from you!

"no pockets?" you insist on only wearing pants with pockets. sometimes when you have on your pj's you will look down and say "no pockets???" with a confused tone. this usually leads to a request for clothes. i have to carefully check your pockets when i do laundry. there's no telling what i might find - pennies, rocks, acorns, scraps of paper...

"my bag" you love to put things into bags and containers. you will hijack any bag you see, whether it's a ziploc bag, grocery bag, pocketbook, tote bag, suitcase...it doesn't matter. at night, we often have to search through your bags to see what you may have tucked away in them. 

"handy dandy notebook" it took awhile, but it seems mickey mouse has moved to second place. blue's clues is your new favorite show. you are so adorable, mimicking the motions and singing the songs. but your favorite part is the handy dandy notebook. you have accumulated a variety of them...basically small notebooks and pads that we've given you. you draw and write in them all the time! 


the little details...you are wearing size 3T clothes and an 8 in shoes. you wear size 5 diapers/pull-ups. you still do not go potty at home. you don't  use a pacifier anymore, but you like to have at least one in your crib. you tend to nibble and graze on your food. you nap better in daddy's recliner than you do in your crib.

celebrate {june 2011}

disclaimer: i realize how ridiculously late this is. and though it would be easy to walk away from these monthly recaps, i truly want them documented here - regardless of punctuality. so, i will press on...even if they are six months late.

celebrate {big moments}

• nephews on both sides of the family graduated from high school
• family beach vacation, including a baseball tournament
• spencer and i went on a helicopter ride

celebrate {little moments}

• spencer had three baseball tournaments
• coleman had a field trip to the petting zoo; spencer had a field trip to the real zoo
• spencer wrapped up his sixth grade year
• we all watched the gamecocks win another college world series
• got a facial (mother's day gift) and pedicure (for the beach)
• coleman and i planted some basil seeds

celebrate {struggles}

• our neighbor spent some time in the hospital
• i got a flat tire
• i dealt with the hassles of an office move
• coleman got a haircut (long story)

celebrate {family}

• mom, michelle, marion and maggie were in town for a weekend
• we celebrated father's day
• spencer was with us a lot and we loved it! 

celebrate {friends}

• lots of pool time in the yard with friends and neighbors
• plenty of visits from scott, cameron and xander

technology wonders

yesterday i realized that google had FINALLY released a blogger app for the iPhone. i posted about spencer from the charlotte airport using a photo i'd snapped on my phone last weekend. (the app needs some improvements but it's free and at least it exists).

i upgraded my iPhone to the new software and i'm slowly figuring out this *icloud* thing.

today i write this message from seat 29E aboard a delta flight back from atlanta. wi-fi on planes = awesome. i'm also listening to glee music...which is awesome too. what's not awesome is that i'm two weeks behind on watching the show...but i digress.

yesterday, one of the highlights was a text message from my 19 year old nephew who said he wanted to swing by for a visit on sunday...I haven't seen him since he left for college in august. awesome.

last night at dinner, all of the traveling career mamas shared photos of their little ones that were being texted by their hubbies. (see photo below).

yes, i could list a million ways that technology is bad for society, but really...it's just badass.

thank you techie geniuses for creating super coolness.

adios from somewhere over south carolina.

(post written "in air" yesterday but failed to publish...maybe technology isn't that great...)

celebrate spencer {november 2011}

spencer has had quite an interesting two months.

he flabbergasted every adult in his life when he got sent to the principal's office. and then we shrugged it off when we realized it was all a little silly.

then he got sent again. and was written up. and got iss (in school suspension). this time it wasn't quite so funny.

but he has gotten his act together. for now.

his first report card of the year brought 3 As and 1 B in his academic classes. which means he made the honor roll and we got to attend a recognition breakfast. it was a small cozy event honoring 250+ kids. what?!?! apparently his school is really smart.

but the recent highlight was spencer's performance on day one of his baseball tournament last weekend. the last one of the year.

he pitched. an entire game. seven innings. his first time doing that. the first time his coach had ever let a player do that. it was awesome. I still get misty-eyed thinking about. we are so ridiculously proud.