Weekending

Friday - 
We played out in the driveway after work and school.

Our neighbors saw us out there and came to hang on their way back from dinner!

Saturday - 
Grady was up a lot on Friday night not feeling good.  At 4am he was burning up so I gave him some motrin and he went back to sleep. 

Kevin took Molly Anne to her friend's birthday party and I kept Grady and gave him some extra TLC.  It's amazing what I can do when I only have Grady.  He learned some words, kept his milk on his tray and used a spoon.  He also took a 4 hour nap that morning trying to sleep the crud out. 

Grady was much better that afternoon after the nap so we went on with our plans to go to a concert that night.  I feel like one other time Grady got sick on the same day we had a concert...ya know a concert that we bought crazy tickets too and wouldn't have been able to resell.  Poor buddy though.  And we had Jacquie staying with them and she's the best ever so I felt comfortable leaving him.  Probably wouldn't have if he wasn't feeling better and if Jacquie wasn't there that night.  

Ubering up to the concert...I'll post more about the concert soon.  PS - my paper-bag shorts are 40% today! 

Sunday - 
Grady was a new little boy after a good nights rest.  We fixed breakfast, played and then I made these sliders on Hawaiian rolls for the pool.  Thank you Margot for the great idea.  I did two with pimento cheese, three with PB&J and one with turkey and honey mustard.  

We were the only ones there.  It always provides for a good afternoon nap and we were only there for a little over an hour ha!  



I fit a Peloton ride in during nap, got my hair washed and dried and did some laundry and other chores around the house. 

The kids slept until 4:15pm yikes!  We ended up going out for mexican at a new place called Margaritas and it was really good.  Kevin and I split the steak and shrimp fajitas, highly recommend.  Grady went to town on some quesadillas and of course Molly Anne ate half of a chicken nugget at a mexican restaurant.  

Oh I forgot to mention that poor Grady is also getting two bottom teeth right now so he will have 8 soon.  He is a drooling machine!  I sent an extra shirt with him to Becky's today!

They love their puppy!




Hope everyone had a nice weekend!

Five on Friday

ONE:
This sweet boy laid on me one night this week while we sang songs before bed.  I kept singing and singing and never wanted it to end!

TWO:
Molly Anne's white bows have been looking rough so I decided to put them in a lingerie bag and throw them in the washer.  They came out looking brand new.  I let them air dry. 

THREE:
I talked to my Matron of Honor for over an hour one night this week and it was good for the soul.  She lives in Raleigh and I miss her so much. 

FOUR:
Got to have drinks and dinner with my friend Lindsey who was in town from Dallas this week.  You all may remember if I ever stay in Dallas for work, I always try to see her.  It was fun to have her here this time!  We had a glass of wine at Barcelona, dinner at Zeppelin and a drink at Fahrenheit with her hubby who also was in town!

FIVE:
Molly Anne, Mills and I went to an assisted living place that one of my friend's Mom lives in for a little event called Yappy Hour!  It was to bring your dog so the residents could pet some puppies and a dog toy drive.  It was a good learning experience for Molly Anne in a lot of ways....starting with going to Target earlier in the week and not getting anything for her or us...only getting dog toys to donate (I did it like this specifically).  And then learning about an assisted living place and serving other people even in this tiny way.  I told her beforehand what to expect and some ideas on talking to the older folks and she did so great and I think she really brightened their days!  And then there was Mills haha who was a little crazy but they all told us about their dogs they used to have.  It was so cute and a great experience for all of us.  

SIX:
Lindsey and her hubby ended up coming over last night and hanging out with us.  It was such a treat for Kevin and I.  We really love them and it's always so nice to have another couple that you just click with.  Wish yall lived closer but loved spending time together this week!!!

Hope everyone has a nice weekend!  

Joy for Charlotte

On July 31, 2018, my dear friend April's world was shattered when her family received an unexpected diagnosis for their two year old daughter, Charlotte. Charlotte was diagnosed with Leukodystrophy, a rare, incurable and terminal condition.

Over the past year, many of you have followed along and been so inspired by April’s grace and poise through this difficult diagnosis. Her commitment to filling her home with joy while navigating this journey is truly remarkable and has touched so many of our lives too.

In honor of Charlotte, and the joy that she brings to anyone she meets, please consider contributing joy through a random act of kindness for someone else on July 31. Tag @charlottesjoy on your Instagram story or Instagram post to join the movement as a way to show our support and give April and her family a big virtual hug on this day.

Mark your calendar for next Wednesday, July 31st!

Question and What's on the Menu This Week

Question...
What do you all like reading about here?  What we've been up to?  Menus?  Clothes?  Kids stuff?  Any ideas are much appreciated.  You all know I'm basically an open book within reason so I'd love some ideas of posts you'd like to read!

-----------------

Menu this week...
1.  Sunday - we went out
2.  Monday - leftovers from Sunday's dinner
3.  Tuesday - this quiche except no crust and used cheddar instead of Gruyere because I didn't have any
4.  Wednesday - this Zucchini Ziti (no noodles!)
5.  Thursday - Honey Shrimp Bowls
6.  Friday - leftovers
7.  Saturday - out

Last Week

Wanted to post some pictures from last week.  Nothing exciting.  

This marks the first time Grady has ever WATCHED tv haha.  We had to document it because sometimes I'd like this boy to stay still and watch a little Mickey like his sister did!  This was Baby First TV and lasted about 10 minutes and hasn't happened since.  

This queen has been on top of her game recently...minus a little time at the pool on Saturday.  But she recovered after a good nap!

Girl's night out last Thursday with my friends from Molly Anne's class!  I'm thankful for their friendships and have really enjoyed hanging out with them.  All of our children are about to swap classes and won't be all together anymore but we are still going to get together!  This particular night we were at Jen's house and we were talking talking talking and looked up and it was 11:45pm!!



This little bubba has his puppy underneath him.  There's another of the same one in his crib and I'm trying to get him to love on that one too so he likes taking it to school with him in August!  And bunny which my parents gave him when we were up there a couple of weeks ago.  He loves bunny and plays with his floppy ears!


Sunshine on a Friday morning.  She got herself dressed and told me she wanted to have a pony tail that day!  



Yesterday morning she told me that pig tails would be a great idea for her hair!  Ha! 

Love my days with these two.  Last summer I was off all summer for maternity leave so being in the real world this summer has had its cons...and pros haha!  These are the days!!

Pool Weekend

We were at the pool allllll weekend long.  What Summer should be!

On Friday I grabbed the kids, got them changed and sunscreened, packed dinner for them and met Kevin over there at the neighborhood pool.  It was a blast and we stayed extra time because dinner was done for them!  

Grady scooted off the side by himself for the first time!  He loves to swim and he gets dunked every time we go to the pool just like swim school taught me to do for Molly Anne when she was his age!  And over the past two weeks he has learned to hold his breath under water. I use the same words and tone right before i put him under for a second...”reaaaady, go!”  Little Otter Swim School trick.  I took him in the pool a lot last summer when he was itty bitty too.  Gotta like the water in our house ha!  

Saturday morning I took Molly Anne to soccer while Grady napped and Kevin worked.  

Then we did the same drill - packed lunches and got ready for the pool and filled in that 11-1 time that can be tough for my Grady.  I took both kids while Kevin wrapped up work.  Margot was there so the girls got to play together!  Zero pictures. 

After naps, we all went next door to swim and grill out.  I took fresh corn and also squash and zucchini that Molly Anne and I grabbed from the farmers market after soccer.  Drew threw it all on the grill with a bunch of meat they had. Summertime!  

Sunday - Molly Anne had one of her friends birthday parties and it was a swim party at Lifetime Fitness...aka a fancy resort type pool!  They had girls in the pool playing with the children and lifeguards that were actually watching the kids (unlike our pool)! It was so nice.  Grady came too and we did our thing with the other mamas while all of the 4 year olds played!  Brayden’s mom handed out Truly’s over ice to all of us moms that were so refreshing and tasty!  Quite the party for sure!

This was one of the girls that works there swimming around with Molly Anne and one of her friends on her back!  Sorry for the odd pic...I was sitting on a lounge chair feeding Grady lunch making sure he didn’t fall off. 

Came home and put Grady down for nap. Molly Anne and I went over to the hood pool and met a few of our neighbors who were there.  We stayed until about 4 then came home. The four of us went to dinner at Portifinos. 

It was a good, good weekend!  This was at 6:45pm!  The pool wipes her!

Now, back to reality and a productive work week!

My List

Today at 12:30pm EST is when I can shop the sale.  Here are my top six (well technically seven) things I'd like!

1.  Hands down, favorite shower gel ever.  I get this every anniversary sale.  Almost half off.  This is a really nice Christmas or birthday gift for mom, friend or co-worker.  I call it the ole trusty. 


2.  Kevin has requested two things.  This shirt and these pants.  Both he and my Dad are very into the performance material for polos.  So much cooler for the summer. 



3.  I have really enjoyed my Vince Camuto booties from last year and wore them constantly and at the end of last year I decided I needed a black pair.  


4.  Hoping to score this workout tank.  Anything Zella is good so I won't bore you with the leggings I'm hoping to get!



5.  I gave my MIL and Mom a similar cardigan for Christmas and they both rave about them so I'm hoping to grab this one!



6.  And lastly, if you know me then you know how these are the best pajamas.  I wear them every night.  I may grab them in black. 



Hope everyone has a nice weekend!

What's Up Wednesday

It really hasn't felt like a crazy week but I've had a lot going on in addition to a bunch of work stuff.  

1. We have a tree at our new house that died and needs to be cut down and another dead one at our old house so I've been trying to get our tree guy over to get an estimate.  The one we got last week isn't going to work ha.  Not fun money to spend!

2.  I registered Molly Anne for gymnastics starting in August.  She's going to be obsessed.  She's been asking for awhile to do gymnastics and I know she's going to love this.  We even brought back my gymnastics mat from when I was little and that's currently between our kitchen and den.  Keeping it classy. 

3.  Kevin and decided that it's finally time to get shelves built in his workshop in our garage.  So  I have a call into our trim guy to get that done.  

4.  My parents gave us a chair that was my mom's grandmother so I'm the fourth generation to have it but I need to pick out some fabric and have it recovered.  We brought it back last weekend from Maryland.

5.  Wrapping up a few things with our old house and the new renters that are in there.  They are incredibly kind and I'm so happy to have them!

6.   Yesterday I ordered Oh The Places You’ll Go for Grady to have.  It's currently $10.99 on Amazon.  I started the tradition with Molly Anne when Ms. Becky wrote her the sweetest note and this year I'll have her current teachers sign it.  Grady needed one for Ms. Becky to sign before he moves to Molly Anne's school!

7.   I need to get my tail in gear and sort out kid's fall clothes to figure out what I’m going to donate, sell or keep.  And Grady needs basically an entirely new wardrobe.  

8.  On Monday, I took a bunch of baby stuff to a friend of a friend for her surprise 3rd baby. Win win for both of us!  She will get use out of it and I got to get it out of our house!  The rest of our stuff went to our cleaning ladies and they were so thrilled.  I had soooo many clothes of Grady's with tags still on them that they were so happy to have.  He grew so fast!

9.  Took Grady to PT this morning and he has to get inserts in his tennis shoes.  I'm kinda bent out of shape about it but I know it'll help him.  I'm just trying to keep it simple in my head and not get crazy over it. 

10.  Kevin and I had a fun little night last night.  We got a JBL speaker on Prime Day and it works perfectly in our golf cart.  We hung out in the garage, caught up about a few things with the house and drank some beverages.  I took the golf cart for a spin with Mills, then again to a neighbor's house that they're building and again to Margot's!

That's it for now!  Chat soon!

Rest of Maryland

I cannot handle this boy...the sweetest and cutest. He learned how to blow me kisses on our way to the beach and he kisses the top of his thumb then pulls his hand out my way!  Yes it’s so adorable and i need to video it ASAP. 

Friday midday Kevin flew into town to hang with us for the weekend!!  After naps, we drove down to the boardwalk in Ocean City so Molly Anne could ride rides!

This is Poppa and Molly Anne’s special ride. Well so is tilt a whirl now because Dad and I have always ridden that one together!

Kevin and she on the Merry Mixer!

Nannie kept track of Grady and how he was doing!  He LOVED watching Molly Anne on the rides although you can’t tell in the below pic. He loves watching all of the action!


That’s Molly Anne all of the way up there!  She has zero fear.


Tilt a whirl!

Good times in the arcade where we grew up playing skee ball!

We ate dinner at Dough Roller then our neighbors showed up and we got to hang with them for a bit and they took this picture of the whole crew!

Laura Leigh, Molly Anne and I went on the big Ferris wheel. Such an amazing view. 

Gorgeous sunset and such a fun time!  This was on the drive back home!

Saturday we really didn’t do much!  It was much needed!  

They are both so comfortable at my parent’s house. Molly Anne makes herself right at home the instant she walks in there. Grady was so happy the entire time!  Ahhh just makes me so happy!

Molly Anne loves their pond and the two fish that we got back in April are still alive - Goldie and Tag Along are their names. 

Saturday night after they were in bed, my Dad and I did a blind gin tasting!  It was so fun.  Bombay was our favorite. Rangpur Tanqueray was second, then regular Tanqueray then the Irish Gin!  

The four of us drove back on Sunday and it was nice to have the extra set of hands with Kevin being with us!  It still took 10.5 hours...such a long day but so worth it!  We survived ha!

Until next time.!