Eggstra, Eggstra!

Okay, so the title is cheesy, but I couldn't think of anything creative. Jack has officially gotten the Easter egg hunting fever. After two hunts in two days, he's really gotten the hang of it. Sweet Merideth got Jack an awesome bucket to use for his hunting.

Our church held an egg hunt Wednesday night after supper. Things got kicked off with the youth putting on a puppet show for the kids. Jack had seen one once before (I think last summer), and I was pretty sure he would like it. When we walked in, they had put out the little chairs for them to sit in, rather than sitting on the floor. So, Jack sat next to Merideth's boys Tate & Brit. Even though he's a good bit smaller and younger than they are he looked so big sitting in that little chair! I think you'll agree. It was as if he'd aged a whole year over night (I think his new haircut helped too). Our little boy is growing up fast.

After the show, the little ones headed out to the playground to hunt eggs. Jack quickly got the hang of what he was supposed to do with the eggs. He liked throwing or hurling them into the bucket, but we had to point them out. He managed to find three, which was plenty. Then he moved on to the slide. I'm pretty sure his favorite part of the night was the cookie topped with colored sugar.

Today, his preschool class had an egg hunt. This one was held inside because of the yucky weather. Granted, these eggs seemed to be more obviously placed, but Jack had no trouble figuring out exactly what to do with them. He gathered his pile quickly. We had fun playing with the others in his class...although today it was just Jack and the girls (Carson, MacKynna & Amelia). Jack's best buddy, Andrew, is still recovering from RSV. He's on the mend though and we look forward to catching up at his birthday party on Saturday!

You can see lots more pictures from our egg-citing adventures here.

Extraordinary

This past weekend I traveled to Greenville with several girlfriends and my mom to attend the Extraordinary Women conference. There were a host of speakers including comedian Chonda Pierce, Angela Thomas, Julie Clinton and author Karen Kingsbury, which was pretty much the whole reason my mom came. She (and my sister) loves Karen's books and has read pretty much every one of them.

Friday night during one of the conference breaks, mom bought two of Karen's newest books and then stepped in line to have them signed. Luckily, she spotted me coming out of the bathroom and hollered for me to come over. I was able to snag a photo of mom & Karen, who is very tall! After the break, NewSong performed. It was an uplifting concert full of several of their greatest songs.

After the session ended, we raced through the rain to the car and set out in search of the nearest Krispy Kreme (something that is at least 45 minutes away from us back home). We were able to find one about 2 miles from the Bi-Lo Center and it was packed with dozens of hungry (presumably) extraordinary women. We waited patiently and then carried a dozen piping hot doughnuts back to our room at Embassy Suites, where Andrea had gotten us a free room with her rewards. The doughnuts were better than I remember, and we stayed up late gabbing and giggling.

Six-fifteen came early the next morning, but if we wanted to take advantage of the free breakfast...we had to get going. We all managed to stumble out of the hotel and make it to the conference where we met up with the rest of our group. We were pleasantly surprised to hear Karen Kingsbury speak first. She was incredible and had the entire place (about 7,000 women) in tears when she read her book Let Me Hold You Longer. If you've read it, you know what I mean. If you haven't, you should...but make sure you have a tissue handy.

After hearing a couple more speakers, we headed home a little early...but not before a stop at Chick-fil-A for lunch/snack. Although, Jack was a bit grumpy because he's been teething and a little under the weather for the better part of a week, it was so good to see him and give him a big hug. Josh was such a trooper to give up two weekends in a row to be full-time dad/mom so I could get away for some girl time. Thanks, Josh!

Best Nap Ever

I think I had the best nap of my life yesterday afternoon. Just thinking about it sort of returns me to the sheer bliss! I guess I have to set up the story, so you can learn how to also achieve the best nap ever. It all starts with a ridiculously fun weekend.

Friday afternoon our MOPS group left for our retreat in Clayton at Camp Pinnacle. My mom graciously agreed to come and watch Jack until Josh was home from work. Later that evening Josh's buddy Ben and his son Ben Jr. would be coming up for the weekend. After our steering team made a stop at the SUPER Wal-Mart in Clayton for much needed supplies (ie. Oreos, Reese's PB Eggs, Cokes, Candy...), we got settled in the cabin at Camp Pinnacle. Once the moms began to arrive, we split into teams and began a scavenger hunt around Clayton. There were a few items to collect, but the majority of the hunt involved capturing photos of places or things taking place. It was oh so much fun.

Later we met for dinner at Mama G's and then retired to the cabin. Only there wasn't much retiring. Most of us stayed up pretty late playing games, laughing, snacking and then crept into our sleeping bags for a couple hours of rest before our 7:30 wake-up call. We enjoyed yummy Chick-n-minis and cinnamon clusters from Chick-fil-A before returning home...making the early departure much easier.

Once home, I joined the boys (Josh, Jack, Ben & Ben) for their late breakfast. Soon after Ben headed to pick up Wendy. The rest of us stayed and played. Ben, Jr. & Jack took a bubble bath, which Jack enjoyed until we turned the jets on. Then he was done! After he got out, we turned them back on and let the bath become a tub of frothy bubbles. Ben, Jr. loved it. Then, we all headed to Chuck E. Cheese.

I thought there might be a chance that Jack would hate CEC and we would then have an excuse to never go back. It's actually not that bad, but Saturday afternoons are pretty much the worst! At least we didn't encounter any vomit! Anyway, Jack loved CEC! He devoured the pizza. Oh, and thanks to daddy we discovered he likes root beer too.

Sunday the Pucketts joined us at church. We enjoyed an awesome lunch at Hawg Wild. Love that place and it's incredible sweet potato fries. After the Pucketts departed for home around 2:45, Josh set out to mow the front yard. I put Jack down for a much-needed nap. I quickly studied up for my KidzLife duties at church then crawled in bed myself. I remember waking up when Josh came in about 20 minutes later, but he didn't bother waking me again when he left for drama practice at church. Thankfully, I did wake up in plenty of time to make it to church by 5:30, but it was one of the best naps ever. I'm pretty sure there was drool to prove it! LOL!

You can read more about my MOPS Retreat here.

A week in review...

Whew...what a week. It's been a busy one. The greater part of my Tuesday & Wednesday was spent helping with the preparations for Wednesday Night Supper at our church. There are several "Supper Shepherds" or lead chefs and they are responsible for recruiting their own help each time they cook. Denise (one of the shepherds) had been asking me to join in the fun. So, I did. I don't think I'll look at my WNS meal the same way again! A lot of work goes into preparing lasagna, salad, bread & dessert for 275 people! I had a lot of fun working with the other ladies in the kitchen and will most definitely volunteer with Denise again when her week rolls around again.

Thursday night was Bunco and Merideth's birthday. So, several of us girls celebrated with cake and coffee. Like our make-shift birthday candle?

Friday seems so long ago. One thing I do remember about Friday was that Josh had been in the mood for some sushi for a few days. We decided to trek down to Gainesvegas to indulge. Jack liked the chopsticks and the huge drum by the door to the restaurant.

We spent Saturday in Athens. We headed down for lunch and met up with Stacie at Chick-fil-A. Where else, right? Poor Josh just puts up with my CFA obsession. After dropping Jack off at my parents, we headed to a matinee. I think the last movie Josh & I went to see together was Juno. We took Jack, who was probably 2 months old, and he slept the entire time. Just in case, it's a while before we get back to the theatre we wanted to pick a winner (and we did!) We saw Slumdog Millionaire. It was a beautiful movie with a beautiful story, and I highly recommend it!

After the movies, we headed back to my parents to celebrate my sister's recent engagement and also her & Josh's birthday's (a little early!) Of course, the Wii was on non-stop, and Jack even got a turn. When it was time for birthday candles, we realized we didn't have the appropriate numbers (23 for Em & 32 for Josh). As you can see we managed to improvise yet again!

On Sunday, we hit the road again. This time headed to Chattanooga for cousin Nathan's 3rd birthday party! It was an inflatables party. I think it's safe to say the adults had a lot more fun than the kids. There are lots more pictures here.

And, in case I haven't filled you in, Jack is walking now. Often times, he still prefers to crawl, but he's gotten very good at getting up after falling. Josh pointed out he looks a little like Frankenstein with his arms flailing about in front of him. We look forward to his check-up Wednesday to see how he's grown.

Whew!

*Note: this too is postdated...I've had several post ideas floating around!

What a day! This morning I had a MOPS Steering Team meeting. We talked about how the year has gone so far and what we hope to do different/better for the second half of the year. Afterward, a couple of us joined working girls, Merideth & Joni for lunch at the Market Cafe, which I discovered has burgers...who knew? Unfortunately, it was after I had already ordered my pimento cheese sandwich, which was yummy...but Joni's burger smelled so good!

On the way home, Jack and I dashed into the grocery store to pick up some more ricotta, mozarella and milk (it's on sale this week...I would have gotten 2 gallons, but I don't have the fridge space...it's not as organized as my pantry!) Not long after we got back in the car had Jack given up the struggle to stay awake. Poor guy is still rocking 2 naps a day and when he misses the morning nap because we're away from home or out of sorts, he gets cranky.

So, while he napped I got to work making enough Lasagna to feed 3 families. I also managed to make a strawberry shortcake, which was hard not to dig into. We had some friends and their 3 kids (The Sheldons) over for dinner tonight. Our menu was Lasagna, Salad, Doughnut Bread (lol...thanks, Merideth!), Green beans & Strawberry Shortcake (saved a stash for the Spruills, but you have to cross the gnat line to get it!) We had a wondeful time catching up and as always Jack loved having the big kids around. Amy especially loved entertaining Jack and helping take care of him. She helped me get his pjs on and read him a book before I put him to bed. Then, while the guys gabbed Erin & I played UNO Attack with the kids. It was a lot of fun, but the last game wore everyone out...it must have lasted an hour! After it was all over, I was exhausted from all the fun. I quickly loaded the dishwasher and formulated all the great material for this blog entry and then headed to bed. Thank goodness my massage is tomorrow!

Oh, yeah the third family to enjoy lasagna will be the Cains on Sunday. I went ahead and assembled another to bake on Sunday afternoon to take them for dinner. Wendy & Stephen just welcomed a new baby, Emme. We went to visit them on her birthday yesterday. She's so precious!

A Day with the Big Boys

I just put Jack to bed and he ought to sleep well. Today he played like one of the big boys, which only makes sense because he spent most of his day with Tate and Brit Shaw (little ones belonging to our pals the Shaws). Merideth started her new job today with a five-day trip to Atlanta. So, we were happy to entertain the boys until Derek finished up work. I picked the boys up at their school, and we all headed to the park.

I have to admit my motive was to wear down the threesome. The combination of soaring temperatures and lack of shade led to a short stay at the park, but the boys all had fun anyway. For the last 15 minutes, I had all three boys in swings hopping from boy to boy pushing. Despite the heat, we enjoyed our outing. I think everyone was happy to get in the car and cool off.

Once we got home the boys showed me and Jack all the toys they brought along. Tate really enjoyed Jack's tractor, which was a gift from Charlie & Wyatt Spruill (who else right?). After I put Jack down for a nap, the boys and I watched a Larry Boy movie. After Jack woke up we all played some more; Jack was wiggling and rolling all over trying to play like the big boys. Tate and I read what seemed like a million books. Soon it was Jack's dinner time. So, I set the boys up with crayons and paper at the table, while I fed Jack. Tate wanted help drawing the characters from the movie we had seen. So, we drew Larry Boy, the Rumor Weed and then both boys got a tractor to color. Tate even decided to leave his tractor for Mr. Josh.

Once Josh got home we all went to McDonald's for dinner. On the way, I was asking the boys what they wanted to eat. The choices were hamburger, cheeseburger or chicken nuggets. Brit quickly answered chicken nuggets. Tate's answer was the funniest, "which one comes with a toy?" He was pleased to hear they all did! He settled on a hamburger. They both ate well...including yummy yogurt parfaits. When we headed home Derek was there waiting on the boys. He looked exhausted. I hope the boys took a quick bath and went straight to bed for him!

I was really delighted to have the opportunity to hang out with the boys today. When I have my hands full with other people's kids I don't even attempt to do other things like dishes, laundry, etc. So, it was a lot of fun to play motorcycles and monsters, color Larry-Boys and tractors...kind of like being a kid again! Thanks, Merideth. I hope your trip is going well. I can't wait to hear all about it!

High Rollas

Tuesday evening was our first (of hopefully many) BUNCO parties. I have loved BUNCO since I first began playing a couple of years ago in Greenwood. It's basically a silly game of luck/chance that mixes well with making new friends and having a girls night out! I mentioned wanting to get a group going and was excited to meet interest from two great gals, Andrea and Merideth. So, we invited friends from church, MOPS and every where else hoping to find more interest! Thankfully, last night we had 12 folks, which was perfect. We had just enough to fill the three tables I had set up and a small enough number to help everyone figure out how to play.

The group started out pretty quiet, but once the BUNCOs started getting rolled the party got louder. April had the most wins; Noelle and I tied for the most losses; Stacey was the BUNCO queen with five BUNCOs. Here's a photo of one of her many lucky rolls!

Here's Tori carefully adding up her score before the winners are announced. I only got to roll with her once, but I heard she was pretty competitive. Glad you had fun, Tori! I think everyone had a great time and is looking forward to our next party...I know I am!

Just the Good Ole Boys

On Friday, Jack and I went to Pitts Park for one of the last MOPS Friday in the Park play dates of the summer. Usually he just sits around or hops from person to person, but we did some actual playing today. Joni, a friend of ours, helped him ride the carousel with some of the other kids, and then I put him in one of the swings. He really loved it. I was able to get a few cute pictures of him enjoying the ride.

I look forward to taking him back to the park with Josh, so he can see how he loves the swing. Although you can probably get a pretty good idea just by looking at the pictures I got. After the park, Merideth and her boys entertained Jack while I had a lunch meeting with the PR committee of the local Habitat for Humanity.

On Saturday, Josh wanted to take Jack to see one of his favorite childhood memories, the General Lee. Josh has a picture from his childhood with the famous orange Charger and thought it would be neat for Jack to have one, too. A local car dealership had one on display and we took Jack to see it. I'm sure it will make for a funny story one day.

Our day concluded with dinner with the Shaws. They are in the middle of a lot of changes, one of which is their address, so we thought they could use a break from packing and also gave them a few more boxes. Jack as usual loved being entertained by Tate and Brit. We are looking forward to having them over to play on Wednesday!

By the way, Jack is officially 8 months old as of today. Crazy, huh? He is as fun as ever. He is talking, babbling a lot these days. Mostly da da and na na, which he doesn't associate specifically with anyone or anything yet. He's also a very busy body, wiggling everywhere. He's on the verge of busting loose and crawling everywhere (guess we better get our act together and finish babyproofing!) There are more pictures of our weekend adventures in our usual place.

Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

May has arrived and with it the celebration of Cinco de Mayo! Thanks to our wonderful friends the Shaws, we indulged in a fiesta of epic proportions...complete with three-meat burritos, homemade salsa/bean dip, chocolate chimichangas ala mode and a pinata! I'm not sure who had more fun with the pinata...the little ones or the big ones? Either way...I left knowing I will soon attempt to make Joni's delicious salsa/bean dip and Merideth's incredible chocolate chimichangas!! Here I am ready to show that pinata who's boss!

Of course, the best part of the evening were the great moustaches and sombreros Merideth pulled out! What a hit with everyone...although Tate and Jack were the only ones to bravely wear them! We got some great photos. Here's one with Jack and Joni, but there are a few more in the May photos folder (link to the right). What a night. Thanks, Shaws! I hope we can return the favor soon.