Daddy Turns 40!

For those of my friends who have children, please forgive the term "daddy" in my title because I am not referring to MY father, but my kids' father. Since this blog is for our kids to learn about our adventures in parenting - I will refer to Chris as "daddy"... and MY "daddy" as "Papa," which is what Kennedy and Brady call him.

So daddy just turned 40! If you know Chris, then you know he is NOT into birthdays...at...all. It's not that he doesn't like having a birthday. And it's not that he's in denial. He just doesn't like people to make a big fuss.

If you know me, then you know I LOVE to make a big fuss. Sometimes we mix like oil and water. This is one of those situations. But seriously - 40 is a BIG birthday! I didn't want to be tacky and obnoxious with "Over the Hill" stuff because 40 is NOT OLD. And besides, he's got a young, blonde 32-year-old wife! Haha!

Birthday morning, Kennedy and I decorated the kitchen, put out our gifts and snuck out of the house before dawn to get his favorite Starbucks drink. Kennedy was so excited to help me get things together for her daddy. The night before, she helped wrap presents and begged to keep them in her room because ..."Daddy would never find them there!" I agreed because who on earth could turn down such giddiness?! When I put her to bed that night, I told her I would be waking her up so we could get daddy's favorite morning coffee. My alarm went off at 5:45. I threw on some clothes and went to Kennedy's room and she was already awake and bouncing with excitement!

So we had our family celebration that morning and enjoyed the company of some friends that evening. Honestly, I think Chris would have been happy with just that. But mama doesn't know how to celebrate small. So the next weekend, we invited our closest friends over for a crawfish boil. It was soooooooooo good! Being in Louisiana has grown on Chris because he really likes crawfish! Crawfish + corn + potatoes + beer + his favorite dessert = THE best birthday party!

This picture makes me fall in love with this sweet face all over again. He is so handsome and so wonderful to me and is the BEST father to our kids. I am extremely lucky to have him. Oh - and you see that cute little button? That's his baby picture! It looks exactly like Brady! I had some buttons made for everyone to wear... they had very embarrassing pictures from Chris' mullet-pimply teen years. Did I mention he is a good sport?

About that favorite dessert - Boston Cream Pie - I ordered this one. I tried to make one the first year we were married and FAILED miserably. I will never try again. It was awful and took me two days to make it. That was the year I learned there is a difference between baking powder and baking soda. No blonde jokes people!

Chris' mom (Memere, as the kids know her) makes this dessert and I will never be able to live up to those expectations. It's just NOT possible. So I called around and there is one bakery in town that makes it. He said it was pretty good (I'm not a big fan, so I had one bite), but I'm sure it doesn't come close to his mom's. That's okay.... it's the effort, right?
One final funny picture of Brady eyeballing this crawfish. He wasn't quite sure what to think, but I just couldn't help but post this photo. Right after I took the picture, he ran off to play.

Happy Birthday daddy!!

"Awww meeeah!"

Quick funny story about sweet Brady.

He LOVES to play outside. That's an understatement. He is constantly pointing out the window and saying, "Side?" That's definitely the boy in him. All Kennedy wanted to do at his age is sit on the floor and play with her toys. So any chance he gets, Brady wants to be outside in the grass, pushing cars around, anything.

This morning, we opened the garage door so I could load up the car for school. Brady stepped down the step into the garage, took a few steps, turned around to see if Chris was within reach, and then made a beeline for the driveway hoping to play outside.

Chris scooped him up and held him like a plank under his arm and Brady, in his sweet innocent voice, said, "Awww meeeeah!" (Translation: "Awe man!")

We laughed and laughed and laughed. It was THE best way to start our day.

Spring Evenings

What is it about spring evenings that make me smile? Last night, Chris fired up the grill and open two ice cold beers for us... I made hamburger patties and sat on the porch while the kids played. It was one of those moments where I was soaking in all the goodness around me. Brady loves playing outside, so we lounge on the back porch as much as possible right now while it's warm!

So as I was sitting in my chair, I looked at my kids sitting at their picnic table and thought.... "How blessed am I to have these two wonderful babies in my life? (Hush, I know Kennedy is 5. She is STILL my baby and always will be!)

And then I was checking out the cute hiney on my husband and thought... "What a lucky woman I am to have THIS man in my life (with a cute butt)."

After our dinner on the back porch, Brady got a little dessert - a bright green Peep from his Easter candy. This child LOVES those things. He practically swallowed it whole.

And then, we went to the front to watch Kennedy roller skate. Considering this girl is a complete scaredy cat about EVERYTHING, I was super pumped about her rolling around on the concrete.

(Disclaimer: she has been practicing for weeks! It took her a week to get brave enough to get off the grass!)

So spring is here and we are enjoying every minute of it! Before we know it, the temperatures will be burning us alive at nearly 100 so we will enjoy every minute of this!

Easter

Besides the fact that Brady was feeling icky (although you cannot tell in this picture below), we had a great Easter. My parents came to our church and Tim was in town, so he joined us as well. Then the traditional brunch and egg hunt at Nina and Papa's house! Grandma Faye felt up to coming over, so she joined us too. Both kids were given books from the Grandparent Easter Bunny.

Did you know he visited the grandparents house? It's kind of like Santa. Ha!

Oh... and Brady had an Easter basket very similar to his sister's (but with boy things and darker colors)... but since he is obsessed with Elmo these days, Kennedy and I found this tiny Elmo basket and she thought it would be fun to buy for her little brother. It was one of those sweet moments that I want to bottle up and take out whenever they're fighting over a toy.

The Tale of Two Toenails

Remember my race a few weeks ago? Four weeks to be exact. Well it was, as I have previously written, my third half marathon in a year.

And yes, I enjoyed training for it with my friend Daniel, who had never done a half marathon before, and my usual running buddies Chris, Susie, Deni, Ford, and Eric.

BUT... I had the same problem this race as I did the previous one in Memphis. I get blisters under my big toenails and then they decide to fall off! Last time, the nail wasn't attached anywhere except at the cuticle area. I eventually had to just cut them off. No pain, people! Just sweet relief because I could wear closed-toe shoes again.

Well, as I suspected when my nails began to feel strange a day or two after the race - I had blisters under my nails. But this time, since we are quickly approaching flip flop weather, I was determined to keep the nails.

Who wants to see funky toes without nails in the summer?

But after snagging my nail in Kennedy's room one night while reading her a book, I realized that they could not be salvaged. If you get queasy at the sight of strange things, don't scroll down. My feet!??!

I will be forced to paint my nail bed and hope that no one notices. My friend did send me a link to a place where you can buy press on nails for your toes! Hahahaha!

After a four-week running hiatus, I decided that it was time to lace up again. Off I went on a nice and easy four miles.

The good news: my toes didn't feel a thing.

The bad news: I am REALLY sore. I won't be training for a long distance race for a while. In the meantime, me and my toenail-less toes will enjoy the short distances.

What is that floating in the tub!?

This day should be marked in history as a VERY gross day in my son's life. Today, Brady decided it was a good day to poop in the tub. Yes... yucky... I know. But I've come to realize that my son is NOT the delicate flower that my daughter is. He does things that boys do... and I am adjusting accordingly. He's much rougher, hits people and things with bats... he throws books, he'll hit the dogs if I'm not looking.

Here's how it happened. Kennedy and Brady still take baths together. Look people - don't judge. I'm doing the best I can to make sure they're both cleaned each night, so ONE bath makes it easier. I'm sure they'll separate soon, especially since Kennedy is starting to point to some of Brady's "business." Anyway, she had already gotten out of the tub and I was drying her off. Brady was still playing in the tub... and was strangely quiet. I looked over to find his face BEET red and he was holding his breathe and .... YUP... you guessed it! The second I realized what he was doing, a nice little floater popped up out of the bubbles. I had to get him out of the tub before he reached for it because... THAT'S WHAT BOYS DO!

Goodness gracious.... this is going to be an interesting ride!!

Crazy busy

I have been neglecting my blog.... I know. But I'm not sure I could squeeze out another thing in my schedule. I HAVE to sleep sometime! I know moms don't usually get much sleep, but I become a zombie after having anything less than 6 or 7 hours a night.

So here's what has consumed me late: The class I'm taking for grad school this semester is taking a LOT more time than my first semester. Last semester was Renaissance Literature. This semester: Organizational Communication. Not hard, but a lot of reading and research required! My research topic is comparing General Motors and Toyota's response to crisis and to determine who is winning the public relations war. It's a lot of fun, but I just wish I had more time to devote to it. On TOP of that, my paying job has been brutal! Not an exaggeration, simple truth. I was put in charge of editing all the content for our university's website. Uh, yeah. I thought the same thing. WHAT!??! How can one person do this, you ask? Not sanely... that's for sure. Our university website has 6,000 pages. Each section of the site has a spreadsheet which shows all the pages needed. (Note: I am TRYING to consolidate!! But convincing professors - who write thousands of words in a single sitting - is way more difficult than I anticipated). So while most days offer me a little downtime - that is not happening these days. Most nights, I am sitting in front of the TV with my laptop open either working or researching for class.

At home, Chris is settling into his new position quite nicely. He's traveling less (yay!)...but if I'm being completely honest - I wish I was the one who was working from home. I'd have time to cook more, pick up the kids from school. Yes, I'm old fashioned. Mom should be at home, not dad. But I'm grateful that someone is here so that the kids can be picked up early and dinner is always started by the time I walk in. Really, I'm very lucky.

Oh - and one more thing. I'm in love...... with spring! The kids are playing outside (without breaking a sweat), drinking lemonade on the porch, sidewalk chalk, bubbles, soccer.... SO much fun. It lifts my spirit in so many ways and seeing my children smile and laugh makes all the madness of work and school fade away.