July Roadtrip

Get excited SC! Here we come! 

I can't miss my family's July 4th celebration. It is one of my favorite times of the year. It's the epitome of summer: steaming hot weather, delicious food, lots of loved ones laughing and catching up, and a big swimming pool. 

Jude's been watching me pack; Maddox keeps saying, "I'm ready to go!" It's turning into a constant whine. He just doesn't understand the concept of "we're leaving in the afternoon." He probably will not understand the concept of a 9-hour drive either. I'm already prepared for the never-ending, "Are we there yet?"

 

 Look how much Jude loves his life jacket! Yea...right. Maybe the boat ride with MiMi and Grandpa will make him forget about it...or maybe he will just cry nonstop. I guess we'll find out soon enough.

I hope the day goes by fast. I feel like a little kid on Christmas Eve...go, time, go! Then...please slow down once we get there.

Our Very Cool Neighbor

Yani gets the coolest neighbor award. The boys and I went across the street to her house a couple days ago and made homemade sugar cookies (more like I made sure Jude didn't eat her house alive while she and Maddox made the cookies). 

We have so much in common! A fellow lover of vintage owls, Goodwilling, antiquing, photography, design? Why, yes, that's her! 

And my boys think her dog is the funniest thing on earth.

It feels good to know your neighbors...and even better to actually LIKE them!

Jude is practicing the nose sniffing technique before working on his "Indian call" (his two latest ventures). 

Maddox Goes to Work

One of the best parts of my morning is when Maddox "goes to work." He watches Andrew pull out the driveway and then he starts..."Bye, Mommy, I'm going to work."

He pulls on his rainboots, makes sure his hat is snug on his head and then he gets in his Little Tikes car.

I'll say, "What do you do at work?"
He always replies, "Fixing the airplane."

A few minutes later, the little black car returns.
"Mommy, I'm back home!"

This little routine is as predictable as my morning coffee and it never gets old.

Beach Bums

We spent 2 hours at the beach today. 

 No sunburns, buts lots of giggles, seaweed and very sandy butts. 

It was all topped off with snowcones - Tiger's Blood and Blue Raspberry. 

Maddox was so tired, though, he could hardly enjoy it. 

Jude, on the other hand, demanded more...and more...and more. 

Lucky for this tired mama, they slept in the car and are still sleeping (one hour later) in their beds. 

The life of a beach bum is hard work. 

The Runaway Doctor and Yummy, Yummy Cupcakes

I found out that my OBGYN (the oh-so-amazing Dr. Cooley who delivered Jude) has cleaned out her office with no notice and fled town. Fishy, fishy. I started to fear things like maybe she was into insurance fraud or maybe...what if she wasn't even a real doctor?

"That's why Jude's circumcision looks so weird," Andrew teased. "She isn't a doctor."

This is the woman that cut me open and then stapled me back together.

I later found out the reason and yes, she is a real doctor. Phew. She left town because she is apparently in an ugly divorce and she asked the judge if she could suddenly relocate with their children.

Darn. I really, really liked her.

A great little shop has opened downtown. It's called Cupcakes by the Beach and it is AMAZING. 

Red velvet, lemon berry, strawberry shortcake, snickerdoodle...the selection is both beautiful and yummy. I picked key lime and it was almost too pretty to eat. 

Maddox was a fan of the lemon berry, complete with blueberry filling on the inside. What a delicious mess!

Lastnight, the little guy was so tired that after Andrew read him a bedtime story, he said, "Hold me like Jude and walk me around."

This is what happened within 2 minutes.

Oh boy. If he only knew what Jude was doing to his precious stool while he slept, he wouldn't have slept so soundly. 

The Poopin' Caterpillar

Lastnight at bedtime, I read one of Maddox's favorite books, "The Very Hungry Caterpillar." We talked about all the junk food the caterpillar ate and then I read the line, "That night he had a stomachache!" 

Maddox was quick to explain why.

"Mommy, he had to poopy!"

What a funny little guy I have. 

Happy Father's Day

On Father's Day, I whispered to Maddox, "Go tell Daddy 'Happy Father's Day'!"

He hurried to the back of the house, found Andrew and shouted, "Happy Birthday Daddy!"

I guess all the birthdays in May really imprinted that phrase in his head. But it's the thought that counts, right? And later on in the day, out of the blue, he said, "Happy Father's Day, Daddy!" Nothing cuter than that.

I must say, Andrew deserves a big THANKS for being the dad that he is. He endures spit up, poop, and tantrums with ease. He gets in the floor with Maddox as soon as he gets home...or takes Jude off my hands so I can cook dinner. He is always there for the boys, right in the middle of everything. I couldn't wish for a better dad for them. He makes fatherhood fun.

We celebrated with brunch at McGuire's. Andrew managed to eat a steak omelet containing SIX  eggs, along with fruit, Potatoes O'Brien, French beignets, and of course, an Irish coffee. 

The whipped cream on those coffees was AMAZING. The omelets were delicious, too, but they put us in a diabetic coma for the rest of the day. 

Jude behaved remarkably well for 1 1/2 hours in a high chair. And he fell in love with this lime (would not let it go). And Maddox was good, too. He only pulled off one of the zillions of dollar bills that covered the walls.

And now, a special thanks to my own dad (who was really cute as a kid and passed those curlies onto me). 

He's always been there for me and worked so, so hard. He made it possible for me to attend the private college I wanted to go to...he helped us move not once, but TWICE. I always think of my dad when I hear a country song or smell something cooking on a grill. He's a good-hearted man who loves his family...and I must say, he has a mighty fine daughter ;)

Strawberry Pickin'

Too bad Andrew and I didn't realize that strawberry season had come...and gone. 

We drove a whopping 40 minutes (that is a long time with Jude the Car Screamer) to Akers of Strawberries...a quaint little "You Pick" farm in Baker, Florida (aka middle of nowhere). We picked a few tiny strawberries that looked like they were minutes from death and then I started thinking, "Hmmm, maybe strawberry season is over." Indeed.

But I'm still glad we made the trip. Maddox loved it. He said later at naptime, "Mommy, that place we went to today was pretty nice. I liked it." 

I liked it, too (mostly the homemade strawberry yogurt and strawberry shortcake). 

On the way home, Jude the Car Screamer cranked up, so I climbed into the middle backseat. My arm was numb within minutes...but Jude stopped crying. I think my butt is still numb.

At least next year I will be prepared and hit strawberry season before it's over.

By the way, how cute is this kid? 

Old and New Adventures

Andrew turned on our sprinkler at 6 am yesterday on his way to work. And about 30 minutes later, it poured rain. It poured all morning. Maddox looked out the window and said, "Two rains!" I must say, my  marigolds were looking pretty healthy by the end of the day.

I like rainy days (usually). Maddox knows he can't go outside so he doesn't constantly ask, "Can we go outside?? Can we go outside?" Instead, he makes his own fun. This often includes harassing little brother.

 Jude got stuck under the teepee while making his escape. 

Today, the boys got to experience "open gym" for the first time. We went with our good buddies Erika and Ava. Other than Silas the Terror (a 2-year-old who kept attacking Jude), it was a lot of fun. They had just about every contraption you could jump on, climb on, slide on, roll on...you get the point. 

Maddox is best buddies with Ava. 

Jude is going through the wonderful "cling-on" phase but I think he had fun, too (as long as we stayed clear of Silas and he was no more than three feet from me).

I need to get one of these, whatever it is! Both boys loved it.

Ava takes a turn on the wheels. 

I think the Olympics are in his future. 

Open gym was a hit. We'll definitely be going back.