My little man learning how to walk.
...She can laugh at the days to come. Proverbs 31:25 NIV
Monday, August 31
Tuesday, August 25
Mommy's first day of school
Well today was the day. It was Katherine's first day of school. I know, I know, it's only 2 half days a week, but it was a big deal for me. She did better than me, I'm sure. There was a little hesitancy when it was time to let go of my finger and walk into the room by herself, but she choked back the fear and near-tears and walked in there like a big girl.
(Showing off the shirt that twirls. Coincidence? I think not.)
I, on the other hand, had to stop at McDonald's to get some warm water for Nathan's bottle and while I was feeding him the emotions overcame me. Feelings of joy that she's got the opportunity to attend such an awesome school, that she was excited weeks before today, that daddy got to be there for her first day and that her cousins attend there also. Reminiscing: remembering the day she was born, the first day of day care and I went back to work, her first steps, her wanting to stay the night with us in the hospital when Nathan was born, her smell as a baby and holding her to feed her a bottle.
(Cousin-love)
I was proud that she was so brave; she is my little shy girl. I was confident and secure that she was in excellent hands. I was happy it was only 3 hours. I was thankful that God has blessed us with such a beautiful little girl who has exceeded anything I could have ever imagined and for the opportunity to be home with her more these past 2 years. I was flooded with visions of first boyfriends, graduating high school and walking down the aisle.
(Trying to show everyone how strong she is, I think)
What an awesome opportunity for me and Nathan to have some time together also. My little man finished his bottle and thought it would be best to play with the steering wheel. He was a trooper today. I'm pretty sure he could tell something was different, though. Either that, or God blessed me by laying his hand of calmness and contentness on Nathan.
I had 3 close friends/family members wish me luck directly or call to check up on me, mostly. And I believe I can speak for most parents when I say that first-school-day-anxiety isn't completly wrapped up in wondering how she's going to do, if she'll make friends, if the teachers are nice to her or whether or not she finds 'her' way. My anxiety was attached to the emotions of what has been and what will be. So many extraordinary events have happened in such a short amount of time, it can be overwhelming to process them much less attempt thinking of the future. Three and a half years have flown by. It's so cliche, but true.
When I came to pick her up, she looked happy and excitedly said, "Hey Mommy! I had fun! I want to come back again." Well, that does it! We're going back.
(Showing off the shirt that twirls. Coincidence? I think not.)I, on the other hand, had to stop at McDonald's to get some warm water for Nathan's bottle and while I was feeding him the emotions overcame me. Feelings of joy that she's got the opportunity to attend such an awesome school, that she was excited weeks before today, that daddy got to be there for her first day and that her cousins attend there also. Reminiscing: remembering the day she was born, the first day of day care and I went back to work, her first steps, her wanting to stay the night with us in the hospital when Nathan was born, her smell as a baby and holding her to feed her a bottle.
(Trying to show everyone how strong she is, I think)What an awesome opportunity for me and Nathan to have some time together also. My little man finished his bottle and thought it would be best to play with the steering wheel. He was a trooper today. I'm pretty sure he could tell something was different, though. Either that, or God blessed me by laying his hand of calmness and contentness on Nathan.
I had 3 close friends/family members wish me luck directly or call to check up on me, mostly. And I believe I can speak for most parents when I say that first-school-day-anxiety isn't completly wrapped up in wondering how she's going to do, if she'll make friends, if the teachers are nice to her or whether or not she finds 'her' way. My anxiety was attached to the emotions of what has been and what will be. So many extraordinary events have happened in such a short amount of time, it can be overwhelming to process them much less attempt thinking of the future. Three and a half years have flown by. It's so cliche, but true.
When I came to pick her up, she looked happy and excitedly said, "Hey Mommy! I had fun! I want to come back again." Well, that does it! We're going back.
Sunday, August 23
Sunday stuff
We have entered the Twilight Zone-like world of things mysteriously missing. How did the hand mirror end up in my undergarments drawer? Where has the letter opener disappeared to? How did one of Jim's hankerchiefs end up in Nathan's sock drawer? How did the camera cord to download pictures end up in the car? Who put a sippy cup full of water in a suitcase? I think we all know the answer to these questions and when I ask her she always says, "I dunno."
Is there anything cuter than a baby sleeping with his hiney poked up?
I got all sentimental today when I noticed that two of Katherine's dresses looked similar. She's starting school this week (2, half days/week). I'm working diligently to prepare her, but preparing myself is another story.
Is there anything cuter than a baby sleeping with his hiney poked up?
I got all sentimental today when I noticed that two of Katherine's dresses looked similar. She's starting school this week (2, half days/week). I'm working diligently to prepare her, but preparing myself is another story.
Saturday, August 22
8 Years!
(Yellowstone, 2004)
This week we celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary. We love to go to St. Augustine and eat at the Columbia Restaurant. Particularly, their 1905 salad is what we drive there for. It gives us 3 hours of uninterrupted drive time to talk, which is something we rarely get a chance to do.
The Columbia Restaurant has their own parking lot with an attendant. Since I can remember, we've seen the same guy manning the entrance/exit and he is VERY hard to understand. He has a strong Spanish accent and we always get a kick out of me not being able to understand him. Even though I know the general idea of what he's going to say (here's your voucher, get it stamped by your waiter and bring it back so you don't have to pay for parking), I literally cannot understand but about 1 of every 25 words that come out of his mouth. One year, I was driving as we entered the parking lot. I knew what he was going to say, but I was so frozen with not understanding him that Jim finally said, "I understood him, go park." It still didn't register, my brain was too busy trying to decipher his words; my mouth was open, I had this dumbfounded look on my face, and the guy was shifting his eyes from me to the car waiting behind me. I finally drove forward asking within hearing distance of him, "what did he say?"
So this last visit, before Jim drove up, I made a conscience effort to listen carefully and try very hard to understand him. I got one word out of his 2 sentences: 'voucher'. When I asked Jim what he said, he acted as though he speaks Spanish fluently. He squinted his eyes, scrunched up his forehead, cocked his head off to the side slightly and said, "You can't understand him?" He easily recited almost word for word what the man said. I'm still totally baffled.
On the way out, I decided to ask the man how long he has worked there. His response, interpreted fully by Jim after we left, was that he had been with the company for a total of 42 years; worked at the Sarasota and Tampa locations and had been in St. Augustine for the last 10 years. Currently, he lived above the office and watched after the place. Wow! 42 years! That's impressive!
It was a great reminder for our marriage. Even though manning a parking lot probably wasn't what he thought he'd be doing after even 30 years of working for a company, the man is dedicated. He sits out there in the rain, lightning, cold and scorching hot Florida weather. Probably deals with lots of gringas like myself that don't understand a word he says. I certainly don't know all the details of his employment, but there had to be some sort of committment on his part to make it 42 years. Dedication, committment and hard work; ingredients for a marriage that lasts.
Jim, I love you and appreciate all you do for our family. You are without a doubt, the most giving man I've ever met and I am thankful for you. I look forward to many more years with you.
Thursday, August 20
Girly dialogue
I was preparing supper tonight and saw Katherine walking around with one of our old cell phones (we weren't using it anymore so we gave to her). She was holding baby Alive with both hands and the cell phone was propped between her ear and shoulder. Her dialogue was interesting:
"Hey, Kim. Hey, Kim. How are you doing?
(pause)
I'm good, I'm good.
(pause)
Hey Kim. Oh, hold on, I have a little one crying. Hold on. Let me check on he. Hold on. Hold on."
Found out later on that she was scheduling a haircut for baby Alive with Kim, the lady who really has cut Katherine's and Nathan's hair this summer. Her babies do a lot of things similar to Nathan. They fall asleep in the car, 'just like he', when they get sleepy. They bounce up and down when they're dancing to music, 'just like he'. They take naps, 'just like he' and she makes bottles to feed them, 'just like he', before their naps. They get squirmy when she's changing their diaper, 'just like he'. They crawl fast away from her, 'just like he' and her baby 'puts everything in she's mouth, just like brother, Mommy'.
I find it so interesting that she's modeling my behavior so much. We had one of our boy cousins ("A") come over today and play for a couple hours. I didn't really think Katherine was a big talker until he was here. She turned into a serious chatterbox that went on and on and on. He behaved like a 'typical man' (and I don't mean that to be derogatory) and didn't say hardly anything. She would repeat a question about ten times, he would ignore it and she'd finally move on to another question/comment. He calmly played in his own little world while she followed him around trying to tell him how she wanted to play. 'Would you be my prince?' (repeated 10 times), no response. 'Do you want to dance?' (repeated 10 times), no response. 'Do you want to read some books with me?' (repeated 10 times), no response. And when she'd finally say something he was interested in, he'd respond quickly, clearly and act on it. I really love watching these two interact because they're the same age difference as me and one of my boy cousins (A's uncle). From what I hear, Katherine and A are little replicas of us two (for now at least).
Things don't change much in 30 years between boys and girls, either. The questions just get more "important" and the silence is usually coupled with a TV remote in hand.
Wednesday, August 19
Head-bonking laughter
My babies enjoying each other's company.
So, here it is, the publicly-appropriate twirl skirt.
Nathan is sleeping much better for his naps. Mommy guilt has taken over, once more, and now I'm convinced that all his fussiness and not sleeping well was because since June 6th, he's had a total of 6 teeth break through his gums. Hmmm. Maybe he was in pain? Just a hunch mommy-dearest. Teething is just one of those after-thoughts that explains what I've been going through and usually does a great job at making me feel like a horrible mother. Here is my well-rested, precious and sweet little boy.
Sometimes, nothing beats a frozen yogurt pop, on a warm August evening, while taking a swing.
So, here it is, the publicly-appropriate twirl skirt.
Nathan is sleeping much better for his naps. Mommy guilt has taken over, once more, and now I'm convinced that all his fussiness and not sleeping well was because since June 6th, he's had a total of 6 teeth break through his gums. Hmmm. Maybe he was in pain? Just a hunch mommy-dearest. Teething is just one of those after-thoughts that explains what I've been going through and usually does a great job at making me feel like a horrible mother. Here is my well-rested, precious and sweet little boy.
Sometimes, nothing beats a frozen yogurt pop, on a warm August evening, while taking a swing.
Saturday, August 15
Cheap entertainment
'Round these parts (especially since I've been jobless), we scope out cheap forms of entertainment. And when I say cheap, I mean 're-purpose-whatever-is-in-the-house-to-keep-the-children-happy' cheap. Which is what we did today. This was actually Katherine's idea. Good idea sister!
Nathan seemed to enjoy being pulled around with a wide array of toys at his fingertips. I thought it was even cuter that his hair was sticking straight up from the banana slime he insists on spreading through his hair every morning and that it seems he's wearing only a diaper when I take pictures of him here lately. There is a good reason for that, though. Unlike his sister who still shudders at the thought of getting her hands too dirty (much less wiping it everywhere), little dude finds much joy in smearing his slimy joy everywhere. Every morning it is everywhere he can touch upon himself, all over the high chair on top and underneath, my hand or arm when it comes within reach, his water cup; you name it, he touches it and it gets slimed. A mini-bath is required in the kitchen sink about 5 days a week. Soooooo, the hair sticking up and the diaper-only wardrobe is easily explained by this: he's a boy and he doesn't mind getting dirty. I'm starting to come to grips with this and I'm adjusting.
After the video was taken, he started 'driving' his fully loaded laundry basket.
On another note: as of this week twirl status was back up to code orange. You may recall it was code red a while ago because none of the dresses or skirts in Katherine's wardrobe met her twirl specifications. I made her a purple princess skirt and all was well. Don't worry, nothing happened to the princess skirt, but we're back up to code orange because she wants to wear it EVERYWHERE! Around the house, to church, to nice restaurants, to surprise graduation parties, to the grocery store, etc. Code orange on my part, I guess, more than her. I didn't make that princess skirt to be worn in public. The hem isn't straight, it's puckered, the elastic was held together with safety pins and the length varied. So tonight I completed her first publicly-appropriate skirt. She asked to wear it to bed and tested the twirl status at 10:00 tonight. It passed with flying colors. (I'm reaching behind to pat myself on the back). Pictures of the pink and brown skirt later. (she's sleeping in it now)
Since it's safer to lie the ironing board down on the floor after I'm finished using it with a pre-walker roaming around, this was his answer to exploring it:
Nathan seemed to enjoy being pulled around with a wide array of toys at his fingertips. I thought it was even cuter that his hair was sticking straight up from the banana slime he insists on spreading through his hair every morning and that it seems he's wearing only a diaper when I take pictures of him here lately. There is a good reason for that, though. Unlike his sister who still shudders at the thought of getting her hands too dirty (much less wiping it everywhere), little dude finds much joy in smearing his slimy joy everywhere. Every morning it is everywhere he can touch upon himself, all over the high chair on top and underneath, my hand or arm when it comes within reach, his water cup; you name it, he touches it and it gets slimed. A mini-bath is required in the kitchen sink about 5 days a week. Soooooo, the hair sticking up and the diaper-only wardrobe is easily explained by this: he's a boy and he doesn't mind getting dirty. I'm starting to come to grips with this and I'm adjusting.
After the video was taken, he started 'driving' his fully loaded laundry basket.
On another note: as of this week twirl status was back up to code orange. You may recall it was code red a while ago because none of the dresses or skirts in Katherine's wardrobe met her twirl specifications. I made her a purple princess skirt and all was well. Don't worry, nothing happened to the princess skirt, but we're back up to code orange because she wants to wear it EVERYWHERE! Around the house, to church, to nice restaurants, to surprise graduation parties, to the grocery store, etc. Code orange on my part, I guess, more than her. I didn't make that princess skirt to be worn in public. The hem isn't straight, it's puckered, the elastic was held together with safety pins and the length varied. So tonight I completed her first publicly-appropriate skirt. She asked to wear it to bed and tested the twirl status at 10:00 tonight. It passed with flying colors. (I'm reaching behind to pat myself on the back). Pictures of the pink and brown skirt later. (she's sleeping in it now)
Since it's safer to lie the ironing board down on the floor after I'm finished using it with a pre-walker roaming around, this was his answer to exploring it:
Thursday, August 13
Spaghetti face
Triple Threat had spaghetti for the first time today. After supper, I started with a pre-wash in the kitchen sink, but it was easier to just leave him there for the whole sha-bang.
Wednesday, August 12
Surprise!
The surprise graduation party was a huge success and a surprise.
Thank-you so much to all the people who helped set up, clean up, prepare food, buy food and drinks, picked up and delivered food, kept a secret and kept me sane throughout the whole planning process. If you've never done it before, ('it' being keeping a secret like a party in honor of your husband with a rather large guest list) it's taxing.
He was genuinely surprised. He's never been a fan of surprise parties, especially for himself. But here's the deal, he made it VERY clear that he didn't want a party because of the set-up, clean-up, planning, etc. So, I took it upon myself to take care of the details, with help of course, and plan one for him. Boyer women find pretty soon into marriage that Boyer men don't let us do nice things for them very often, particularly if it involves money. So I over-rode his 'authority' and made the executive decision to make him spend time enjoying good food and good company and accept the recognition he deserved.
Daddy/Uncle Jim with future UF graduates. Watch out Gainesville!
(Our son was trying to set some kind of record on how long a 10-month-old could go without a nap. Can you see it in his eyes? His new nickname: No Nap Nathan; aka "Triple Threat")
We're enjoying Jim being out of school so much that dancing after dinner happens spontaneously. I'm pretty sure the music playing while they were dancing here was either "Brick House" or "I shot the Sheriff"; you know, the good stuff.
And we lounge on the front porch a little more.
************************************************************************************
A couple interesting conversations with my daughter:
K: Mommy, you need to put brother's little crib in my room.
M: Put his crib in your bedroom? Why would you want me to do that?
K: So when he cries, I can tell you what's wrong with he.
I grew up knowing that I said something very similar to my mother concerning my little brother, so when I told her what our little lady said, my mother was speechless, literally. I think part of the silence was her being weirded out because of the similarities in our statements.
Another interesting conversation was today. Katherine asked if she could watch some more TV after I had turned it off telling her to get ready for breakfast.
K: But mommy, I want to watch some more cartoons.
M: I know honey, but it's time for you to wash your hands and get ready for breakfast. I said no more right now.
(She turns the TV on)
I peak from around the corner and say: I thought I told you no more TV.
K: I know Mommy, but I did not want to listen to your words.
************************************************************************************
Nathan got his first haircut today. His little hairs no longer hang out over his ears and the back was evened up a little. He was a trooper and I did not cry. I'm still in awe that he's old enough to get a haircut already.
Katherine experienced an 'inside fort' for the first time. I drug out some chairs, laid them on their side and spread a sheet over them. Next time, we'll have to do it while 'the structo' (Katherine's pronunciation of 'destructo') is sleeping. I can see very important meals being cooked or baby feedings happening inside a brother-less fort.
Thank-you so much to all the people who helped set up, clean up, prepare food, buy food and drinks, picked up and delivered food, kept a secret and kept me sane throughout the whole planning process. If you've never done it before, ('it' being keeping a secret like a party in honor of your husband with a rather large guest list) it's taxing.He was genuinely surprised. He's never been a fan of surprise parties, especially for himself. But here's the deal, he made it VERY clear that he didn't want a party because of the set-up, clean-up, planning, etc. So, I took it upon myself to take care of the details, with help of course, and plan one for him. Boyer women find pretty soon into marriage that Boyer men don't let us do nice things for them very often, particularly if it involves money. So I over-rode his 'authority' and made the executive decision to make him spend time enjoying good food and good company and accept the recognition he deserved.
Daddy/Uncle Jim with future UF graduates. Watch out Gainesville!
(Our son was trying to set some kind of record on how long a 10-month-old could go without a nap. Can you see it in his eyes? His new nickname: No Nap Nathan; aka "Triple Threat")We're enjoying Jim being out of school so much that dancing after dinner happens spontaneously. I'm pretty sure the music playing while they were dancing here was either "Brick House" or "I shot the Sheriff"; you know, the good stuff.
And we lounge on the front porch a little more.
************************************************************************************
A couple interesting conversations with my daughter:
K: Mommy, you need to put brother's little crib in my room.
M: Put his crib in your bedroom? Why would you want me to do that?
K: So when he cries, I can tell you what's wrong with he.
I grew up knowing that I said something very similar to my mother concerning my little brother, so when I told her what our little lady said, my mother was speechless, literally. I think part of the silence was her being weirded out because of the similarities in our statements.
Another interesting conversation was today. Katherine asked if she could watch some more TV after I had turned it off telling her to get ready for breakfast.
K: But mommy, I want to watch some more cartoons.
M: I know honey, but it's time for you to wash your hands and get ready for breakfast. I said no more right now.
(She turns the TV on)
I peak from around the corner and say: I thought I told you no more TV.
K: I know Mommy, but I did not want to listen to your words.
************************************************************************************
Nathan got his first haircut today. His little hairs no longer hang out over his ears and the back was evened up a little. He was a trooper and I did not cry. I'm still in awe that he's old enough to get a haircut already.
Katherine experienced an 'inside fort' for the first time. I drug out some chairs, laid them on their side and spread a sheet over them. Next time, we'll have to do it while 'the structo' (Katherine's pronunciation of 'destructo') is sleeping. I can see very important meals being cooked or baby feedings happening inside a brother-less fort.
Monday, August 10
Graduation day
(cue the never-ending Pomp and Circumstance music)
Graduation day arrived! In the ever-so-wise words of my father-in-law while watching his oldest son walk across the stage after receiving his law degree,
"Free at last. Free at last. Thank God almighty, I'm free at last."
She was so good for graduation. She colored, read books and played magnetic dress-up with princesses Cinderella and Belle. Baby Emma was the lucky doll that got to make the trip with us.
The University of Florida's graduate-level Summer 2009 graduating class.
It was an awesome sound to hear his name being called.
For the little person, 45 minutes was about the limit for being able to sit still. So after daddy's name was called, we went outside for what else? A photo-op. She can be so stinking cute sometimes.
His first inspiration for going back to school.
Very proud parents, and why not. (no, those are not Secret Service agents behind them. It was a tad crowded and sunny)
Next post, his surprise graduation party!
Graduation day arrived! In the ever-so-wise words of my father-in-law while watching his oldest son walk across the stage after receiving his law degree,
"Free at last. Free at last. Thank God almighty, I'm free at last."
She was so good for graduation. She colored, read books and played magnetic dress-up with princesses Cinderella and Belle. Baby Emma was the lucky doll that got to make the trip with us.
The University of Florida's graduate-level Summer 2009 graduating class.
It was an awesome sound to hear his name being called.For the little person, 45 minutes was about the limit for being able to sit still. So after daddy's name was called, we went outside for what else? A photo-op. She can be so stinking cute sometimes.
His first inspiration for going back to school.
Very proud parents, and why not. (no, those are not Secret Service agents behind them. It was a tad crowded and sunny)
Next post, his surprise graduation party!
to Atlanta and Home
We're on our way home and this time, I think we were a little smarter. We didn't leave Blue Ridge until 8:30, there was no rush, and I wanted to stop by the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. I'm glad we did. It was perfect timing for pre-lunch to naptime.
Our kids were well-behaved and in awe. This was the "Ocean Voyager" aquarium on our sides and all above us.
Nathan getting some crawl-around time before lunch and he just happened to love the glass wall separating our eating area from a 20' drop below.
This was the "Tropical Diver" aquarium...
Katherine's favorite fish was the purple and pink one.
Overall, it was a good trip and it provided much needed practice.
Our kids were well-behaved and in awe. This was the "Ocean Voyager" aquarium on our sides and all above us.
Nathan getting some crawl-around time before lunch and he just happened to love the glass wall separating our eating area from a 20' drop below.
This was the "Tropical Diver" aquarium...
Katherine's favorite fish was the purple and pink one.
Overall, it was a good trip and it provided much needed practice.
Thursday, August 6
Back home with regalia
Since we've been back, our children have shown true signs of loving to be back home. Nathan is back to his adorable and lovable self, sleeping for 10-12 hours at night, and Katherine is her well-behaved and cuddly self.
We're looking forward to graduation on Saturday. Nate-man will have to hear about it when we get back. Tonight, I explained to Katherine what the graduation was going to be like: lots of people talking about boring stuff and then we get to watch daddy walk across the stage. It was the perfect opportunity to introduce words like graduation, University of Florida, college and regalia. Speaking of regalia, have you heard my regalia story?
Now don't think for a second that while attending The University of Florida there's a mandatory meeting on what the term 'regalia' means. I'm warning you, this story might make you lose faith in my abilities as a functioning adult with two children.
When graduating with my B.S. I kept getting all this paperwork re: regalia. Yeah, yeah, who cares, don't have any idea what that word means. When do I pick up my cap and gown? I've ordered it, paid for it and selected my sizes. Small town high school had caps and gowns waiting for me in the gym. I put them on about half an hour before the ceremony, had time to hang out with friends and was good to go. I was an honor student so I had my act together with gold cords.
So fast forward to my first graduation from UF. My parents and family members are there somewhere in the audience and I show up looking cute. Sweet little black dress, high heels, hair and make-up are right on and some bling to complete the outfit. I'm late, of course (not much I did while attending undergrad was on time), bee-bop up to my friend Cheryl who's been standing in line for about 20 minutes and ask, "Where are the caps and gowns?"
She returned my air-headed question with a look of horror and very calmly said, "Kelle, you were supposed to pick them up 3 days ago in the Hub. We're about to walk into the stadium in about 15 minutes."
My dingy smile quickly turns into a "What? When did they tell me to do that?"
"Kel, you can't walk out there without a cap and gown, you might as well go find your family and sit it out."
"Do you think the Hub is open now?" (It's a Saturday. They're never open on Saturdays)
"Uh NO!"
"I'm gonna see."
Paint this picture in your head: Tight little black dress, with hose and high heels, pretty hair and make-up girl running 1/4 mile to the Hub, all uphill. Bling bouncing. She doesn't care.
I get to the Hub and it's closed. I frantically start knocking on the door and there's no sign of a living person. After about 2 minutes of knocking, someone peers from around the corner and mouths, "We're closed."
In a voice a little louder than normal, I politely reply with "Oh I know. I'm supposed to graduate in 15 minutes and I forgot to pick up my cap and gown. I ordered it and paid for it so it should be in there."
A slight eye roll and walking to get keys to open the door later, they let me in, found my order and I thanked them profusely.
Now, run back 1/4 mile to the stadium, downhill, trying not to trip or mess up hair or make-up too bad (I've got pictures afterwards). I make my way into the back hallways, find Cheryl, put on gown and cap and borrow a bobbie pin or two. No exaggeration, we started walking in while I was putting in the last bobbie pin.
Thankfully, my husband is much smarter than me, and knows what the term regalia means. As I type, I'm looking at it folded neatly in a plastic bag sitting on the desk next to me. I hope to broaden my children's vocabulary a little more.
We're looking forward to graduation on Saturday. Nate-man will have to hear about it when we get back. Tonight, I explained to Katherine what the graduation was going to be like: lots of people talking about boring stuff and then we get to watch daddy walk across the stage. It was the perfect opportunity to introduce words like graduation, University of Florida, college and regalia. Speaking of regalia, have you heard my regalia story?
Now don't think for a second that while attending The University of Florida there's a mandatory meeting on what the term 'regalia' means. I'm warning you, this story might make you lose faith in my abilities as a functioning adult with two children.
When graduating with my B.S. I kept getting all this paperwork re: regalia. Yeah, yeah, who cares, don't have any idea what that word means. When do I pick up my cap and gown? I've ordered it, paid for it and selected my sizes. Small town high school had caps and gowns waiting for me in the gym. I put them on about half an hour before the ceremony, had time to hang out with friends and was good to go. I was an honor student so I had my act together with gold cords.
So fast forward to my first graduation from UF. My parents and family members are there somewhere in the audience and I show up looking cute. Sweet little black dress, high heels, hair and make-up are right on and some bling to complete the outfit. I'm late, of course (not much I did while attending undergrad was on time), bee-bop up to my friend Cheryl who's been standing in line for about 20 minutes and ask, "Where are the caps and gowns?"
She returned my air-headed question with a look of horror and very calmly said, "Kelle, you were supposed to pick them up 3 days ago in the Hub. We're about to walk into the stadium in about 15 minutes."
My dingy smile quickly turns into a "What? When did they tell me to do that?"
"Kel, you can't walk out there without a cap and gown, you might as well go find your family and sit it out."
"Do you think the Hub is open now?" (It's a Saturday. They're never open on Saturdays)
"Uh NO!"
"I'm gonna see."
Paint this picture in your head: Tight little black dress, with hose and high heels, pretty hair and make-up girl running 1/4 mile to the Hub, all uphill. Bling bouncing. She doesn't care.
I get to the Hub and it's closed. I frantically start knocking on the door and there's no sign of a living person. After about 2 minutes of knocking, someone peers from around the corner and mouths, "We're closed."
In a voice a little louder than normal, I politely reply with "Oh I know. I'm supposed to graduate in 15 minutes and I forgot to pick up my cap and gown. I ordered it and paid for it so it should be in there."
A slight eye roll and walking to get keys to open the door later, they let me in, found my order and I thanked them profusely.
Now, run back 1/4 mile to the stadium, downhill, trying not to trip or mess up hair or make-up too bad (I've got pictures afterwards). I make my way into the back hallways, find Cheryl, put on gown and cap and borrow a bobbie pin or two. No exaggeration, we started walking in while I was putting in the last bobbie pin.
Thankfully, my husband is much smarter than me, and knows what the term regalia means. As I type, I'm looking at it folded neatly in a plastic bag sitting on the desk next to me. I hope to broaden my children's vocabulary a little more.
to Helen and Blue Ridge, GA
Our stay in Dillard was beautiful. I left the last post with the happiness of two children running around a new hotel room like crazy wild banchees (what are banchees anyway). Then the unhappiness started. Little man isn't used to staying up much past 8:00 and the craziness was going on past 9. So, when daddy got back, I put him in charge of putting little man to sleep, because my attempts were futile. It was then my responsibility to keep little miss quiet and still so she would go to sleep soon after he did. That is certainly one hard aspect of hotel living: no separate rooms. Jim did a fine job walking around outside, trying to avoid annoying our neighbors on the one side of us, and finally got him to sleep. Katherine followed suit soon after. It was a very busy, full and long day.
The next morning was when it really got hard. (And try not to laugh or roll the eyes too far back, those of you with more than two kids). Jim left early that morning for whitewater rafting and left me the uber-responsibility of feeding both munchkins, packing up all our stuff, loading it into the car and checking out. Ugh, just typing it conjures up not-so-good memories. (And in his defense, he would have had the whole car packed but we needed 90% of it that morning). So, without going into detail, Nathan was extremely upset with me by the time we left, which was his nap time. It was hard and thank goodness L, one of our friends that we met up there, offered to feed Nathan his bottle to calm him down.
Whoo hoo! On to the next adventure. We headed to Helen, GA.
The Helen, GA website uses the description, "Mountain Beauty with a touch of Bavaria" and gives a little history on how it started: In 1968, local businessmen met to discuss what could be done to improve their town. They approached a nearby artist friend, who had been stationed in Germany. He sketched the buildings, added gingerbread trim, details and colors to the buildings, giving an Alpine look to the entire town. In January 1969, business owners and local carpenters began turning ideas into reality. Now all downtown stores have been renovated and many buildings and cobblestone alleyways added. Faces of buildings were painted with scenes of Bavaria and North Georgia, mirroring the migration of early settlers.
In one of the stores, an article went on to further explain that all the changes happened before Government subsidies, commission meetings, zoning regulations, city permits or Associations to deal with.
Thankfully, Nathan slept the whole way there, Katherine was enthralled with a video she's seen at least 23 times, the rain was gentle and sounded like music, our car was quiet inside, handled the winding mountain roads like a commercial and the view was spectacular. I was tempted to take a picture of a covered bridge, but it was raining. I still should have. Helen was a nice stop. Enough to let the munchkins stretch out their legs, grab a bite to eat, take a potty break, change some diapers and head off to Blue Ridge. Some sights along the way.
Again, timing is sometimes EVERYTHING! Nathan and Katherine both slept on the way to Blue Ridge. The view, again, was awesome, car finally quiet after I convinced Katherine that all she needed to do was just rest her eyes, not fall asleep. Our trusty Garmin, who I've nicknamed Rhoda (thanks Mom), is very nice to have along. This coming from a tried and true, card-carrying, trying-to-get-my-license-in-Surveying, blue-blooded, registered and paid the fees, annoyingly large map lover. The display screen needs to be quite a bit bigger than the 3"x2" though, and preferably one that behaves like a hologram. It appears only when you need it then disappears.
So we get into Blue Ridge, our hotel was beautiful and I wonder-womaned it by unloading the whole car in two trips with a luggage cart and two children. Nathan was excited to ride on top of all the luggage strapped safely inside his car seat and Katherine just wanted to pull along her princess suitcase that rolls (packed with baby doll stuff of course).
We had some more crazy wild banchee moments, new hotel room of course, and waited for daddy. We met our friends at a little restaurant on the Toccoa river and did our best to enjoy their company inbetween dealing with a busy 3-year-old who'd been strapped in a car seat half the day and a pre-walker that had started to cut 3, yes I said THREE, teeth while we were up there. I shared with our friends, that it's at times like these that I feel I'm being misrepresented. What do you mean, Kel? Oh, some other super-human parents might be able to do this, but neither Jim nor I have the ability to have a productive adult conversation when:
Our first night in Blue Ridge was worst than Dillard. Little dude made it very clear that he doesn't like sleeping anywhere else than his own bed in his room, but this time we were in a hotel on the second floor with neighbors on both sides, above and below us. Not good. The twilight fairy finally spread her sleeping dust in our room and I was single-momming it again the next morning. It went a little smoother because I brought breakfast up to the room and we didn't have to pack up.
We stopped by a park in downtown Blue Ridge, enjoyed the sunshine and tried to rid ourselves of some energy.
A true sign of being the second child.
It's getting much harder to get a picture of her when she doesn't want me to.
Jim came back right before nap time, we all rested, and then we ate supper with our friends in their cabin. L can cook some grub now. It was delicious and the setting was more kid-friendly. D said I deserved a good shoulder rub so he put "the only thing he learned from the University of Florida" to work on my shoulders. There was not a care in the world during the beat down my shoulders got. Not even Nathan pushing over a beer bottle and wallering in it was enough for me to flinch.
Katherine saw a mountain stream for the first time and got to play in it.
There was more craziness in our hotel room that night, but not as bad. Nathan made it even more clear that he was unhappy. I'm afraid if we would have stayed in hotels for a week, it would have progressed to having him committed. I had to get a picture of their favorite place to play in the room. Under the sink. It was like a little fort.
The next post is our trip home and stopping at the GA Aquarium.
The next morning was when it really got hard. (And try not to laugh or roll the eyes too far back, those of you with more than two kids). Jim left early that morning for whitewater rafting and left me the uber-responsibility of feeding both munchkins, packing up all our stuff, loading it into the car and checking out. Ugh, just typing it conjures up not-so-good memories. (And in his defense, he would have had the whole car packed but we needed 90% of it that morning). So, without going into detail, Nathan was extremely upset with me by the time we left, which was his nap time. It was hard and thank goodness L, one of our friends that we met up there, offered to feed Nathan his bottle to calm him down.
Whoo hoo! On to the next adventure. We headed to Helen, GA.
The Helen, GA website uses the description, "Mountain Beauty with a touch of Bavaria" and gives a little history on how it started: In 1968, local businessmen met to discuss what could be done to improve their town. They approached a nearby artist friend, who had been stationed in Germany. He sketched the buildings, added gingerbread trim, details and colors to the buildings, giving an Alpine look to the entire town. In January 1969, business owners and local carpenters began turning ideas into reality. Now all downtown stores have been renovated and many buildings and cobblestone alleyways added. Faces of buildings were painted with scenes of Bavaria and North Georgia, mirroring the migration of early settlers.In one of the stores, an article went on to further explain that all the changes happened before Government subsidies, commission meetings, zoning regulations, city permits or Associations to deal with.
Thankfully, Nathan slept the whole way there, Katherine was enthralled with a video she's seen at least 23 times, the rain was gentle and sounded like music, our car was quiet inside, handled the winding mountain roads like a commercial and the view was spectacular. I was tempted to take a picture of a covered bridge, but it was raining. I still should have. Helen was a nice stop. Enough to let the munchkins stretch out their legs, grab a bite to eat, take a potty break, change some diapers and head off to Blue Ridge. Some sights along the way.
Again, timing is sometimes EVERYTHING! Nathan and Katherine both slept on the way to Blue Ridge. The view, again, was awesome, car finally quiet after I convinced Katherine that all she needed to do was just rest her eyes, not fall asleep. Our trusty Garmin, who I've nicknamed Rhoda (thanks Mom), is very nice to have along. This coming from a tried and true, card-carrying, trying-to-get-my-license-in-Surveying, blue-blooded, registered and paid the fees, annoyingly large map lover. The display screen needs to be quite a bit bigger than the 3"x2" though, and preferably one that behaves like a hologram. It appears only when you need it then disappears.So we get into Blue Ridge, our hotel was beautiful and I wonder-womaned it by unloading the whole car in two trips with a luggage cart and two children. Nathan was excited to ride on top of all the luggage strapped safely inside his car seat and Katherine just wanted to pull along her princess suitcase that rolls (packed with baby doll stuff of course).
We had some more crazy wild banchee moments, new hotel room of course, and waited for daddy. We met our friends at a little restaurant on the Toccoa river and did our best to enjoy their company inbetween dealing with a busy 3-year-old who'd been strapped in a car seat half the day and a pre-walker that had started to cut 3, yes I said THREE, teeth while we were up there. I shared with our friends, that it's at times like these that I feel I'm being misrepresented. What do you mean, Kel? Oh, some other super-human parents might be able to do this, but neither Jim nor I have the ability to have a productive adult conversation when:
- fists full of hair are methodically being ripped from a scalp (mainly mine)
- a toddler hopped up on boredom is doing gymnastics on the rickety wooden chair causing herself to almost fall off or mutilate a body part
- approximately 52 questions are being asked while I'm trying to talk to another adult, most having to do with if she can take her shoes off
- the pre-walker wants to do nothing more in the whole wide world than climb up on top of the stone hearth and head straight for the soot-lined fireplace protected by a flimsy 'iron curtain' or single-handedly 'take down' the restaurant's audio system by dismantling their satellite radio box
- and neither one of them is interested in keeping their voices below whatever decibel level it is my hair dryer operates at.
Our first night in Blue Ridge was worst than Dillard. Little dude made it very clear that he doesn't like sleeping anywhere else than his own bed in his room, but this time we were in a hotel on the second floor with neighbors on both sides, above and below us. Not good. The twilight fairy finally spread her sleeping dust in our room and I was single-momming it again the next morning. It went a little smoother because I brought breakfast up to the room and we didn't have to pack up.
We stopped by a park in downtown Blue Ridge, enjoyed the sunshine and tried to rid ourselves of some energy.
A true sign of being the second child.
It's getting much harder to get a picture of her when she doesn't want me to.
Jim came back right before nap time, we all rested, and then we ate supper with our friends in their cabin. L can cook some grub now. It was delicious and the setting was more kid-friendly. D said I deserved a good shoulder rub so he put "the only thing he learned from the University of Florida" to work on my shoulders. There was not a care in the world during the beat down my shoulders got. Not even Nathan pushing over a beer bottle and wallering in it was enough for me to flinch.Katherine saw a mountain stream for the first time and got to play in it.
There was more craziness in our hotel room that night, but not as bad. Nathan made it even more clear that he was unhappy. I'm afraid if we would have stayed in hotels for a week, it would have progressed to having him committed. I had to get a picture of their favorite place to play in the room. Under the sink. It was like a little fort.
The next post is our trip home and stopping at the GA Aquarium.
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