A new family member

The McHusband and I would like to introduce the newest member of our family:


The McHusband's pretty pumped about his new toy. I asked him if he planned to wash and wax it, and he said it would at least get waxed right when we got it in an effort to keep it clean over time. The McDad's John Deere mower is around 25 years old so if ours lasts that long, the McHusband wants to make sure it looks as good as it runs.

Hopefully there's room in the shed for it, or else I have a feeling that my car could end up out in the driveway until space is made.

Tornado

We have a basket with dog toys in it. Tucker is notorious for tipping the basket over and taking everything out before inevitably picking the toy that had been on top to play with.

Most of the time he's like a tornado, leaving a path of debris behind him. But sometimes he's apparently too lazy and wants everything within reach of his mouth.

Spring fever

After days and days of rain, we finally had some beautiful weather today. The McHusband rented an aerator for the yard, and he certainly wasn't the only one working outside.

What, you thought I meant I was out there working with him?

Earlier this week, he finished the little paved area at the bottom of the deck stairs.

While the McHusband was outside working, I was inside doing my usual chores - dusting, vacuuming, sweeping, scrubbing... Emma loves when I dust. Lemon-scented Pledge is, as Robert Plant would say, simply irrisistible. She throws herself down on the table (or, in this case, entertainment center), rubs the scent all over her, and even licks the surface.

After she'd gotten her fill, she headed upstairs for a snack.

Oh yeah, I wanted to show everyone the pretty tree growing by the driveway. It's a cherry tree and in the fall when we first moved in, I really didn't like the tree very much. Now, though, I think it's great. Too bad it can't look like this all year.

We picked up a couple ferns to hang from the front porch this afternoon. It's amazing that such a simple addition could have such a big impact. You'll just have to take my word, I don't have any pictures.

Aha!

I'm not sure my "Aha!" moment is what Oprah really had in mind, but to each their own, right?

I like to have real plants in my house. I have four right now, but I'd like to have more. However, I'm running low on high places in which to put my plants. See, Emma's a little herbivore and she'll eat my plants, which usually causes two things: traumatized plants that don't look so good and a sick Emma who suddenly feels much better after she throws up in inconvenient places.

I was catching up on This Young House and read the post this morning about terrariums. Ding ding ding! Why didn't I think of this sooner?


The hurricane over the plant does double-duty - keeps the moisture in and the cat out. Actually, it does triple-duty: moisture in, cat out, AND it looks good.


Now I just need to get a plant, a pot, some dirt, a plate, a hurricane...

Lost and found...and lost again

Lost:

Collarbones


Arm definition


A flat front


Briefly found in Vegas last fall:

Collarbones


A flat-ish front


The arm definition has yet to make an appearance.

2005 was a big year for us. There were FIVE weddings in our life that year - two in April (the McHusband was in both of those) one week apart; one in August (I was maid of honor); one in September (I was a bridesmaid); and one in October (Guess what our roles were in that one?!).

Anyway, I had a lot of motivation to be in shape that year and it paid off. Then I slacked off, gained weight, lost some weight, gained some weight... You get the idea.

When we planned the Vegas trip last year, I knew I wanted to be in relatively good shape for that vacation, and I did pretty good. Not 2005-good, but pretty good. Now it's time to do it again, but I'm going to be blogging about it so I hope the added pressure of doing this publicly helps.

We have two weddings and a McFamily reunion this year, not to mention I'm turning the big 3-0 one month from today as the McHusband was too happy to point out this morning. I won't be at my 2005 weight by my birthday, but I hope to be well on my way.

Anyway, feel free to send willpower and energy-to-exercise vibes my way - I'm gonna need 'em!

The toys

The McHusband suggested that I might want to include some car pictures from the meet and greet that he, Terry, and Shawn went to on Saturday. That McHusband, sometimes he's just a mind reader. I had just said to myself, "If only I had some Mustang pictures, I could do a post about them," and suddenly I had an email with car pictures in it. Talk about serendipity.

Shawn = orange
Terry = yellow
McHusband = teal




I apologize to the guys for labeling their cars by color. Sometimes I'll tell the McHusband about a car I saw, and he'll ask for more info.

I usually just tell him what color it was and how many doors it had.

A limited view

Oh my, Owen, what big eyes you have!



What do you see, Owen?

Oh look, it's Gma and Gena playing Twister! Lookin' good, you two!

Dake and Doozy

Dake and Doozy: That's what the McHusband accidentally called Duke and Daisy on Saturday. :)

We're watching D and D while Leigh and Mickey are in Virginia Beach where Leigh's running her first marathon. Actually, by this time she's already run it, celebrated with a soak in the hot tub, and hopefully gotten a nap.

Luckily we had beautiful weather this weekend so the dogs were able to do some running around in the backyard to get some energy out. The action in this video starts about 15 seconds in. Go, Daisy, go!

It didn't take long for the energy to subside. Morgan was happy to find a sunny spot to lay down while the others did a little exploring.

All of that was on Saturday. On Sunday, the dogs did more sunbathing than anything.

They couldn't get enough of the sun. Even inside, they wanted to sit in the sunny spots.

After all the sun, everyone was happy to just chill out together and nap. Do you see Morgan across the room getting that last bit of vitamin D?

Boys and their toys

Terry and Shawn came over to our house on Saturday. They had important car stuff to do: testing wheels, washing cars, and tuning.

The McHusband loves a clean car.



Terry and Shawn did some tuning then checked out the results.


Almost time for the meet and greet with other enthusiasts and their cars so it's time to put the toys away and hit the road.


I'd much rather have the guys over in the garage than have 'em all piled on the couch watching the basketball tournament so I'll take my car guy over a sports guy any day.

*Tap tap* This thing on?

I do get the occasional feedback through conversations and emails, but I just wanted to make sure that everyone knows 1) that you CAN comment on the blog ON the blog and 2) you don't have to provide a laundry list of information to do so. You can even comment anonymously if you want.

Maybe I need to start doing giveaways like other blogs. Let's see, The Pioneer Woman does KitchenAid mixers and Lowes gift cards, and This Young House offers house stuff, like the recent Ankasa pillows. I suppose I could afford some $5 gift cards...

Actually, what most people would probably find most appealing is to have some McHusband Services for a day. Sorry, guys, but that's FAR too valuable for me to give away!

So drop me a line, leave me a note. I'd love to hear from you. Love the new hall table? Hate the purple paint? Think Tucker's the cutest thing you've ever seen? Want to see more pictures of moi?

Yeah, I'm sure that last one's what EVERYone was thinking.

Happy Friday!

Psychic...or just psycho?

The McHusband taught Tucker to roll over. We can't get him to stop chewing on his toys on us while we sit at the couch, but we can get him to roll over. Go figure.

Because Tucker learned the sequence - sit, down, roll over - at the same time as the actual trick, he pretty much knows what's expected of him before he's asked and he doesn't mind skipping the middle part. See for yourself.


He will wait for the command - or really close to it anyway - as seen in this video.


I don't think we have a prodigy on our hands or anything, but it's nice to know we can teach him a thing or two.

Aloha!

The sun finally coming out after all our rain has apparently given Owen (or maybe his mom) summer fever.


I can hear the ukeleles now...

From the store to the tub

Let's see, we have babies in grocery carts:





And babies in laundry baskets:




(Does anyone else think it looks like Lyla's about to be abducted by aliens?)

And babies at bathtime:







A baby's life: run errands, fold some clothes, then get cleaned up. Sounds pretty good to me!

Happy Belated Birthday

It's your lucky day! Sorry, I couldn't resist one last St. Patrick's Day reference. I've finally gotten around to putting the McMom's birthday slideshow on CD's and now I'm hoping I can upload it here. Sorry it's taken me so long.

Irish eyes are smiling

And yours will, too, after you see how cute Chase looks.


Can you read his shirt? It says, "I'm a McCutie." How perfect is that?!


To go in the opposite direction, I thought I'd show you guys the recycling container we used for our party.


Landfills and Al Gore, you're welcome.

They grow up so fast

We got Tucker on April 26th last year. He wasn't quite 8 weeks old and was 9 pounds.




He's now just over a year old and weighs 95 pounds.


That poor football, it doesn't stand a chance these days.

Teaser

I should've taken a picture of our room last night when it was pulled together for the party. I shouldn't ruin the illusion, but...I don't make our bed every day. What people saw last night is how I'd like for our bed and therefore bedroom to look when I get home after work, but it just doesn't happen.

I think that was the worst part about selling the old house - having to make the bed every day. Oh sure, you say, "How hard is it to make your bed in the morning?" Well, when your husband sleeps with about 7 pillows, it's harder than you think. I had to hide as many as possible behind the decorative pillows then I had to find places in our room and closet to put the ones that didn't fit.

You have no idea how much that factored into my being ready to accept the offer we got.

But I digress. I wanted to show you one of the new sconces that the McHusband got up yesterday just hours before the party.

Hopefully next weekend I can talk myself into making the bed and getting everything fit for public consumption.

St. Patrick's Day Party

Well, the party was a success. I think everyone liked what we did in the kitchen - that's where people spent the majority of the night even if it meant cramming in like New Yorkers on the subway at rush hour.

Or maybe it's because that's where the food and beer was.

Thank you to Byron and Lisa, Ben and Robin, and Anna and Logan who came from way up in North Raleigh and Wake Forest. We've made the drive out their way and it's a hike so we appreciate them coming, especially on a cold, rainy night.

In an effort to be a good hostess and have everything ready at precisely the right time, I didn't take any pictures last night so Mom, McMom, I apologize for not documenting the food table. I hope some decor pics from today will suffice.

A sign that my mom gave me for Christmas went in the flower pot outside the front door just in case the green Christmas lights weren't enough to get people to the right place.


















By the way, don't my pansies look pretty?

The McHusband hung the shamrocks in the archway, and I put the ones on the windows beside the front door.




























I had a greenish flower arrangement and for-decoration-only towels...

































My decorations weren't the only things that were green the day after the party. The McHusband was also a little green around the gills.














Tori and Tucker were sympathetic.


The McHusband tried several positions to ease his pain and wasn't above laying on the floor. Tucker didn't mind that at all.















Hope everyone else enjoyed the party as much as we did. We're looking forward to next year's soiree. Well, I am, and the McHusband should be by next February.