Connor's first beach trip

Wow, long time no write, huh?  I want to tell you guys about our lives, from goodies I bake to Connor’s latest achievements (counting to 10!) to the McHusband’s most recent new-to-him car. 

Another Magnum.  Anyone wanna buy an Acura?

But I find myself lacking the mental energy to be productive after 8:00 at night.  I just want to veg with a TV show and a little internet surfing before my 9:30 bedtime.  I wish I were more motivated to post something at least once a week, but I just can’t force myself to do that.

But let’s not focus on how much I’m NOT writing and instead be glad there’s this post to read.  With pictures and everything!

Connor and I went to the beach this past weekend.  We met up with my sisters, Bri and Shannon, and their kids (Lyla, Owen, Olivia, and Maxie).  Sorry, no hubbies/boyfriends allowed this time.  Bri’s husband’s family has a little house in Surfside Beach, near Myrtle, so we crammed ourselves and all our stuff in there and it worked out great.  Unless you were Owen and Olivia sleeping on the sunporch with only the fans cooling you off.  Then you might not agree that “great” is the right word to use…

I worked a half-day on Thursday, picked Connor up from school, loaded the last few things I needed into the car, and we hit the road.  Connor fell asleep pretty quickly, which I had counted on, and we had a very pleasant 3.5-hour drive.  He almost always does great on long car rides.  I give him snacks, talk to him, and also just let him look out the windows and take in the world around him and respond to his questions and comments.  At one point, he was telling me about Mickey Mouse driving a muddy car and how he, Connor, needed to clean it.  I love seeing him using his imagination.

We arrived before Shannon, and Lyla and Maxie were waiting for us.  They were more than happy to help unload Connor’s toys.

Oh, you thought I meant carry them in from the car?

That evening we had a pasta dinner and then went on a walk.  We had seen turtles in the pond behind the house earlier, then on the way back to the house we saw swans.

We were all up bright and early Friday morning so once everyone was fed, it was time to slap on the sunscreen and head to the beach.  The house is about a five-minute drive from the beach and with it being both early and a weekday, we didn’t have any problems finding parking.  We played in the surf and sand for about 3 hours before wrapping it up, mostly at my request so that Connor could go back for a nap.  But we crammed a lot of fun (and a few snacks, of course) into that timeframe.  Connor is a big fan of the beach!

 

Sister Selfie

Snacks on the Beach

After Connor’s nap, the kids played with Connor's school bus, the souvenir that the McHusband brought back after HIS beach trip the weekend before.  I love how well all the kids (usually) play together and how they include Connor.

Once the novelty of the bus wore out, it was time for a rousing game of Hide & Go Seek.  Bri, Shannon, and I had fun finding good hiding places for the kids so it was a game for all ages.  We had pizza for dinner and then the kids watched a movie.  Well, the kids and Bri and Shannon.  I may have dozed off for a few minutes…  Hey, it’s hard work playing in the surf with a toddler! #pluswine

Sleeping Beauty

Saturday was our long beach day.  We met up with my cousin Cody, who moved to Myrtle from PA in February, for an early lunch to beat the crowds and then spent the rest of the afternoon at the beach.  Connor did amazing out there considering the early start to the day (seriously, these kids don’t understand that vacations are for sleeping in) and the lack of a nap.  He only fussed at the very end when it was time to go and he didn’t want to leave, but I think he was tired enough that he didn’t really have the energy to fight me too hard about leaving.  I strapped him in his carseat and I think he was asleep before I’d even backed the car all the way out. 

Sleeping Cutie

He slept hard for about 30 minutes while we made pit stops at the grocery store and gas station, and then I drove around for another 10 minutes or so to allow him to get enough zzz’s to get him through, happily, til bedtime.  He woke up a tad grumpy but once he was bathed and with the other kids – or his friends, as he called them – he was good to go.  The kids chilled a little with electronics and TV, and then more Hide & Go Seek with Cody’s help was on the docket.  We ate Crockpot Salsa Chicken tacos and rice for dinner and just hung out at the house.

Once the kids were down, the big kids had more fun visiting and we stayed up much too late. 

I think I finally got into bed at 1:30 and Connor, who had slept just fine the past two nights, woke up at 4:00.  I did something I’ve never done before and do NOT plan to make a habit of: I pulled him onto the bed with me.  My reasoning was this: I was driving us home the next day and wanted to get as much sleep as I could to ensure safe travels. #momlogic

Speaking of the drive home…  Once again, Connor was a perfect passenger.  It helped that he actually slept for an hour and a half.  See?  I wasn’t the only one tired from vacation.  We left around 10:30 and he was asleep just before 11:00.  He normally won’t go down for his nap until between 12:30 and 1:30 so he was definitely needing to catch up a little.  Wish I could’ve joined him…

All in all, we had a fabulous time, and I’m so glad it worked out for us to spend that quality time together.  I’m especially happy that Connor got to be with his “friends,” a.k.a. cousins. He’s old enough now to really remember them so every visit matters for more than just the obvious reasons.

Surprise!

I almost had a really big surprise waiting for me when I got home from work on Friday.

The McHusband had found my car – the same one I’m driving now – but in the really pretty blue color that I prefer.  It was at a dealership in VA and he asked about it then told me that it already had a buyer.

Darn.

Well, in reality, he was throwing me off so he could go up to the dealership, check the car out, buy it, and drive it home so when I tried to pull into my spot in the garage, I’d find that pretty blue car with a big red ribbon and bow on it.

How fun would that be?  For both of us (but especially for me).

Unfortunately, things didn’t work out.  The car’s exterior wasn’t up to our McStandards and with that beautiful blue paint color, we wanted it looking great.

I had to share all that because the McHusband deserves credit for his intentions.  I can’t believe he went to all that trouble – the research, the planning, the day off work – to surprise me with a car.  I wish it had worked out, for both of us, but it was still amazing to know that he tried to do this for me.

I have a pretty awesome husband, don’t I?

All is not lost though.  Kevin, the McHusband’s brother, found another blue TL Type S for sale by a private seller in Nevada.  It looks like that car may just have my name on it.

Keep your fingers crossed that this one works out.

Recent. Random.

Where do the days go?  The weekends used to fly by before we had a baby, but now, even though the days are longer because I’m getting up hours earlier, there really isn’t enough time in the day for everything.

I kicked off the weekend with some Friday-night backyard boot camp, went to my first Jamberry Nails party Saturday night, then ventured into baby food-making territory on Sunday.  I also managed to finally get Connor’s six-month pictures so that post’ll go up this week.

Oh, and did you see that I got a new-to-me car?

The weather was iffy Saturday evening so I drove to my neighbor’s house for the Jamberry party.  My cup holders are very deep, as you can see.

I can’t let a Monday go by without telling you about some recent sweets: a lemon cookie cake, brownies with an Oreo cream filling frosting, and some peanut butter fudge bars with chocolate ganache.

I prefer those treats in the reverse order of how I listed them.

I want to get Connor a high chair this week.  He needs to sit up straighter than his lounger allows, and my chunky monkey isn’t going to fit in the Bumbo seat for much longer. 

Plus I just want him to associate meals/eating with the high chair.  I’m pretty sure I’m going to get the kind that straps onto an existing chair as I don’t need one more piece of furniture or baby paraphernalia in the kitchen.

Hope you guys had good weekends!

Ready

The house is clean.

The baby’s room is all set.

My bags are as packed.

(Well, as packed as they’re going to be until the last minute when I add toiletries, my hair dryer, and my straightener.  What, you think I’m going to leave the hospital looking like a new mom?  Heck no!  That might be my last chance to get ready in relative peace.)

And the car seat has been installed.

I’m assuming it’s going to be pretty chilly for the first few weeks after the McBaby is born so we have a car seat cover to help keep him warm.  I can just imagine his sweet little face peeking up at us.

But let’s hope we don’t see that sweet face until Sunday or Monday.  This mom-to-be would like at least one last weekend day to sleep in.

A guest post

Please welcome the McHusband to his first post here in McMania.  I figured if I wanted to do justice to our new ride, I needed to put the McHusband in charge.  Plus, him doing a post gives me the night off, and I could use that this week.

Take it away, McHusband!

Steph asked if I would like to be a “guest blogger” on her McMania blog and introduce our newest member of the family… how could I turn such an opportunity down?! Now the reason for this is probably already apparent, but this “family member” is an automobile. I’m not quite sure why she wants me to write about it because I was specifically told not to get into the nitty-gritty details about how much power it has, what size tires are on it, how quickly it does 0-60mph (around 4.6 seconds if you must know) or any of the other fun facts about this vehicle but… I’ll give it my best shot to cover the details I think she wants me to cover.

First and foremost this is a 2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 (that last part is the most important). The “SRT8” designation means it has 420 HP, full-time AWD, a sport tuned suspension, upgraded interior, different body cladding, amongst other things. Long story short is that I’ve wanted one of these bad boys since I rode in and drove a buddy’s back in 2006 when they first came out. Well, a few months back I decided to do something I haven’t done in more than 10 years: go Mustang-less. I decided I wanted to sell both my ’95 Cobra and my daily-driver, a Mazda6 wagon, and combine my commuter and my fun car into one.

The short version is this beauty popped up in Kernersville, NC about a month ago. I had been looking all over the country and hadn’t come across the combination of things I wanted yet (color, price, mileage, options). After some required stealership negotiating games, I was finally able to work something out with them last Saturday and now the beautiful beast you see below sits in our garage.

I won’t bore you with all the details but let’s just say this thing is SO much fun to drive! It surely isn’t the fastest thing I’ve ever owned but it is certainly one of the most exciting. The full-time AWD combined with the power makes accelerating very quickly from a stop so easy. That combined with how 99% of the population has no idea what this truck is or is capable of leads to many a bruised ego sitting back at a stoplight looking at its taillights going “Wait, what… did that SUV just blow my doors off?!” Puts a smile on my face every time!  Oh yeah, it will haul dogs and function for my work vehicle too, lol. And you’d never suspect it but it gets nearly as good of gas mileage as my dad’s Prius (wink, wink).

Anyway, I’ve probably already written too much but if you know me at all you know I can talk/write about car stuff for quite a long time.  I of course had to detail it the next day after getting her home and these are from its first photoshoot after the first wash.

I think what Steph likes most about the new ride is that it has front AND rear heated seats.

Thanks for the guest post, Babe!

Visitors

We've had a busy couple of weekends. My mom was up the weekend before last, and my dad visited this past weekend.

My mom came up so that the McHusband could give her car a tune-up.


He got FILTHY in the process. I think he blamed it on the brake work.

In return, my mom hemmed the curtains in the den. It's always bothered the McHusband, decorating diva that he is, that they were a touch long and sorta "sat" on the floor. Tori, not Tucker, was the Helper of the Day for this task.

Tori held down the unruly panel and double-checked our measurements.

My dad flew into Charlotte last week on Wednesday and spent some time at Bri's visiting with her, Nate and Lyla, and Shannon and Owen stayed there one night as well. Then the McHusband and I met up with Bri, Nate, and Lyla at the Chili's in Asheboro on Friday for dinner and the Daddy Swap.

Lyla pretended to be shy at first, but she warmed up pretty quickly once the McHusband and I switched places so that I could serve as a buffer between her and scary Uncle McHusband.

Lyla playing hard to get.

Still not too sure about Uncle McHusband, but coming around...

Silly face!

It was nice to visit with Lyla, Bri, and Nate and of course it went by too quickly. But we couldn't stay at Chili's all night so it was time to hit the road and get back home.

We went to Furnitureland South on Saturday - that place is impressive! First of all, it's HUGE and second, it's amazing what these companies charge. We saw a dining set ON SALE for $27k. Can you imagine?

Later that night, Tori decided that my dad was okay in her book. Here's her seal (maybe that should be seat) of approval.

Whiskey Slush

Boot camp was rough tonight. We were on THE HILL for the whole thing except for the sets of 100, 50, 30, and 20 walking lunges but those were no walk in the park. Actually, I guess they sorta were... You know you're working hard when you don't look forward to the walk DOWN the hill because your legs feel like jelly.

So, what did I do when I got home? I made a drink! Actually, I made drinks for about 20. See, I'm going to a neighbor's house for Women's Night tomorrow night, and I have a big ol' bottle of whiskey to use up. Jordan, an exchange student from France, bought a car from the McHusband last fall. The car ended up being a bit of a lemon so the McHusband helped Jordan out a few times. I guess French people think we Americans love whiskey because that's what Jordan got the McHusband as a thank-you parting gift when he went back to France.

I've found several recipes that use whiskey like Steph's Bourbon Balls and Mom's Apple Pie (Who knew she was sneaking the booze in?). But for tomorrow, I wanted a drink that I could share with the ladies and this Whiskey Slush looked like the perfect option for a warm Friday night.

It looks kinda like a science experiment in the freezer, doesn't it?


I'm hoping it's good and then I'll know for future reference that I can make a double batch in this container. In the comments below the recipe, people said that they like to make up a batch of this and just keep it in the freezer to dip into all summer long.


And just to give you an idea of the size of that container, here it is with my favorite ingredient in mixed drinks.


Shh, don't tell Matt and Andrea about my drinking plans for tomorrow, okay? Who knows what they'd dream up for next week's boot camps to counteract that bad behavior.

It's, uh, 4:00 somewhere

The McHusband went to Charlotte this weekend for his mom's birthday. He headed down there on Thursday so he could go to a concert with a friend that night. That's why I ended up staying home rather than also being in Charlotte this weekend.

The McHusband and his mom went to IKEA for me on Friday. I'd found chairs I wanted for the dining room, and the shipping costs almost doubled the price so I figured I could wait until our next trip to Charlotte or until someone came up to see us to get them. Thank goodness for the McMom's birthday.

The McHusband had driven the Cobra to Charlotte. To say the car was packed to the gills when he came back is an understatement. The white squares are the seats of the chairs.


























Just cuz I'm excited about them, here's a sneak peek at the chairs.

















See the brown stripey thing? That's a dog bed that the McMom picked up for us from Costco.

















It's supposed to be for Tucker. But don't try to tell that to Morgan and Emma.


























We actually had quite a productive weekend in the laundry room. There was painting, and nail-gunning, and there might've been some cursing. Let's just say that when one of these

















shows up on the counter around 4:00, you know the project's probably not going quite as smoothly as hoped.