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.

Grandma Grace

This was supposed to go up last week but it seems there were some technical difficulties between Microsoft and Blogger.  Hopefully they have worked out their differences, and I can be the reliably  intermittent blogger I used to be.

I told you guys last week that I was traveling to Michigan.  It was a very quick midweek trip: I flew out of RDU at 8:15 Tuesday night and arrived back at RDU at 10:15 Wednesday night.  Shannon and I flew up there for our Grandma Grace’s memorial service.  My mom flew in from Charlotte and my dad flew in from Kansas City.

Grandma Grace died on Friday, May 1^st after traveling back to MI from Florida.  We are so thankful that she and my Papa (prounounced puh-puh) were able to get back to Michigan where the family is.  Papa has Alzheimer’s and needs full-time care to ensure his safety and health.  Luckily, Grandma Grace is a planner and she had already looked into some homes for him should the day come that she was no longer able to take care of him at home so he was able to transition from the condo to the hospital to an assisted living facility fairly smoothly.

The thinking is that Grandma Grace was probably having some heart trouble as early as Monday of that week and then the stress of traveling exacerbated whatever was going on.  She was going about her evening, sat down in her recliner, and we hope passed away peacefully while she was taking a few minutes to herself.

As I said, Grandma Grace was a planner.  When my sisters and I flew up there (by ourselves!) for a visit when we were younger (around ages 6, 8, and 10), Grandma Grace had the whole week planned out.  And not just in her head – she had an itinerary typed up (on a typewriter!) with times and everything.  I’m not as organized as that, but I definitely appreciate her Type A-ness.  It came as no surprise that she also had her service planned out ahead of time.  It was a very nice service, and I have no doubt it went exactly the way she anticipated, from the opening remarks to the reading to the bagpiper at the end.

We are so thankful that Grandma Grace took such wonderful care of Papa.  They married in the mid-80’s and she kept him in line from then on.   Her family embraced Papa – or Papa Jack as they call him – as one of their own and they continue to do so.  He is very lucky to have so many people looking after him.  He has quite a sweet tooth so I will be sure to send him monthly care packages of treats.  He won’t recall me when they tell him who they are from, but I know he will enjoy them and that will make me happy.

My Grandma Grace was a lovely and generous woman who loved her family, forwarding emails, cats, antiques, and traveling.  We were fortunate to be a part of her life. 

All about me!

Well, me and my little family, that is.  But today IS my birthday so when better to bombard you with pictures of the McHusband, Connor, and me?  At least they are really good pictures and not from my cell phone or my version of good picture taken with our nice camera.

Kelsey Jones of Kj Photography was our photographer and she was wonderful to work with.  I had to reschedule because the weather turned frigid the morning we were supposed to get together and she was so accommodating.  I got way more pictures than I expected, and she told me that if she had edited any and I wanted something different, just let her know.

She is very affordable, and I loved that I was able to download all the pictures so that I can do what I want with them.  If you are looking for a photographer in the Raleigh area, please consider Kelsey.  Check out some of her work on Facebook.

So back to that milestone I mentioned way up at the top.  Yep, today’s my birthday.  The big 3-6.  That seems so much older than I feel or imagine myself.  In my head, I’m stuck closer to 30 or so.

I’m celebrating by taking the day off work, dividing my time at home as evenly as possible between productively and couch potato-ness, getting a haircut, picking Connor up early, and enjoying one of the best white pizzas I’ve ever had (from Garibaldi Trattoria) for dinner.

Oh!  Did you guys see the new blog header?  It was so far overdue for an update.  Neither dog is still with us, Connor is over a year old, and the McHusband hasn’t had a bare chin since maybe the Christmas after that picture was taken.

The end(s)!

A day to celebrate

Can you believe that I know four people whose birthdays are today?

• An old schoolmate
• The kid I used to babysit
• An ex-boyfriend
• And the McMom!

I hope they all have great days full of everything that makes them happy.

Especially that ex.

Just kidding, McHusband.  We are sending lots of love to the McMom today.  Hope your day is wonderful!

Christmas in Clover

We headed to Clover on Christmas Eve, but Kevin, Jenny, and the kids arrived the next day after Santa visited their house.  Connor and Henley met once back in April, but they, um, interacted much more at this visit.

They aren’t old enough to play together, but they didn’t beat each other up too badly.

After everyone said hello and had some lunch, we moved into the den to open some gifts.  Well, we let Chase and Leah rip through their gifts then we adults took our time.

Connor had fun with the boxes and bows, no surprise there.

There was one last gift.  Jenny read a letter that had been left on the tree for Leah.

We followed the clues out to the barn.

What’s under that jumbo bag?

It’s a new bike!

We didn’t want Leah to ride alone so several of us hopped on the bikes that the McInlaws have.

Finally, we took some group shots of the whole family together.  We actually got several decent ones.  Hard to believe considering the number of moving parts and ages of those parts.

This was our first time with all of us visiting the new house at once and it worked out really well.  I hope the Nogtinis I made everyone become a Christmas tradition.  I think we all had at least one so I’m pretty sure no one would complain if they became a holiday staple.

Okay, we’re more than halfway through January, and I’m wrapping up Christmas?  Yep, sounds about right.  I’ll try to wrap up 2014 with my New Year’s Eve post this week as well.