The Birthday Boy

We celebrated Jon's 27th, yes 27th, birthday over the weekend. My highschool sweetheart is now in his late 20's! I feel very old. His birthday was last wednesday so to make the day special I got up with him before work and made him breakfast. Jareth got up right after we finished and we gave daddy his birthday cards. After Jon got home from work Jareth and I took him to Aubrey's for dinner. After we ordered I suprised him with his gift. He has been wanting a watch for a long time so I got him a really nice Invicta Reserve.

He loved it and was so suprised! I was relieved. He is actually really hard to shop for outside of ties and polos. He's kinda hard to please for a guy. Maybe it's a compliment that he chose me : ) Aubrey's was delicious as always. We both had pasta and finished our meal with some key lime pie. 

On Friday night the party began. I made reservations at Latitude 35 and tried my best to make it a suprise party but Jon was waaay to nosey and involved to pull that off. I did however have some suprise guests come in from out of town. Our friend Lacey came in from Nashville and Branden and Danyell drove over from Chattanooga. There were close to 20 of us all together. After dinner at Latitude we went to Carleo's and Southbound where Jon got his dance on! It was a lot of fun and I think he had a really good time.

Lucky

My little man is playing in the sprinkler in our back yard. He's happy and healthy and cute as he can be. His daddy is playing with him, splashing him, lifting him into the streams of water. I'm the luckiest woman in the world right now. Jareth is sticking his little tongue out and drinking from the water that squirts out of the brightly  colored beach ball. Thank you Little Tikes for making this so much fun. He's drenched in water now, gurgling unintelligable words into th water. Our dog, Jack, laps up the water from the grass. I sit in a chair happily watching..... I'm the luckiest woman in the world....

I want Sunshine

Jon and I made it back from Hawaii safe and sound and only slightly sun burnt. We had a great time despite the fact that the first few days were rainy. Sadly though, we came back to a very chilly east TN. It's 56 and cloudy today and I'm not happy about it. I miss my shorts and bathing suit already. Don't get me wrong, I love east TN and all but looking back at our sunny pictures of Oahu is making me sick. (You can see them here.) Maybe looking into next years vacation will make me feel better!?! Where oh where will we go? Any suggestions?

DIY Mother's Day Gift

If we call you "Mimi" STOP right here!!!! No Peaking! You have to wait until tomorrow!

{

{
{

{

{

{

{

{

{

{

For Mother's Day this year I decided to go DIY. I wanted to give my mom something different that I know she will love instead of spending money on something impersonal like a gift card. So, what does mom love? Scrapbooking, photography, plants, and of course Jareth. So I made her a "picture tree." I wish I would have taken photos along the way but I only thought to do this after I had made the final product. But here is how I did it.

Materials:
Some sort of planter in a fun bright color
Foam floral ball that will fit in your planter
Fake Moss
1 Sheet of scrapbook paper (or use 2 different colors)
Ribbon
Scrapbooking embellishments
Glue
Several of your favorite photos
Clothes pins
Tree branch of equal weight on both sides (fake or real will work, I used a real one)

Instuctions:
Stuff the foam ball into your planter tight so that it won't come out
Insert your branch into the center of the ball
Cover the foam ball with moss
Using clothes pins, pin photos to the branch trying to spread them out so that the entire branch is covered
Cut one small and one large square out of the scrapbook paper
Fold the small piece of paper in half and cut out a half flower design so that when it is opened you have a whole flower
Repeat with larger square of paper
Glue the smaller flower on top of the bigger flower to create depth and texture
Decorate the center of your flower and your branches with scrapbook embellishments
Glue your flower to the front of the planter
Tie a pretty ribbon to the handle of your planter

Up, up, and away!

     Hawaii is just around the corner! In 48 hrs we will be living it up at the Moana Surfrider in beautiful Oahu. Thankfully, Jareth is over his virus so mommy can leave without any worry too much worry. It's definitely going to be hard to leave him for eight days but I know he will be in great hands. Plus there is always Skype! Maybe I should be more worried about the amount of de-spoiling I will have to do when we get back.
     I hope to blog each day we are in Oahu as kind of a journal of our activities. (One day I'm going to have to print this whole thing off) There will be plenty of pictures to come in this and on my photo blog. So if anyone out there is reading, be sure to check back. Back to packing for this gal.

Poor, Pitiful Baby

My little monkey is so sick right now. I've never seen him so puny. On Saturday he woke up a little grumpy but he was more or less fine. We went to the park, where he played happily, and afterward went for some icecream. It was there that a switch flipped inside him. He wanted nothing to do with icecream and whined and pouted until we left. I assumed he was just sleepy as his eyes glazed over in the back seat and he slid down into car seat limply. Once we got home we realized how hot his head and trunk were. His temperature was 103.5 and his breathing seemed labored. A dose of tylenol and a call to his ped nurse later, he was given a lukewarm bath and lots of fluids and put to bed. His temp got up to 104.5 even with the tylenol and around 10:00pm he vomitted. We went to emergency care hours at his ped office on Sunday. He was miserable. All he wanted to do was sleep on his daddy's chest in the exam room and he lost it several times. I didn't think he was ever going to recover from his finger prick. They also did a strep test which, thankfully, came out negative. However, the doctor said he may have Roseola . I know, it sounds primitive and I wasn't sure what it was exactly. And she said that we won't know if that is what it is until he breaks out in a rash all over his body. Great. Since Saturday, his temperature hasn't been below 101.0. He has had a few moments of play but he mostly just lays against me. The doctor seemed to think whatever it is should only last 3-4 days so I'm hoping that by Friday he will be back to 100%. We leave for Oahu Saturday morning. eeeeeek!




Here he is at the doctor. It is so out of character for him to be so clingy.



Here he is now, beside me.

The Spiderman Chronicles

    
     How is it that I haven't written about Jareth's spiderman obsession? It all started about the time he could crawl. He was eight months old and playing at his paternal grandparents house when he was able to reach the spiderman magnet on the fridge. It had been shown to him many times before and he was drawn to its primary blue and red along with its softness and texture. Then, Jon's dad found his old 12" spiderman action figure. It wasn't long before Jareth recognized spiderman everywhere. He spotted him at Wal-Mart on birthday cards from across the aisles and he pointed and said "man!" when we saw spiderman bubble bath. "Man" is his favorite thing. When he chooses he now says "bye-da man." (He cant pronounce his "s" and "r" yet)
     Of course we have totally given in to the spiderman craze. I've decorated Jareth's play area downstairs in spiderman posters, toy boxes, wal decals, and a rug. He has a few spiderman t-shirts he loves to wear. And guess what? So do Jon and I! Everytime we wear them for him he points at us and says exclaims, "MAN!!!" The look on his face is priceless. There are of course spiderman snacks and other things like his spiderman cups, plates, dvd, and even toothbrush. But the big ticket item I proudly found just last week. I was at duck duck goose, a consignment event here in knoxville, and found...wait for it...... 12" Spiderman and Dr. Octopus action figures that are also walkie talkies! They were $3! Jareth's eyes absolutely lit up when he was holding spiderman and I talked to him from Dr. Octopus. Priceless!
     I wonder if I can manage to make a spiderman costume this halloween????

Just Mixing it Up! Personal Style: Quiz

     After reading a decorating post in TheMommyhood I began to think about my own personal style. I know I've always been pretty eclectic and chameleon like, changing my taste and dressing to fit my mood. That said I do have some style staples. I love to wear pearls and old jewelry. I am drawn to things that are pink and soft. I like stripes. I prefer to wear clothing that accentuates my curves although flowy, sheer fabrics intice me. (They just seem to make me look bigger than I am) I love tea cups and saucers, vintage photos and magazines. I'm drawn more to distressed fabrics and wood than I am to copy and paste manufactured pieces, although by looking at my furniture you'd never know it. I love color in a room. I like dark blue with white trim. I like bright yellow and sap green. So, what is my style exactly? I went to Kaboose and took two fun quizes. A fun Decorating Style Quiz and a Fashion Style Quiz.
 After 10 questions about curtain choices, flooring, colors, and finishing touches it concluded that my decorating style is "Cottage Chic." At a close second was "Country French." Apparently, and I agree, that I am drawn to romantic, vintage inspired, and distressed pieces. It also stated that I like whitewash and at first I thought I didn't. I like rich colors and contrast. However looking at photos of whitewashed rooms, I found that I am actually very drawn to it. Plus, all of my dishes are white and they are in white cabinets. So apparently I'm not as in to color as I thought I was. Here are some "swatches" I found that go along with my style.




After the decorating quiz I went on to the fashion quiz. The "What Era Do You Belong To?" quiz asked me to choose between favorite accessories, shoes, and hair styles. It concluded that I'm a lady of the '30s. What?! I would have thought 50's or 60's. You know, more of a mid-century Betty Friedan than the Hell's House Bette Davis. However I'd be proud to be linked to them both politically of course. But that's another post. Anyhoo, the test concluded that I'm classic, feminine, and in touch with my glamorous side. I suppose it's right. I like horizontal stripes: classic. I adore pink: feminine. My go to lip color is red: glamorous. But I remind my self of the items in my closet that are the antithesis of this era. For example the black leather jacket or the zebra print button up. Oh, but wait. I'm pretty sure that I bought those because they were a trend and I may have worn each of them twice. Hmmmm..... My wardrobe really does reflect this sort of style.

Take the quizzes! What's your style?

My Little Changeling; Be My Baby a Little Longer

My Dear Little Jareth,

     To say "My how you've grown" would be an understatement. It's March and you are 17 months old. How can this be? We just brought you home, terrified and excited with what was to come. But so much has changed since then. Here you are walking and doing your best to talk. Here you are feeding yourself, dancing to music, watching your favorite shows, and experimenting with the potty. Your gummy grin has been replaced with pearly teeth and all those fat rolls are sloughing off. You are 25 lbs of tumbling energy, ready for anything. You are changing everyday.
     How did we get here, little monkey? You are not the same child I met in the hospital. When you first came home I was so worried over breast feeding and now you are sipping through a straw. Nine months ago I was worried you'd never begin to crawl and as I type this you are practically flying across the house throwing a ball. You say da-da, dog, hi, bye, ball, cheese, bed, no, "man," nana (for banana), juice, book, and a few other things. Sometimes you even say "mama," but not often. (I think that since I'm always around, you simply have no need to call my name) Your vocabulary is growing every day.
     So much has changed in our world since you came around and I don't mean since the day you were born. You were a person when we discovered that we were pregnant with you. But for a long time it was just daddy and I, although it's hard to imagine what was meaningful before you arrived. You changed our lives for the better and never think otherwise. We were happy before you, but now couldn't be happy without you. Soon, I will have to tell you the love story that brought you here. And now it seems youve always been here.
     You are going to continue to grow, but please don't grow too fast. This growing up business, I'm finding, is the most bittersweet part of life. You change everyday and it's the most wonderful and astonishing thing. But the bitter part is that I will never get this back. So please keep on changing, show me what you can do. Just don't grow to fast, be my baby a little longer.
  

I have...

watched the sun rise from the middle of the ocean

married a man that has prayed over me

played with orphans in a foreign country

gave birth to a son I was afraid I couldn't have

hunted for seashells in the early morning

danced in the rain while wearing a gown

lived through the loss of someone I loved dearly

people in my life that I would go to at the drop of a hat

people in my life that would come to me at the drop of a hat

been the first to graduate from college on both sides of my family

sang a solo, terrified

witnessed the love of a man and woman married over 50 years

seen two wrinkled hands hold one another as one life slipped away

written a children's story

taken up a hobby after years of thinking about it

snorkled caribbean water

watched a butterfly leave its cocoon

opened my heart to someone in need
 
raised my hands in surrender to God
 
to be continued.....