Myrtle Beach

The 3 followers of this blog probably already know that we went to Myrtle Beach with Mason's family earlier this month. But for the rest of you who have randomly stumbled on here, and for the record, here are a few of the highlights from the trip.

The Beach:
(Need I say more?)

Grant walking:
Though it was only a dozen steps or so, I think that counts as the beginning of walking. And how poetic that it was at the beach.

Lots of time with Gran and Pop:
We did a lot of hanging out with Gran and Pop. We even went to the aquarium one day when Pop had a free afternoon.

Playing in the sand:
Miles made sandcastles - or at least gave it a really good effort. Grant enjoyed crawling around in the wet sand. I liked taking walks on the beach and finding shells. It was definitely a high point for almost everyone.

We also were able to visit with Grandaddy, Mimi, and Uncle Sam while we were in the area. They came over for the weekend and we got to bum around town with them. It is always a good thing to see them! Unfortunately I have no photos to prove of our encounter.

I had a really nice imovie slideshow made with music in the backround and everything. Then the program crashed on me and I could not muster up the energy to do it again, so this is what you get instead. You would have never known the difference. Since half of the experience of the beach is the wooshing of the waves (just ask Miles about that) then here is a little video for your enjoyment.

Miles' Debut Performance

I am seriously behind (again) on the home blog. I am going to attempt to catch you up for the month of November this week. Miles made his stage debut this month when he performed with his class at my Mom's N More Bible Study brunch. He is the adorable little boy on the front row with the blue polo - and showing his abs off to the entire audience.
Growing up, after every performance - choir or piano recital or whatever it was - my grandmother would tell me how proud she was. I blew it off but I now know that feeling. I was beaming! Miles you sang beautifully and did all the motions perfectly! I am so proud of you!

Fall Fest...

I am so behind on this blog. Instead of trying to play catch up, I am going to just pick up starting right NOW.
Here are pics from one of our halloween festivities. We do a little trick or treating at our friend's (gated and safe) neighborhood on Haloween night, but really a two year old only needs so much candy and his little legs only go so far. 5-6 houses down a street seem like miles to him. Our main event is our church's fall fest out at Lake Nixon. It was perfect weather - not too hot, but not too cold; the leaves were turning; and it wasn't raining, which seems to be a near miracle considering we have had 20 inches of rain this month (no exaggeration.)

Miles with Daddy on the paddle boats.

There is a new sheriff in town. Miles and Grant were both cowboys. He wouldn't wear his bandana in the front like a tough cowboy so it's turned around here.

Playing one of the many games - chicken toss.

Tough stuff. This is my favorite pic from the night. It was also the only two seconds he wore the hat.

I participated in Trunk-or-Treat. This was my trunk. After agreeing to participate I realized that I don't have very many halloween decorations so I stuffed the boy's skeleton pj's.

Potluck chili supper

Bonfire with s'mores.

Miles and his loot.

Office Potential (Fall Nesting Giveaway)

I am somewhat mortified to post this for the world to see. I don't let guests see this room. I close the door. I don't clean this room either because - well, look at it! You know those reality shows on HGTV where you can't possibly believe someone is living like that and that they must have just made it up so they could be on that show. I have one of those rooms but unfortunately, it is not made up.

Then I find the "Get Inspired for Fall" makeover on The Inspired Room. When they said "show me the room you would like to work on this fall," I didn't have to think about it. I really could use that Home Goods gift card as inspiration to turn my office into something useful - other than a storage facility. It has potential but it hasn't been unleashed yet.


Can you believe this is where I work? You would think the need to de-clutter my office and mind would be incentive enough to do something, but I have one thing working against me. Time. I generally take care of my two little ones all day. I get a moment here and there but no large chunks of time to take on a project like this. I cook dinner, clean up the kitchen, and then head back to this room that is called "my office" to work, but if this was at your place of employment, I'm not sure how long it would be until a harsh reprimand would be directed your way.
This room has potential. We have several great pieces to put together a great office/family room but we can't see the trees for the forest. Maybe I should turn this into a 4 step rehabilitation program.

Step 1. Admit you have a problem.

My room is a big mess. Clutter is attracted to me. We are spacially-challenged as a family of 4 living in 1300 sq.ft. And piles- yes, I use the pile system.
I have a problem. It's obvious. In my defense, I will say that all the junk the middle of that room will be gone in a week. I am working on preparing these items for a consignment sale because this is the room where I work -whether it be tagging items, or crafting, or blogging, or doing my graphic design work. Maybe that is why my head seems to be in a cloud. I'm swimming in clutter.
There I admitted it. Big breath. It's going to be Ok.


Step 2: Take inventory - the good and the bad

There is a lot of potential in this room. This desk is good. It was my mom's desk from her childhood bedroom set. I LOVE it. You just can't find new furniture like this. That lamp on my desk would be super cute if I could ever spray paint it. That box on top of my printer - great colors, so cute. You see that painting in some of the other pictures - that was Mason's and my joint gift to ourselves on our first anniversary. It reminded us of the river next to where we went to college together. We have a sleeper sofa in this room that no one can ever sit on because it is always crowded with junk. I even have a slipcover for it that I am not smart enough to figure out. And who would want to sleep in this room anyway since it is such a black hole?? There is a piano too - however out of tune it might be! (I want to schedule the tunning but have been embarrassed by the mess.) This could be such a fun family room, but no one but me spends any amount of time here. And who can blame them?

The bad is simply the hodge podge of junk that ends up in this room because it has no where else to live in our house. We need designated places for things. We need a plan so that just the odds and ends of crap that no one wants doesn't land here. And if no one wants it - let's just get rid of it.

Step 3: A Plan
The first matter of business would require a large garbage can. Then homes need to be made for all the stray matter. This room is an orphanage of junk. We obviously have some storage and organization issues that could be fixed with things like baskets and maybe a storage ottoman. I would like some new curtains. The ones in the top picture don't really go. They were leftovers from my college dorm room - 12 years ago!!! I need a color scheme to tie all the stuff I love together. I might just use that cute colored box next to my desk for a starting point. A smaller office chair would help make the room seem more airy. I also think some furniture reorganization of the room is in order as well. The piano and my desk are fixed real estate but I would like to make a cozy reading/playing areas with floor pillows. And wall hangings. I have a mix of wall hangings that could go up if I would decide on the furniture arrangement. I have committment issues with wall hangings. That is a whole other story.

Step 4: Stick with it.
I have attempted to clean this room out before. I had a great start just a month ago. I occasionally clean off my desk vowing to never let it sink to the previous level of absurdity and yet it seems to spiral into the likeness of a storage facility. If there is a clean surface all those little pieces here and there that don't have homes start accumulating since it is the easiest fix. "Company is coming over? Lets just shove everything in this room and close the door." That is a habit that needs to stop.

With my luck, I probably will not win the gift card. But even if I don't I am trying to set myself up for success because there is the factor of accountability. I hope that in a few weeks my friends out there will ask me how the office is coming along. And instead of rolling my eyes and saying, "Oh its a mess." I can say, "Fantastic. You should see it now!"

Photo Fun

He is going to hate me for this when he is 14 but how could I not show this off? Every great tennis star needs monster rain boots. He put the boots on all by himself and on the correct feet as well, and then came tromping down the hall singing/screaming at the top of his lungs with his tennis racket swinging (which is actually a No-No here at Hazelwood house.) This picture also shows off Miles pre-haircut.

Here is Miles post-haircut. He looks like a big boy now. We were practicing for naptime at school by sleeping on his mat on the floor of his room. Even though he did go to sleep that afternoon, it didn't help his first day of school. He was the only kid in his class that did not take a nap at all. Boo Hiss.

Grant and his cousin Dylan. They are 3 mos apart. We did not call and coordinate their outfits. I promise. Grant looks like he is going to crawl over Dylan to get to his mommy. "Get out of my way!" They are both very busy and fast little boys.

Grant's shaggy hair after a really good nap. It is getting time to get his hair trimmed so he doesn't look quite so unkempt. It is long around the ears and in the back, and ALWAYS wants to stand up right in the middle on top. I hope the Dennis the Menace hair does not indicate anything else.

Birthdays

Change. I have decided that is what birthdays are about. A lot has changed for us. I honestly can say I don't even feel like the same person I was 3 birthdays ago. There has been a lot of water under this bridge. Not in a bad way. Just different. I am now the big 30 thanks to my most recent birthday. That is officially "old" in my child's mind. People call me maam. I don't know a lick about the current pop culture (and it doesn't bother me.) I have to pluck gray eye brows.

Today my baby turned one year old. Time seems to move so slow when you haven't left the house in 3 days but yet you look back, and that baby has changed so very much in a short amount of time. Grant is not the same baby he was 3 mos ago. He is still very cute and cudley but only if you can catch him. He is very mobile - crawling everywhere. He is pulling up on furniture. He is communicating more with some words - ball, bye bye, da (dog), and the usual mama and dada (sometimes.) I have heard him say hey, bubba (brother), and will imitate sounds regularly. You can growl at him and he will growl back. We were at the park and a dog barked. He barked back. Its a very fun game. Sometimes he hears the last word you said, and will repeat what sounds like the same thing. Bizarre actually.

To celebrate all this changing we had a party in Searcy. Mr. Jesse (my step-father) and Grant share a birthday. Also, some of Jesse's family was in town for the big races in Batesville. It was summer themed and we had a kiddie pool, sand box, lunch and cake. It was fun times for all.

Fun times in the backyard pool. We had set up a smaller pool for the youngest ones so they wouldn't be trampled by the older ones. You see how that turned out.

This is Grant's future girlfriend, Amelia. Isn't she the cutest little thing ever?
And her parents are pretty swell too. They would make great In-Laws :0)

Allison was the only one who played in my homemade sandbox. And she even built a sandcastle.

This is the edible sandcastle I built. It has its very own story here.

Testing the cake's texture.

Testing its taste. Double fisted.

Approving the cake!!

He opened a few gifts.

This one is from Mamaw and Papaw.

Grant had a great birthday. Thanks to everyone who helped make it happen and we are so happy and blessed to have such a great family to share it with.

Baby (Parent) Dedication

Grant had his baby dedication a couple weeks ago. I'm not sure why they call it BABY dedication because it is more like PARENT dedication. For those of you who are not familiar with it, it is comparable to a Christening because it involves babies, but has NOTHING to do with the child's eternal salvation. During it, the parents pledge to raise the child in a way to point him/her to Christ. That is why I think calling it BABY dedication is somewhat deceptive to those outside our denomination. For those of you who could not attend, here is a video. ( You will need to turn your volume up quite high in order to hear it. Sorry.)

Need Knows No Season

No. It's not Christmas In July. Our church helped out the salvation army (since they are behind in their receipts but have an increased request of services) with a little extra bell ringing. I got some funny looks but I would say the majority of people gave and were supportive of the Salvation Army in general.
I thought this would be a good opportunity for Miles to have some exposure to charity and to make noise with my permission. He wasn't as enthusiastic about the bell ringing as I thought he would be.

He was a good helper. He did not want to put the money in the bucket but would say a cute little "tank you" to the donors.

He hung in there for about an hour before I had to call Mason to come get him and take him in the mall.

How could you resist THAT face!

I pray we will never be in the position to need their help - but you never know. I know your budget is tight, but I would encourage you to donate a buck or two, even if you wait until Christmas. But now would be better. Need knows no season.

Peabody South

We went to visit Mason's gradparent's over the 4th of July holiday. We lovingly call it the "Peabody South." When we want to come down and stay, we call Parthenia and ask if we can make a reservation. We have not been turned down yet.

This is why I love this place. There is absolutely nothing to do here. During naptime I stretched out on the swing in the backyard and browsed through the latest southern living...
Because Mason's grandparents' home was close to our college, we would come here to study.
It is the perfect retreat.

View from the swing - Huge gorgeous trees

His grandparents are THE master gardeners.

When we have a gardening/yard question, these are the people we call.

Look at this grass (not my feet.) It is like carpet. Absolutely gorgeous and green and thick. Not a weed in sight.

We went on an excursion to Hampton to a fruit farm where we picked...

blueberries...

peaches....

and blackberries...

We were there when they opened so it wouldn't be too hot. The morning sun also made for some fantastic pictures.

Isn't she the prettiest peach you have ever seen?

I like old tractors.

Settling up with Suzanne's father (or grandfather - don't remember.) We paid $25 and got 22 lbs of peaches, 4 lbs of blackberries, and 2 lbs of blueberries. Cha ching - a steal in my opinion.
This is looking to be the highlight of my summer and may be the start of a tasty family tradition.

We took the long way home and stopped by a relative's grave. This was an old cemetery with graves dating back to the 1800's. I love the shape of this big oak tree. I think I would like to be buried under a big oak tree. It feels very restful.

Call me strange, but I like visiting old cemeteries (during daylight hours.) I like to think of the history of the lives represented. What struck me during this visit was how many infant graves were in this small country cemetery and how we take modern medicine for granted. There were numerous graves for children younger than my own. Mason's great grandparents had two graves of baby boys. Oh the grieving those parents had to endure. I don't want to imagine.

As I stated earlier - there is not much to do other than visit and eat. For a two-year old that can get old quickly, so we brought a few of his favorite toys.

We don't go far without a "beep-beep" or two.

Grant smiling for me. Completely unrelated topic- but he is very, very close to crawling.

It would not be a holiday without blowing something up. We were given permission to do small fireworks - don't want to stir any of the nieghbors up.

This was the most "exiciting" display of the evening.

And this is where Miles stayed during the display. He was not pleased with the loud pops and screams produced by the fireworks. If you have ever been around a startled Miles, you know lots of shaking is involved. He was standing by himself when one went off and he dropped to the ground shaking as if someone was shooting in his direction. Poor thing did not approve.

A fruitful excursion, lots of R&R, and pyrotechnics- I would say it was a successful4th of July holiday.