Mexico - The People

We were so lucky to get the chance to spend a week in Mexico with a bunch of work friends.  As usual, I spent most of my time on my beach chair - reading, drinking pina coladas and eating chips and guac.  Every once in awhile I got up to socialize and managed to took a few pictures of the fun.

Love these ladies, real and skeletal
Ashley, Amy and Shae

Almost an exact recreation of a shot we did last year.

My best beach boy ever
There can never be too many shots of us together.

Steve and Erin

Kacey and Joe

Kelli

One of the best parts of the trip was
Watching Tim with his metal detector.
He may not have come home much richer but
He made so many friends and
Became a mini celebrity on the beach.

First Birthday Party

When I found out we had the chance to go to Mexico,  I was a little upset when I realized that we would be gone on Luke's first birthday.  I considered not going and had a lot of mom guilt, but finally decided that my boy would probably still go to college and grow up to be a responsible citizen without us, and realized we could have a great party when we returned.

Of course, I didn't have to worry that Luke would be neglected on his birthday - my family had a little party for him, complete with balloons and a cake.  We were lucky to have good Internet at our hotel so we were able to skype with him and my mom sent us pics of the festivities.  That made it a lot easier to be without the boy on his actual birthday.

Once I got over the guilt of missing his actual birthday, I started stressing about The Party.  I spent way too much time looking at peoples blogs and Facebook posts and started to think that I needed a party planner because it was all becoming so overwhelming.  Jami finally talked me off the ledge and reminded me that no one will remember the details of the party.  She suggested that I get a great cake, great food and to let the rest of the party be about the people.  Of course, she helped me out with the invitations.  

I spent one insomniac night looking for someone to make the cake and found this amazing lady,   Katherine.  I had decided that I wanted to incorporate Five Little Monkeys (one of Luke's favorite rhymes) but didn't have any ideas beyond that.  I told her my idea and she immediately started making specific suggestions. I basically told her that she had free reign - that is always a little scary, but I have learned to let a creative person create.  When I went to pick up the cake I was absolutely amazed - it was more than I could have ever imagined.  In fact, it was so amazing that we debated whether or not to even cut it.  Good news is, it tasted as good as it looked.

Anyway, the party was great.  Lots of family and friends, good food, chaos of kids, etc.  We have so much support and it was great to feel all of that to celebrate Luke.

Before dinner was even over, the kids were already anxious, wondering when we would open presents and cut the cake.  We opted for presents first before the kids were completely sugared up. Luke had lots of help from all the cousins, I think they were more excited about his gifts than he was. Last night Luke seemed to be a little overwhelmed by the new toys, but this morning he was super excited to explore everything.  

It took him awhile to figure out what to do with the cake.  I'm not sure he actually liked it, but he did seem to enjoy making a mess.  Perfect moment for a kid.

Happy Birthday stinker bum, thanks for letting us be a part of your party.

Twelve Months

Twelve months ago Luke arrived and completely changed our lives.  I knew it would be amazing to have a baby and that he would bring a lot of joy into our lives, but I really had no idea how intense the love for my boy would be.  It has been so much fun to watch him grow, learn, change, and discover - part of me wants to keep him my baby forever, the other part can hardly wait to see what he does next.  Some of the highlights of the last months have been:

*Discovered he does not like the feel of grass on his legs and feet - my mom says that my brother Sean was the same way.
*Has started crawling and the world has become his playground, he is fast and sneaky.
*Unfortunately, he has become the human vacuum cleaner. I used to think I had a clean floor, but he is constantly finding something on the floor to put in his mouth.  The worst so far has been dog food - more than once.
*He can pull himself up and is learning to sit back down.  He has no ear and tries to climb on everything.
*Tried Indian food, and liked it.
*Makes the sound of the dog, cow and sheep.
*Survived a week and his first birthday without mom and dad.  Since we returned home he has become a little clingy and definitely attached to his blankie.

I promise he loves Brycen,
He just wasn't sure he wanted to be held like a baby.

Mini Me
Much better!

See what I mean about the grass.

And the climbing

I couldn't be more in love.

Happy Easter

We had such a fabulous Easter celebration, it started Saturday afternoon and continued on through Sunday.  The weather was warm and beautiful and perfect for the kids to run around and hunt eggs and treasures.  Everyone was so excited to find eggs, even Luke got in on the action.  I loved watching everyone and literally basked in the happiness - oh wait, maybe it was the sun - whatever it was, it was great!

Some books offer such a special reading experience that friends pass it around, offer it up as a book club recommendation, or compare it with other favorite reads.  “The Kitchen House,’’ by debut novelist Kathleen Grissom, appears well on its way to becoming such a book.In this story, set in 1791, a seven-year-old Irish girl becomes orphaned while making the treacherous sea journey from Ireland to America. With no memory of her past or her family, she is taken to the ship captain’s tobacco plantation in Virginia, where she is to live as an indentured servant.  Assigned to work with the slaves in the kitchen house and placed in the care of the master’s mulatto daughter, Lavinia bonds with her new slave family. And just as quickly they come to love her as one of their own.  Yet, as the child grows, she is also accepted into the “big house’’ by the captain’s wife, who battles opium addiction as she struggles to cope with running the plantation in the master’s long absences. Young Lavinia must learn to straddle two worlds, that of master and slave; black and white. In time, she must inevitably confront her torn loyalties, and the decisions she makes will hold irreversible consequences for everyone on the plantation.

I had heard about this book from several different sources and finally picket it up a few weeks ago.  Ever since I finished The Kitchen House I have been trying to decide what I thought of it.  It is clearly well written and a fantastic story, but the primary word that keeps coming to my mind has been "heart breaking".  I had expected to be uncomfortable with the front row seat to a story about slavery, but I hadn't expected to be so affronted with the oppression of women in general in the culture.  One reviewer stated  "If I had to speculate on why the book is popular in this area, I’d say that it’s because women here feel such freedom and privilege that they are intrigued by a time and place that’s so different from our own."  Another reviewer explained “This work poignantly shows how 18th century Southern white women were just as oppressed as the slaves, by both their husbands and culture. Women like Lavinia were simply allowed no voice, and at best, were considered pretty adornments. Lavinia couldn’t possibly help her black family or even herself, because she had no power in the world of men.’’

This is one of those books that I am glad I read, although I'm not sure I would say that I enjoyed it.  It definitely made me grateful for the time and place that I live and that I don't face the fears or repression that these women did.  However, it saddens me to know that even though a lot of time has passed, there are still areas of the world where not much has changed for women.  Seems like a never ending struggle and the only way anything will ever change is through education and awareness.  Reading the book and writing this review makes me realize I need to figure out how to do more.  

A-

Makeover

In a lot of ways, my mom is very traditional.  About the time I started junior high, my birthday and Christmas presents started including items for my trousseau or dowry.  When I was in high school I received a cedar chest, better known as a "hope chest" since I  clearly  needed somewhere to store all my precious table cloths, dish towels, silverware, etc.  Sadly, I think all of my mom's efforts may have backfired.  By the time I finally got married, my cedar chest was completely out of style and I was happy to leave it behind at my parent's house.  For years my mom put up with it because I didn't have extra space in my townhome, but once we moved into our house, she packed it up and had it loaded into Tim's truck while we were there for Sunday dinner.  It made it to our garage where it sat, unloved and unwanted.  I haven't wanted to refinish it because it somehow felt wrong, like I was ruining such a nice piece of furniture.  Finally, I decided that was silly and that I should do something to change it so it would work in our house.  Cory found a local woman who refinishes furniture so I took it over, dropped off the grandma furniture, and a week later, returned to a fabulous piece.  The chest is now in Erika's room and I couldn't be happier with the transformation.  Hope chest mission accomplished.