Water Baby

With summer fast approaching, I felt this to be a perfect time to reflect upon Mason's favorite summer pastime.

Mason's love for water started very early in life. Not unlike most children, his love began with bubble baths. You can't have too many bubbles!

Water+baby=splashing. Basic math, right?

I was nearly 18 the first time I saw the ocean, so it became a goal of mine for Mason to be not only comfortable in the water, but to visit the ocean as much as possible. This photo is from Mason's first visit to Virginia Beach, and his first time seeing the ocean. He was 18 months old. Granted, he doesn't remember this visit; but there will be plenty of opportunity with us living a mere 4 hours from the coast.

Aaaa-choo!

Allergy season is upon us once more. To allergy sufferers, like myself, this time of year is bitter-sweet. We welcome the beauty of the season; but know that because of the beauty of the season we will, in turn, suffer.

This is a photo of the pollen that has blanketed the South over the last week, or so. The South is particularly vulnerable to this amount of pollen because of the amount of pine trees here. Thank goodness for Tylenol Allergy Sinus. If you catch me sleeping at my desk, I'm sorry.

Dishwasher...

Behold the mixing bowl of my Kitchen Aid mixer, the little hands of my 5-year old and a silicone spatula.

Again with the concentration! He'll do great things with patience like that!!!



Well worth the work!

April Showers

A boy and a seemingly innocent puddle.

A little splash here, a little splash there...


Wow, can he get some air between him and the ground!

If only this puddle were deeper!

Addendum...

Yes, commenter David, I AM wearing UGA flip-flops to shoot a wedding. I wore a regular pair of shoes to shoot this event, but since my toe was still a grizzly mess from my run-in with a fence, I had to borrow some shoes! Thankfully, this event was for a friend of a friend...so that friend (who went to UGA) let me borrow her flip-flops for the day! AH!!! Thanks Angela!!!

Workin'

Shooting weddings is serious business...unless you shoot with Heidi! I have had the pleasure of learning from Heidi over the last year+ and every time we shoot, we come to the point in the day where we start taking pictures of ourselves for amusement. This is what I came across while I was editing...

Fun Dippin'...

No, your eyes are not playing tricks on you. There are two packages of Fun Dip pictured here. No, my beautiful, and very thin, son is not on his way to obesity by consuming mass amounts of pure, artificially flavored sugar. So I ate one too, so?!

How is it that consuming your own saliva that clings to a sugary stick be so elating?

Just look at that concentration...

...and precision!

It didn't take long for him to figure out that bypassing the stick-and-spit method would take entirely too long.

The stick, which is the best part of Fun Dip, is the reward for working so hard to finish the powder.

What makes Fun Dip so fun? The red tongue, of course!

Lucky Me!

Today was a short workday and so I was fortunate enough to not have to sit in traffic today! Not only that, but when Mason and I got home, we were browsing through our neighbor's clovers and I spotted this little beauty! Lucky Me!

Easter Fun:

Mason looked forward to coloring Easter eggs ALL week! Every day he would ask me, "Is today the day we color eggs?"
















Finally Saturday arrived!!! We took the party outside because Brian had to work all morning and was napping. Besides, the sunshine felt fabulous! What a beautiful day to be outside!!!















Mason did some swinging while the eggs dried.




Sticker time!



I'm not sure which got more coloring – the eggs or Mason!

Smartie Pants Part II :

Dedication:

This post is dedicated to my chocoholic mother-in-law (bless her heart). Janet, this recipe is for you. We all know that your weekly "women's" meetings are really chocoholic anonymous meetings. It's okay. We understand. This recipe is so that you can finally eat your chocolate and have WAY less guilt about doing so. You may even want to take these to your chocoholic anonymous meetings!

Yum Yum Brownie Muffins:

1 Box Devil's Food Cake Mix
1-15 oz. can of Pumpkin

Preheat your oven to 400º. Mix together the two ingredients. Do NOT be tempted to add anything else!!! The mixture will be thicker than a cake mix. DO NOT be tempted to add anything else!!!

Now, I'm a big fan of mini muffins because I feel like I'm actually eating more than I am, but regular muffin pans will do just fine. Spray those little buggars with cooking spray before dropping in your batter. Bake for 20 minutes and enjoy the chocolate deliciousness! Here is why they are less guilty:

1 Muffin, or 3 minis = 181 calories, 3.5g fat, 37g carbs, 2g fiber, 2g protein

A big skinny thank you to HungryGirl.com for supplying me with less guilty snacks that actually taste good!

So Grown Up!

Yes, yes, you can click on my sister's link and see the exact same photo, but I wanted to show the world how grown up my beautiful Athena is.

Gooooo KU!

Even though I went to Kansas State (Go Wildcats!) I still like to root for a Kansas team in the NCAA tournament! It's nice to see two Kansas teams in it to win it this year! Way to go KU for not getting knocked out in the first round and squeaking by a 85-61 victory over Portland State! Kansas State plays USC this evening. Let's hope that the freshman Michael Beasley can lead them to a V-I-C-T-O-R-Y!!!

Smartie Pants

It always amazes me how much information a child can soak up and retain. You would think that after 5 years of being a mother that nothing would surprise me, but when the light bulb went off in Mason's head that all of those letters he had been learning formed words, I was in awe. It's really fun to see him enjoy reading and enjoy figuring something out on his own. I will post a video later this week so you, too, can be in awe.

Masonism:

When asked why people need skin, the reply:

"It holds our butts in."

Minor Mishap...

Heidi and I went out of town to shoot a wedding this past weekend in South Georgia and stayed overnight in a hotel. The weather was absolutely beautiful and swimming really sounded like a good idea. Unfortunately, the only thing standing between us and a cool, refreshing soak was a 6-foot tall fence. Of course, Heidi gets over the fence, no problem. I, however, was not so lucky on the first try. I did manage to get over it the second time, only to realize that I had sliced open my big toe during the first go-around. Now, being that I don't like going to the doctor (no offense, sis) I didn't think it was bad enough to go to the hospital, but Heidi insisted that I go. After some liquid stitches and a doctor that liked to inflict pain, here I am yucking it up with Heidi in the ER.

Family Activities...

As you know from my previous posts, Mason received a bike for his birthday. This gift inspired Brian to search for a bike on Craig's list (a great place to purchase such items), and he found one that he liked enough to buy. Now, this left me bike-less. I can't have my boys riding bikes and me jogging along side, now can I?

Okay mom, remember that blue bike that I hated so much when I was a a kid? I should have hung onto it all these years, because I ended up purchasing a bike just like it only in purple. Isn't it a beauty? I did make the mistake of telling Brian that I felt like the wicked witch of the west (yes, please feel free to make Kansas jokes at your leisure) while riding on this bike. In turn, you can imagine the little song that I heard coming from his direction every time he got near me.

Fabulous at 5!

Yes, I finally got around to taking Mason's 5 year pictures. Of course, this photo session was a short one since he was so excited to get to riding his bike. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

Hats Off to the Pioneer Woman!

God bless Ree, the brilliant everyday chef of Pioneer Woman Cooks dot com! I have tried several of her "I already have this stuff in my refrigerator" recipes and I must say that the Marlboro Man's Favorite Sandwich is absolutely FABULOUS! Please, for goodness sakes, check out this recipe...and please, please make it for your man. You won't regret it, I promise! You can check out the recipe here: Marlboro Man's Favorite Sandwich

Birthday Weekend!!!

Mason turned the big 5 on Tuesday and this was the weekend to celebrate in style! First, we went bumper bowling and then to Toys R Us to choose a bicycle. He tested several different sizes in the store before we found just the right one; and boy is it a beauty! Happy Birthday baby boy!

Bumper Bowling, Ya'll!

For those of you out there that think 5 is too young for bowling, welcome to the wonderful world of bumper bowling!

Action-Packed Week...

Whew! I have a lot of news to post:

First, we have decided to pass on the home that we put an offer on due to the home inspection. There was way more work and money involved in getting this home to where it needed to be to make it worthwhile for us. We are continuing to look and I will keep you posted on the progress.

Secondly, Tuesday was Mason's 5th birthday. We are taking a few of his friends bowling this weekend. Photos to come.

Thirdly, Mason was accepted into the charter school here! To me, that is a huge relief. Even though it's a new school, the curriculum, as outlined, is amazing. You can check out the school's website here: http://www.newlifeacademyga.com/.

Not Homeless...

We got the house! More to come...

Tag, you're it!

My friend, Julia, has tagged me to post my quirks. Soooooo, here goes:

1.) I always put my right contact in first. ALWAYS!
2.) I drive when my friends and I go out because I get car sick.
3.) I chew almost an entire pack of gum through the course of a work day.

I am quite sure that Brian would find a few more to post here, but I'm not going to give him that chance!!!

The Steps to Independence...

Step 1: Ask mom to get that silly twist tie off the bread bag!
Step 2: Spread the delicious peanut butter onto the bread (whole wheat, of course).
Step 3: Shake the jelly bottle vigorously because mom forgot to buy a new bottle.
Step 4: Lick your fingers!!!
Step 5: Apologize to mom for sticking your freshly licked fingers into an open jar of peanut butter.
Step 6: Show off your new found skill!
Step 7: Eat the sandwich and lick your fingers...again.

Star Gazers...

This past December some friends and I rose from our sleeps well before dawn to witness one of the many meteor showers that brighten our skies every year. Angela, Cona, Jeremy and I all went to the darkest place we could find sporting our camera gear. We gazed upward for around 3 hours and after about 80 photos and an airplane distraction, I got one(above)! In the middle left of the photo, you will see a faint streak of light. Now, I'm no astrologer, but the top photo looks vastly different than the airplane I captured (below)!!!

Whew!

House hunting has proven to be hard work! Last weekend Brian, Mason and I were busy bees and viewed around six homes for sale in various neighborhoods around the city. Some that I had looked at online proved to be duds in person, and some that were duds online proved to be stellar selections. The home in the photo below was the best value that we had found. It's a very open 4 BDR, 2.5 BTH that needs very little work on the inside. The yard definitely needs work, but the inside only needs minor changes. Yes, it's a bit more home than our small family needs, but I figure that the amount of bedrooms will help with resale as well. We had originally crossed it off of our list because of the yard, but in touring the home, noted that it was a steal at the price it was listed (we will find out with a home inspection whether it's really a steal). Our real estate agent is doing a bit more research for us and hopefully everything pans out. I'll keep you posted!!!

We're just browsing, thanks!

Our house-hunt has officially begun! Brian and I could not be more excited about the prospect of owning a home. I started scouring the internet for homes within our price range and we have narrowed down the areas in which we would like to live. Now comes the hard part: finding the home! My first couple of experiences with real estate agents did not fair well, but after hanging up on a few rude ones, I did find one Paul Zehe that was enthusiastic enough to set up an appointment to view a home. Now, this does not sound like it should be a big deal, but a lot of the realtors that I spoke to will not even show a property to someone without a pre-qualification letter from a bank that states what loan amount the person is approved for. As we are just in the first stages of looking for a home, I was thankful to find someone that didn't make me feel like I was just wasting their time. Whew! Thanks Paul! I will post later this weekend to let you know how the viewing went! Below is a photo of the property we will be viewing:

So, how IS the weather in GA?

God works in mysterious ways...and I'll tell you why. It was so warm and beautiful last weekend that Mason and I were able to enjoy and afternoon at the park sans jackets. This week it is snowing. Yes! Apparently it DOES snow in Georgia. Of course, when the forecast even calls for this type of weather, Atlanta prepares for the worst. Before the flakes even started to fall, I received a company-wide email informing us that if the weather was bad, the office would close. WHAT?! It's Georgia; how much could it possibly snow? I do say that now that there is nearly 3/4 of an inch on the ground. Who would have thought? Perhaps I will enjoy my first snow day and build my first snowman since living here. YAY!

Christmas Program...

The children worked very hard putting together a stellar Christmas program this year! It was fun to see Mason and all of his classmates show off their talents.

Mason was so excited to be Vixen and the snowflake dancer! Brian and I were so proud to see him on stage!!!