No rhyme or reason...

to anything I have to say right now, but this is what's going on around these parts.

Question--  Did I actually pay money to go see about movie about hot men who "dance" for a living? 

Answer--Shamefully, yes. 

Some friends and I met up for sushi beforehand, which became a problem rather quickly.  We waited an hour and ended up having to get it to go.  This meant we smuggled 3 Styrofoam boxes of sushi into the movie theater.  I bet we smelled awesome.  A friend also smuggled in some red wine, which she poured from a thermos.  

We sat in the very back row like adolescents and giggled every time a guy began to dance.  We giggled a lot. 

This is what a 4-year-old looks like when he stays up way too late.

Sam catching quality time with my oldest brother.  And yes, we all look alike.

Why pay for a water park ticket when all your kid wants to do is play in the sand?

Homeslice loves to eat.

Super Mario? 

Fake mustaches courtesy of the Dollar Tree.

My favorite thumb-sucker.

Book club beach fun...

Last weekend my sweet husband gave me the green light to spend some time with friends.  My book club gals booked a condo in Biloxi and headed down for a long weekend.  The water isn't the best, but the sand was nice, the pool was great, and we ate like queens.  I don't think the Mississippi coast gets enough credit for the quick getaway that it is. 

Most of our time was spent by the pool, indulging in (too much) wine, and playing a card game or two.  It's not lost on any of us that we're in a book club, and book clubs are usually stereotyped as really nerdy, stuffy people who wear sweater vests and collared blouses. (Ahem, not that there's anything wrong with that...) I feel like we're a pretty eclectic group that has an exceptional time when we're together. 

 

View from our condo.  We had a neat little deck with a great ocean view.

The pool where we killed most of our time.

See? We're normal.  No sweater vests.

We had a great time at dinner all 3 nights.  We stuffed ourselves to the point of misery at The Blowfly Inn, Halfshell Oyster House, and Phoenicia.

  Saturday we were incredibly obnoxious when we stopped here:

We went inside to order custom made airbrushed tank tops.  The joke--if that isn't enough--is that we call ourselves "The Finer Things Club."  If you're a fan of The Office, you get the reference.  It's self-deprecating.  Anyway, we battled through the people who were very seriously placing orders for Confederate flag t-shirts inside of deer silhouettes.  For reals. 

We had them customize these awesome tanks.  The front says "The Finer Things Club."  I hope the irony of a "FTC" label airbrushed on a wife-beater is not lost on you.

And we all wore them home. 

As a friend put it, our matching clothes made us feel like we should be going to  cheerleading camp.  I wish you could have seen the looks we got from the Sunday church crowd when we stopped in Hattiesburg for lunch. 

Holy cow, it's hot...

Like the much of the country we are suffering through a ridiculous, although not surprising, heatwave.  The humidity is pretty awful, and it's wreaking havoc on my hair.  (Side note--I used to think that since my hair was straight I didn't have to worry about frizz.  WRONG.  Why didn't anyone tell me?) 

Sam is out of school, and he is capital B-O-R-E-D.  This makes me C-R-A-Z-Y.  He really is a good kid, but he is definitely going through an autonomous + rebellious phase.  His need to do things for himself is great, but I can't say I have the patience to deal with milk he spilled because he had to pour it himself.  I just pray for patience.  Lots and lots of patience.  You can pray for me if you like. 

He's already completed a day camp at his school, attended church school, and now we are in the middle of swimming lessons.  We have taken a trip to the zoo, made multiple stops at playgrounds, & hit up the sno-cone stands.  We are doin' it up right around here.  He's headed to his grandparents later this week for a few days, so I'll have a little alone time with the A-train. 

And Alex...two words--fat and happy.  Sometimes he looks so much like Sam did it's scary.  However, they are two completely different babies.  Sam was such a serious little thing, although he's not anymore.  He watched everything and took it in.  Alex is my giggle box.  He smiles, laughs, and coos all the time.  I'm looking forward to seeing this relationship grow.  It ought to be pretty interesting.

Alex just had his 6 month check-up.  He has 2 teeth that just popped through in the past 2-3 weeks.  He weighs 18 lbs., 11 oz. and is 27 1/2 inches long.  Lugging around his car seat is serious work.  Sometimes I wonder why my arms don't look like Jillian Michaels'.  They should.

We were not in the car when this picture was taken.  I am the OCD Queen of Carseat Use.  (Buckle at the sternum, never below, and have it tight enough so that you can't pinch any slack. There.  Off my soapbox.)  Anyway, how cute is he?  Seriously?  And yes, I'm bragging, but it's my blog and that's what I'm supposed to do. 

More sweetness.

Sam is obsessed with pajamas. The second he gets home, he strips down to a t-shirt and pj pants.  I've had to hide his fleece ones because he demands to wear them and then wonders why he wakes up all sweaty.  He will try to wear them anywhere at any time.  Even if they're 3 inches too short like the ones above.  Anyway, last week he had been in his room playing.  Alex was asleep, and all was peaceful.  Too peaceful.  When I went to see why my house wasn't filled with noise as usual, this is what I found.  Apparently even though he's dropped his nap, his nap hasn't completely dropped him. 

Remember his best friend in all the world?  They were reunited at the children's museum last week.  He had the best time.  And isn't she presh?

Sweet sun baby. 

Just started some foods with Alex and he is taking to them like a fish to water.  I'm hoping this child won't be as picky as his brother.

Post swimming lessons Sponge Bob Popsicle.  He annihilated it.

Zoo trip...

A few weeks ago, I took the boys to see my parents.  We decided to take them to the Memphis zoo, and we couldn't have picked a better day--it was absolutely gorgeous with a wonderful breeze.  Sam had a fabulous time, and Alex was really good.  If you haven't been to their zoo lately, I highly suggest it.  It's a beautiful old zoo, and they have tons of really neat exhibits.  The pandas are especially cool.

Monkeying around at the zoo

Sweet baby boy.

At the camel exhibit, you can pay an extra fee to ride them around a corral.  I was blown away that Sam actually rode it with me.  Earlier this year we paid for a pony ride at a harvest festival, and he refused to ride when it was his turn.  He didn't hesitate this time--maybe it was his Lebanese side kicking in, and he felt at home on a camel. 

Camels do not = comfort.

Sacked out in the stroller.

They have a really cool dinosaur exhibit.  Considering that Sam's two favorite things are firetrucks and dinosaurs, this was a must-see.  My dad made me take the above picture... 

...and then he made me take this one.  Isn't it funny how your parents decide they can do whatever they want when they become grandparents?

Digging for fossils

This was as close as Sam would get to the T-Rex.  I couldn't convince him to go closer. 

And one of his favorites--Stegosaurus. 

Words that I never thought I would say...

"Sam, what did you just wipe on the couch?"

"A booger."

"We do not wipe boogers on furniture."

For all you people out there without boys, this is what you have to look forward to.

(And yes, I know I ended a sentence with a preposition, but let's face it...saying "for what you have to look forward" sounds really hoity-toity.)

Still not over it...

I know it's normal for kids to have obsessions, but seriously--this fireman thing is going NOWHERE.  The other morning I was getting ready and he was in full fireman gear crawling on the floor. 

Me:  "Sam, what are you doing?"

Sam:  "Ma'am, it's fireman Sam.  And I'm crawling because smoke rises.  There's a fire that started in your garbage can, and I have to put it out."

Well, duh. 

Picture dump...

Tee ball fun. 

In case you didn't know, you play for the Icee at the end of the game.

Say it with me...ridonkulous. (Or is it ridonculous?)  I like the "k" better. 

Did I mention that the Sherm and I took a culinary tour of New Orleans a few weekends ago?  My caloric intake for the weekend was absolutely frightening, but it was soooo good.  The above is a picture of our spread at St. James Cheese Company. 

 Delish. 

End of the year trip to the children's museum. 

I love a baby in a hat.

The other night Anthony took Sam to a baseball game at Trustmark Park so that I could just chill out with Alex.  The idea was that Alex would go to bed, and I could catch up on the last 2 episodes of "The Vampire Diaries."  (I have no shame.) 

Alex had other plans for me.  He wanted to teethe.  And scream.  A lot. 

Baby boy has some serious cradle cap.  We've been working on it, and my pediatrician suggested using baby oil or olive oil to condition and scrub. 

Anthony was in charge of bath time that night.  He didn't get the oil out. 

Fauxhawks ensued.

Sam made me take this picture. 

Buddha