Mobile Monday

What. A. Monday.  Today's photo of the day topic was: Something that makes you sad.  I'm doing this photo of the day thing to increase happiness, so I'm skipping day 30.

Thursday was Donuts with Daddy day at school.  What a sweet little memento they made for Dad. Don was one of the older dads in the class at the ripe old age of 10. He said most Daddies were 2 or 3.

Friday night Don surprised me with a birthday cake and a new iPad.  Mason decided to practice up for his own Birthday in a few weeks.  The boy will eat anything. But cake? Especially yummy.

On Sunday morning we were trying to decide what to do for the day. Don suggested a trip to the beach, so...   we threw the surfboard on the top of the truck and took off.  We don't travel as light as we used to, but I didn't think it was too bad for spur of the moment.  Kate had a basket and a bucket filled with toys, along with a castle filled with princesses. Don saw this and said: "Wow. We're taking the whole house to the beach." Kate: "No Daddy, just the stuff inside."

I'll post more pics later, but here is Mason enjoying the sand. Remember I said he would eat anything? 

Riding home. It was a fast trip. We spent more time in the car than on the beach. But they had so much fun. Here's Kate curled up, wearing a headband and eating yogurt.

And on the way home there was a great Clemson truck with a pretty cool tiger hood ornament

Photos of the Day

So it seems that I've fallen behind on my photos of the day, but actually, I've been faithfully pinning them over at Pinterest (with the exception of one I missed during "The Great Sick-In" last weekend).  Here are two from the last three days - minus the one that I deleted from my iPhone. 

Somewhere you went - Day 25

I had a meeting in the lobotomy room of the asylum Friday. Seriously. All of DHEC Health Services upper management works here... as well as the new Commissioner Director of DHEC. No. The irony isn't lost on me.

1 pm - Day 26

This photo of Mason was taken at approximately 1 pm Saturday at Aurie's Birthday party. The girls got fairy wings and fairy dust (that is STILL in Kate's hair). The boys? Blow up swords and eye patches. I dunno.. he makes an awfully cute pirate, don't ya think?

And of course there were more fun adventures Sunday. More on that to come.

Friday!

 

Looking Down - Day 25

Sometimes when I look down, I see this smiley face. And that makes my day.

Glad We Made it to Mobile Monday

What a weekend.

We'll start with the happier times. Kate had lunch with Daddy on Friday. She was clingy and wanted us to hold her (which in hind sight was indicative of things to come). Daddy is a softie, so he went and picked up his best girl from Nan's for lunch at Moe's.

We woke up Saturday morning ready for some zoo adventures.  Here is Mason trying to get his shoe back on in the parking lot.

And Kate did ok the first 10 minutes inside the gate. She even went fishing. My favorite part? Her method of getting the magnet to stick to the fish/crab she liked? She bent over and placed it there, of course.

And that's about where the fun ended.  We headed into the aquarium and Kate kept asking us to hold her. So I picked her up and she was as hot as a metal button straight out of the dryer. Five minutes later she told us she wanted to go home. You know it's bad when Kate requests that we leave the zoo.

And then there was tummy aches and vomiting and a sad, sad girl. I look like the walking dead when I feel this way. Kate? She still manages to look sweet and beautiful. 

We gave her this cute little castle, just like her friend Brynn's. It was almost fun enough to trump a high fever. Almost.

We played with it and watched a lot of TV/Netflix. It amazes me how digital kids are. Completely comatose one moment, and running around acting crazy the next.

Here's hoping we're on the up side. No vomiting now. She did sing us a diarrhea song at supper. Oh my. I'll spare you the details, but it was hilarious.

Mason? He didn't feel too awesome himself. Maybe it's more teeth.  He did manage a nice long nap. Oh, those cheeks and those kissable little lips!

The boy loves a ball.

 It must have been the fever. Kate actually spent a lot of Sunday and today "playing" with Mason.  It's relative, of course. All I can say is, good thing he's tough. And Mason? His new word? Sis!

Photo of the day? Sorry I flaked out on day 22. I'm not going to make up for it.  I think I had a good excuse - grant stress and sick kids.  But here is today's : Vegetable. We had stir fry for supper.

Bottle - Day 21

I am very ready to be done with bottles. They're probably one of the things I dreaded most while pregnant with Mason.  He's quite the sippy stealer at the moment, so I think we're close to kissing these goodbye!!

Something You Drew - Day 20

What a long, exhausting day. Here is something I drew (and painted) 28 years ago. I remember that it was an art class at a little art store and I was mega excited to paint with watercolors. Specifically I liked flicking the brush to make the little sand splatters. Mom and Dad had it hanging in their house forever. And now. It is in mine.

 

When I finished putting Mason to bed tonight, I found these two. In bed. Playing with their iPads. Hello weekend!

Orange - Day 19

It's no secret that we love ORANGE. Love it! Case in point: we own 3 orange strollers. That's almost our entire stroller fleet.  Today's orange is a cute little fishy that hangs in the kids' bathroom. It is the first artwork that Kate did in preschool. Can I admit to you how excited I am that Mason will be in that class next year? And not just because the artwork is always incredibly cute.

Hair - Day 18

Something You Do NOT Like - Day 17

The topic of the day was kind of strange. Can't I just take a few minutes of my day to not focus on something I do not like?  At any rate.

Yesterday I spent the day at a Clinical Microbiology Conference in Spartanburg. One particular talk was about Group B Strep, and if you've had a baby in the last 10 years, you've likely been tested for it. If passed from their Mamas during labor, Group B Strep can cause blood infections and meningitis. Bad, bad stuff, people. The case study slide that they presented was just too darned depressing for me to even photograph, so I snapped a shot of this poor babe, who is on the page where we talked about all the reasons that you might screen negative for Group B Strep, but still pass it to your baby.  Just a reminder that healthy little babies are born every day that get an infection in the hospital and don't make it home. Sad, Sad, SAD stuff, I tell you.  So, if you were lucky enough to give birth to and take home a healthy baby, please stop right now and thank God. Not that I even need to say that to any of you Mamas, but I just did. You know, in case you are like me and get exasperated with a perfectly healthy 3 year old who refuses to (insert basic necessity here) on a daily basis.

Flower - Day 16

I bought these beautiful Gerber daisies this weekend. They will probably look this good for at least 3 days. Kate has really taken to learning about flowers.  I also bought two dianthus at Lowes.

Kate: "Mommy, what kind of flowers are those?"
Me: "Those are dianthus."
Kate: "Nan has dianthus!!"

She also points out the Lady Banks rose to everyone who enters our back yard. Budding horticulturist.  I wonder how old the youngest Master Gardener in South Carolina is?

Mobile Monday

What a fun weekend we had! So glad to have Don back in the states. I know Madrid was fun, but we are funner (to steal a term from Kate). Ok, these are not all mobile downloads, but there are lots of cute pics, so I figured no one would complain.

We started the weekend off right - a ride through the neighborhood.

I took some time Saturday to sit on the back porch and enjoy the sun and flowers.

Then we did some cooking out. And afterwards? We cranked up the fire pit and enjoyed a cool evening. Kate kept telling us how hot it was. 

She kept telling Don that she wanted to sleep outside on the ground. Of course he knew that would last all of 5 minutes, but you could tell he enjoyed the request.  We talked about bears and how you can't keep food in your tent because Bears might try to get it in the middle of the night.  Kate was pretty concerned that there might be bears outside our house, but we assured her that there were no bears in Lexington.  

The next night before bed she asked again: "Mommy, are there bears outside?" 

Me: "Not outside our house.  They live up in the mountains." 

Kate: "But can they smell us?" 

Since M was sick, we stuck around the house Sunday.  Kate dressed up.

Kate: "Mommy, I need my flower shoes so I can be a brave princess and kill pirates!"

Can a girl live on strawberries alone? We'll find out I guess. Here is my attempt to mix things up a little. Fruit loops, grapes, cheese, yogurt raisins and goldfish/pretzel fish. She ate almost all of it.  Kate? Not an eater. Mason? Attempts to eat everything. No really... I caught him with one of those alphabet floor tiles in his mouth. Really?

Guess who drives fast like Daddy?

Speaking of snacks. Mason snacked at the kid table. Puffs anyone?

He also played with Alphie the robot. Which, of course encouraged Kate to play with it.

 

Out for another ride.

Sunset - Day 15

Not all sunsets are spectacular ones.

Mason Update

What a difference a good nights sleep makes!

He still has a bit of a fever, but seems happy enough to go on adventures with the resident princess.

How I Feel Today - Day 14

Beautiful sunny day. I got a run in this morning and then read magazines on the porch while the kids napped. I felt sunny and  colorful - like this flower (that I haven't managed to kill) and Mason's new Crocs.

Some sandbox and yard time and a plant shopping trip to Lowe's later and M's fever kicked in. Poor little  guy.  Here he is. I think if he could talk he'd be saying: "Seriously Mama, can you not take pictures of me while I feel this way?"

Something You Found - Day 13

 Sometimes when Kate is off playing in her room quietly, you start to worry what you might find if you go looking for her.  Today she was all dressed for a ball - wearing 5 crowns, of course. It would have been six, but Mason broke one. Or maybe it would have been just that one... if Mason hadn't broken it.

 

Speaking of Mason.

Stairs - Day 12

I really love the creeping fig on the front steps.  It needs to be trimmed, but it still makes me happy.

Where You Ate Breakfast - Day 11

Bagels, coffee, and a little light reading.  This grant application guide is only 264 pages long. 

Cold - Day 10 (the re-created version)

Don accidentally sabotaged the original version of this post (it was Madrid's fault - or maybe jet lag), so here is the re-creation. I hope I remember all of the fascinating, witty things I said the first time.

Here are the last 3 frozen cubes of baby food that I made for Mason (avocado and mango).  I did a great job of making his food early on, but I did get a little lazy here lately.  I tried a bunch of fun stuff: blueberries/yogurt/banana, butternut squash, sweet potato, avocado, pear, and mango. You know it was super easy if I had time to do it. Now he has discovered real food. Last night was carrots, mac-n-cheese, broccoli, and peas. He has yet to find a food he doesn't like.

And now, to warm you up after all of that cold:

Look! They're actually getting along!

Hey Daddy! Check out my new PJs! Vroom! Vroom!

The Beastie playing music.

Don't you love this nightgown? I do, and it's a good thing. She's had it on for 2 straight days.  This morning we mixed it up with a sweater and some leggings.

Mobile Monday

Well... it is still Monday for the next 10 min or so.  Here are a few more highlights from the weekend (although you've already seen so many).

Foster knocked Kate down and hurt her foot. Here is Don attempting to make the dog kiss her boo boo. It never happened, but Don gets points because Kate thought it was hilarious.

M watched the fun from his truck. He screams and waves his hands like a mad man when Foster comes running back with the frisbee. It's pretty darn cute.

On Saturday we went shopping for a few new shirts for Don to take on his trip.  Kate was well accessorized.  

What is it about the cold water that comes out of the faucet? Both kids. Obsessed.

And the laundry basket? Who knew you could fit a three year old and a 10 month old into this tiny basket? They had a great time unfolding all of my clothes, throwing underwear around the room, and cramming themselves into it.

 

And there you have it, with 5 minutes to spare!