Spring in the South

Lovely.

C-Monday

Happy Monday my friends. Another great weekend in the books for us. Little man and I took off Thursday night and headed up to my parents' farm for a few days. My grandma came down to visit on Friday afternoon and C had a ball playing "boom!" with his great-grandma. Great-Grandma, Cullen and Marme - he loved all the attention from these special ladies! On Saturday morning, C helped his Uncle JoJo clean up downed trees from last week's storm: And later that day, the boys made a bonfire: Then C visited the cows with Uncle Bum: He of course charmed his way into a new toy: My dad charmed his way into a new toy too, which Cullen insisted on test driving: Then, my dad dropped him off so he could get some work done. Have you ever seen such a broken hearted face? Honestly.

Happy Anniversary!

Today is husband and my 4th wedding anniversary. So in honor of us, I thought I'd share the (really long) story of how we met and ended up together.

The summer after I graduated from high school, I spent my days babysitting my two little brothers and Kev's little brother and sister. As a result, Kev and I met on July 4th, 2002. That particular week, even though he was home from West Point and supposed to be watching his siblings, his little sister insisted I still come over to help. We ended up spending the day together and watching fireworks from his parents dock that night, then went on a late night 'date' to Silver Diner where he drank a pot of coffee and told me all about West Point and I sat pretty quiet hoping Auburn would be nothing like that (it wasn't).

The next day, we ended up at the same concert downtown DC. I stalked him out and took this picture. Could we be anymore awkward?

As I headed off to college and he headed back for his senior year at Army, we remained friends via IM (do people still IM?) and the next summer spent a good bit of time together whenever he was in town. When fall of 2003 rolled around, I went out to Ft. Sill, OK to visit him once and he came to Auburn twice, but our lives at that point were just so different and we soon lost touch for over a year.

In January of 2005 I found out from his family that he was deploying to Iraq for a year and was able to see him briefly before he left. Then, in April, I sent him a birthday card and conversation started again. When he came home on R and R, we spent every moment we could together and when he left to go back to Iraq, I promised I would write him everyday. For the next 7 months, I did without fail.

In December 2005, I graduated from college and a month later Kev came home from his deployment. I flew down to Savannah to see him and came back knowing I would marry him. Six months later we were engaged. Seven months after that, we were married. Up til our wedding day, we had never seen each other for more than 8 consecutive days (and that had only happened once). Six weeks after we got married, he deployed again, this time separating us for 15 months. Then finally, in August of 2008, we moved here to Winston and were able to start a normal life.

Even though it took us a long time to get where we are now, I wouldn't have it any other way. I love him more today than I did 4 years ago and am some grateful for the wonderful relationship we have. Here's to at least 67 years more.

Randoms

Seriously, none of these things are related, but I feel the need to share all of them. Try to stick with me.

1. The guy who just came out and said kids should face backwards in their car seat until the age of 2 is clearly not a mother. Or has ever road tripped with a toddler. Worst. Idea. Ever.

2. Cullen has been practicing yoga with me. He thinks its hilarious. Probably because I have an enormous belly and still attempt the chair pose.
3. Spring means new fabric lines! Here are some of my latest obsessions:

4. Spring also means yard sale season. (Side note: my 22 year old self would probably want to punch my 27 year old self for using the phrase 'yard sale season' and being excited about it). Here is what I found last Saturday for my mom's farm house guest room, all three for under $100. The side table and headboard are getting a makeover this weekend.

5. Have you been to Payless recently? No, seriously, someone has stepped up their game over there, especially for a lady on a budget.



Anything random on your mind?

Sewing Class!

Last week, my friend Katie and I decided strengthen our domestic skills by tackling our first sewing class. We signed up for the 'Baby Essentials' class at Karen Gray Design in Reynolda Village and on Thursday night headed out to make a baby blanket, burp cloth, washcloth and appliqued onsie. My sewing skills are pretty amateur; some straight lined curtains here and there and a pillow slipcover or two, but I have never actually learned how to finish a project. I was really excited to learn from a pro, plus Karen's shop is instant happiness.
Two and a half hours later, look what I did! I opted for an orange and blue theme since it is pretty gender neutral, especially for a baby who has no choice but to be Auburn fan. This is the blanket, its cotton on one side and fleece on the other:
The burp cloth. It is two different fabrics on top and terry cloth underneath and I put it all together myself. *clap clap*.
The washcloth:
And my adorable little onsie. I have never even sort of appliqued before, and here is a little secret: it is so easy! I might have a new obsession.
How cute is it all bundled together? Here are Katie and me with our finished projects:
It was such a great night and I am hoping to squeeze in another class before baby/moving. Thanks for a great evening Karen!

PS: You can visit Karen's shop here. And Katie's Etsy shop here. Fun finds for all!

Orlando Va-Cay!

First off, thanks for all the great boy's name suggestions yesterday! I appreciate them a lot.

So for the past few days, we have been in Orlando with Cullen's aunt, uncle and 3 cousins. We hadn't seen them in almost a year or met our sweet nephew Colt yet. It was a great little vacation and of course I took a million pictures, so I will let them tell the rest of the story. Have a great weekend!