9.30.2010

A Confession

I guess I will go ahead and say it....
Iwill be 30 in 67 days--yikes. To combat the stress and horror of this inevitable occasion, my college friends have planned a girls' weekend at the beach. I could not be more excited to relax, lay out, drink wine and spend time with these friends that I rarely get to see now that I live in the lowcountry. There's just one catch, I will be missing this little lovebug like CRAZY.

In 13 months, I have left her overnight one time and wasn't even away 24 hours. I know, I know--maybe I'm a little nuerotic, too attached, overly protective. Say what you will but I just miss her so when she naps much less leave her for a weekend. But you only turn 30 once and every momma needs a break so I'm leaving tomorrow for my first long weekend away. Loulie Bug will be with her Lovey(my mom) all weekend so I'm not worried about her--she will have a ball. ME?--I will be enjoying myself and the company of great friends but looking forward to having these arms around my neck on Sunday!!!

Happy Weekend!

(*We miss you Husky Bear & Bridget Bojangles!)

9.27.2010

Technical Difficulties


Last Friday night hanging out in the mountains:
Bert: You really should start backing up your work.
Me: My computer is less than a year old. I'll start backing up my work.
Bert: You would hate to lose all your work, those pictures of Loulie--her entire life is on your computer.
Me: OKAY, stop talking about it. You are going to jinx me.


Two days later I was fighting back tears in front of Patrick at the Apple store as he told me that none of my data transferred to my new hard drive. Everything lost--Loulie's first steps, all those pictures, my music, all my OCD lists, etc!!!!

But $250 later, Tim at the data recovery center in Mt. P has recovered my data. I am going to get it this afternoon. The good news too was that my hard drive was still under warranty.

Learn from me people--back up your work!!!








9.21.2010

Glee

One of my fav shows started tonight. Anyone that knows me, knows that I went to a fine arts magnet school before we moved to Macon. I receive relentless teasing about this from Bert. He imagines that it was like Fame. I get questions like, " Did you answer roll call with jazz hands?" or " Did you wear tights and cut out sweatshirts to english class?" The answer is no!
Though I cannot sing a note and my main reason for being there was dance, my time at Davidson does incline me to a love for anything dramatic and musical. Basically, watching Rachel and Finn dance down the aisles of the library of McKinley High singing Madonna unleashes a certain nostalgia for adolescence and past performances. Okay, and I'll just confess right now that I do in fact reenact the performances with Loulie to a blaring background of itunes while Bert is at work. (We have been busted a few times.) Single Ladies did not become her favorite song out of nowhere.
So back to tonight's kick off of Glee...it did not diasappoint!
Highlights...
1. Finn's try outs for the Cheerios--hilarious, I was rolling!
2. The new quarterback--though I prefer brunettes, he is smoking!
3. Kurt--enough said, I just love him and his gray feminine sweater.
4. Sunshine's version of Listen--Bert thought better than Beyonce
5. SUE--better than ever. Where does she think of this stuff?
6. Quinn back on the Cheerios--is she changed? will she be nicer?
7. The Beist--people are not always what they seem. Loved the lesson turned around on Mr. Schu
Lowlights...
1. Where was Emma? Did I walk out of the room and miss her appearance?
2. Artie and Tina's break up--I love Artie. Who breaks up with Artie? And for her dance partner--broke my heart for that sweet little muffin.

Yes, I am a geek. I still love teenie bopper shows, a good musical number and the drama of high school romance. Between my love of Glee, the occasional dvr-ing of 90210 and a recent order from Forever 21; I think Bert fears that I am going through a quarterlife crisis. Maybe, but that will not keep me from harnessing my inner Rachel tomorrow and downloading NY from tonight's show--for Loulie, of course ;)

9.14.2010

Birthday Bug

So if you read the last post, you know I got pretty sentimental and nostalgic about my Bug turning One last week. Everyone has birthdays but for some reason, all last Thursday I felt a sort of humble pride (there’s an oximoron for you). I knew I had not done anything and Loulie had not done anything but I was so proud of her and that we had made it through the first year. She has become such a sweet, spunky little girl with such a big heart. Bert and I just couldn’t help but celebrate everything Loulie for about five days in a row.


The last day of her babyhood was spent at none other than our favorite spot on Earth--Sullivan’s Island--our haven away from everything stressful, worldly and technological. Loulie, Lovey and Aunt Muffy spent the afternoon basking in the sun, playing in the waves and riding in her new wagon. Of course, Teddi and Sulli joined in on the fun too because no princess would travel without her guard dogs.


The actual Big Day began with a pancake breakfast, phone calls from friends and family followed by a picnic and playtime at the park under the Ravenel bridge.

My hope was to get some great one year pictures with the ocean and Charleston Harbor in the background. Truth be told, it was kind of a cluster--super humid, no wind and a somewhat fussy toddler. (WHAT!--did I just say toddler?)

The result was some very sweaty, red faced pictures--not what I had hoped for but still beautiful and will be a funny memory of the day.

By the end, we were having fun though...

Then we went home for the unveiling of the new play yard and toys (more on this in a future post)--Loulie LOVED here birthday presents...



Friday night, we had a family birthday dinner courtesy of Lovey and Aunt Muffy. Mom made a delicious dinner, Loulie had her first sugar and we opened presents and played with new toys. Loulie picked out a new doll, Emma, while shopping with Grandaddy (who ignored my requests to not spoil Loulie) earlier that day. Emma, seen below, has accompanied us on every outing since.

(Mom, Dad, Loulie eating cake)
(Loulie putting her baby in their new high chair)

The weekend culminated in a bug birthday party for our Loulie Bug!


Loulie had a ball...

We are so blessed by family and sweet friends that traveled near and far to come celebrate with our Bug. I think all the kids had a great time and we did too!


(The one with the most chocolate crumbs wins...)

I loved every minute of celebrating almost as much as I love my Loulie Bug. Thanks to all the family and friends that came to celebrate, gave her such sweet gifts and celebrated in the humid Carolina air!!! We hope and pray for a healthy and happy second year ahead!!!

9.08.2010

Reminiscing

Dear Loulie Bug,

I have such joy thinking about this night one year ago. I was scheduled to be induced but had prayed and prayed that you would come on your own. I was worried about forcing you into the world against your will (as you get older you will come to see your mother's hippy mind) and had done all things possible to get you to come "naturally".
I remember thinking when I crawled in bed that night--"well, I guess she didn't come early." I fell asleep praying that the induction was the right decision and I willed your life and my labor to the Lord. And fell asleep. For an hour.
In true Loulie fashion, you came on your own terms and at your own time. Which is to be expected--both your father and I march to our own drum and do things when and how we see right to do them. I hope that you too will always listen to your heart (your own internal time keeper) and not allow others or the world around you to define you or persuade you into anything.
You are your own little person. On 9-9-09 at 4:44 pm God gave your daddy and me the best blessing and gift--much more than we had imagined for ourselves.In the past twelve months, you have already shown so much of the person God made you to be--smart, independent, loving, curious and aware of the world around you. People stop us all the time to say hello to you--you wave to everyone. Your loving and happy nature is contagious and it's impossible to get through errands without someone wanting to love on you.
I am blessed each day by having you. The best decision I ever made was to stay home to be with you these past 5 months. I love being with you and so does your Daddy. We always said if we had children, we would want to be with them and share in experiences as a family. And we do. I am grateful each and every day God chose to give you to me. You are His first and foremost but he loves me enough to trust me to take care of you here. For that, I am grateful everyday.
I cannot wait to see what this second year brings. (Hopefully, a little more sleep) A lot of fun, a lot of learning and a lot of incredible memories as a family.
Never did I dream that I would love motherhood this much. A year and a half ago, in church, I was fretting over how I was going to take care of you. I closed my eyes and listened to the music playing and all that kept going through my head was " Your children will be your greatest gift and blessing and you will love it thousands more than you think you will." As usual, God's words to me have been proven true!
Happy Birthday to my sweet Punkin Pie Heart! I LOVE YOU!




9.05.2010

Exploded Eardrum

After Loulie's quite vocal performance at the back of the church this morning, it is decided that she will be a regular in the church nursery--no discussion around the decision any longer. While it made her parents very proud that she has such a love of Jesus that she needed to dance and sing throughout the service, her behavior could have been perceived by some to be distracting.
Ironically, Steve preached on spiritual gifts. One of Loulie's became very apparent this morning--hospitality. She stood in the entryway for 10 minutes this morning waving and greeting all who entered the narthex. I think we will probably getting a recruitment call from the ushers and hospitality team later this week--they are always looking for energetic volunteers.
Ms. Alice, Ms. Destiny and all our friends--we'll see you in Sunday school next week. And Mama looks forward to actually hearing the sermon, that is if her ear drum heals in enough time!