February 2013

So far, the overarching theme of 2013 seems to be illness and not much sleep. Another round of colds at the beginning of the month has left little Bug with a cough that just WON"T GO AWAY. Combine the days home from normal activity, cold weather and Bert  going out of town for a week; Loulie and I got lots of quality time together. At the time, I felt like the days were going by slow but now that the month is over, I really don't know what happened to February. 

February 

- The month began with fires and crafts and dress-up, lots of time making Valentine's for family and friends at school.

- Bert went out of town for a week so Loulie and I had a few girls' nights with homemade popcorn and movies, a lunch date with Aunt Meme at Butcher & Bee, and a new addiction to FNL on Netflix.

- Valentine's came and went, beginning the day with a special family breakfast and ending it with a feverish 3 year old. A new princess dress from Lovey made up for the blah weather and feeling bad though. 

- In between sick days, we were able to attend the SEWE festival, a few play dates, a birthday party and catch up with friends on the other side of the world in Mt Pleasant. Bert and I actually went on two dates this month--I think that might be a record for us. 

- And Loulie learned how to spell and write her name!

                 

Now that it's March, I am itching for spring. The appreciation for cold days and long nights with a fire has been replaced with an impatience for daylight savings and sundresses. I am ready for the cold season to be over, both literally and figuratively. And since we're still holding on to this cough, I'd appreciate any prayers you might throw up for my girl--we are going to make one more polite trek back to the doctor if she isn't better by the weekend. 

What is love?

Baby, don't hurt me, don't hurt me no more. (I really can't say the above sentence without picturing Will Ferrell bobbing his head back and forth. If you didn't grow up in the 90s and don't know what I'm talking about, then I really can't help you.)
Loulie's class party was at school today. This created a dilemma since in my mind I had it on the calendar for Wednesday, that is until I finally read the class email Saturday night at 11:00 wherein the room mother explained that the class party was moved to Monday due to Ash Wednesday services at the church. Since Loulie originally suggested that we make our own Valentines that are orange with sprinkles (i.e. glitter) that shoot out and then it turns into a sticker, I asked her again Sunday morning what exactly she wanted to give as her valentine. She decided she wanted her "valentime" to be cookies shaped like a heart. Which is how I came to be standing at the counter at 12:15 on a Sunday night icing 50 homemade heart shaped cookies. And as I stirred that giant bowl of diabetic coma inducing sludge, I thought about the insane things we do at the request of our children (and how stupid I am for thinking this would only take 30 minutes).
Like the time my mother stayed up all  night sewing me a dress to wear to my good guy friend's bar mitzvah the next day while also suffering through strep that had moved to her organs. I'm sure that was a real good time--I can barely make it up the stairs at 99.9 degrees, forget full body pain, sore throat and feverish. But finish she did! And did I feel like a young Kelly Kapowski in my fitted velvet shift dress with slightly puffed sleeves (again, if you are not a child of the 90s, I cannot help you with these references).  I danced my tail off that night and held my own with my slightly more developed friends who could actually buy a dress off the rack without having to stuff or take the bust in six inches. No, I felt good in my homemade shift dress, completely clueless to my poor mother who probably launched herself into the bubonic plague finishing the hem. I don't know if I ever properly thanked her but I think it might have gone down like this...
When Loulie got up this morning and walked into the kitchen, her little mouth formed into a perfect O and after a brief pause and slight inhale exclaimed, "Oh mama, those are MAGNIFICENT!"

 

 Love makes us do crazy things people.

P.S. Loulie Bug, if you are 35 and reading through your mama's old blog post, this would be a great time to weigh whether or not you should move me into your carriage house or ship me off to the nursing home. Just saying.

Happy week of love friends!
(and thank you Mom for the countless hours of lost sleep)

January 2013

my parents' house almost every weekend in January

January is the quietest month in the garden. 

But just because it looks quiet doesn't mean nothing is happening.

- Rosalie Muller Wright

When I was younger, before I had years of memories of winter and time passing quickly, January made me a little down. The build up, excitement and busyness of the holidays being over followed by dreary weather and open schedules would make me antsy and unmotivated. A few years of this feeling gave me anxiety come January 1 of the looming winter blues. I would go overboard planning events and staying active to avoid the inevitable quiet of the short days and long winter nights. But further into adulthood, I relish this quiet time. I've found that I enjoy the holidays for the exhausting celebrations knowing that we will soon turn the calendar page into a time of rest.
And did I ever need January this year. I resolved that I would use the empty space on my calendar to rest, to listen, to prepare for the year ahead. I wouldn't get bent out of shape that there weren't festivals to attend or packed schedules. I would stop. I would take this season for what it is--just a short season in life. Good thing I did since week one of 2013, the whole family came down sick keeping us housebound for days. But it's as if by resolving in my heart to be thankful for this slow time; the Lord poured out blessing. Because though little happened from a "family album, blogging perspective," BIG prayers were answered and so much time was spent just relishing in family. We took time to think about the past year and what we wanted to change in the year ahead. We prayed about the growth of our family, about our health, about our business. I'm not saying that after days of being stuck inside and way more days of wearing rain boots than I would have liked, that I wasn't going a little stir crazy. I just think that the cold, housebound quiet is needed because that's were rest and listening occur which results in growth and development and most importantly answers.
So that's where we are for the beginning of 2013.

January 2013

- Rang in New Year with friends

- Spent a lot of days inside fighting off colds and catching up on Downton Abbey (obsessed!), and coercing Loulie into taking medicine
-Bridget Bojangle's 6th birthday

- Said good-bye to Bert's airplane, an answer to years of prayer to keep or sell

-Loulie's Class Holiday Concert where she performed front and center

- A friend field trip to Charlestowne Landing

- Mr. Rob came to visit from New York

- Good news from our neighborhood school and my first PTA meeting

-Movie dates with Loulie, girls' nights with Aunt Meme, and lots of family time
-Attended our first Journey Together ministry meeting & met so many wonderful families

- Closed one GAL case and picked up another

That time where the four walls of the house felt like a cage

If you asked me on December 23rd what I wanted more than anything, I would have told you a day with nothing on the calendar, spent on the sofa, resting. Having recovered from pneumonia over Thanksgiving, I should have taken better care of myself over the Christmas holidays but no, no, not me. I stayed up late sewing, wrapping, cooking, cleaning, hosting, exercising, parenting and celebrating. And on the night of our anniversary, Bert and I looked at each other and made a promise to celebrate some time in January, vowed that we still loved each other and went to bed hours later. (No one realizes at age 26 that getting married two days before Christmas will one day mean propping your eyelids open with toothpicks and plowing away at a holiday to do list instead of clinking champagne glasses together over dinner). What can I say--we were tired, overwhelmed and coming down sick.
     Now after 11 days (gasp--I didn't even realize it was that many until I just counted) of doing nothing but lying around inside the four walls of this house, I can honestly say I think my wish was granted. Not in the "Oh honey, I'll take the kid so you can rest sort of way" but in what has become our standard January illness week. In looking back over the last four years, I have always been sick the first week or so of January. This year, little Loulie Bug followed suit with double pneumonia and an ear infection. She added to the good times by refusing to take her medicine over the weekend resulting in lots of phone calls to medical savvy friends, mucho bribery, a facebook plea for advice and moments where I felt surely DSS would storm in the front door and ask why we were holding our child down to the table and shoving various types of syringes down her throat. To top off my stress, anxiety and pounding headache; the entire physician staff at Loulie's office was gone until this week and my doctor left town for 16 days!!! So urgent care on a Friday night it was. Do you remember the ER scene in Adventures in  Babysitting? (check out minute 5:11)
     But what is January if not a time for solace and quiet and rest? For reading good books, sleeping late and watching waaay to much TV. There were moments where I threw my pity party and moments where I was so thankful that we are usually very healthy and that this is not a norm for us. My heart truly goes out to families that spend more time at hospitals and ERs than they should, that have to watch their babies get poked and prodded all the time and spend hours waiting on physician offices to call them back. It's not fair and it made me thankful that we've made it this long without Loulie having sick visits (or throwing up). I also have mad sympathy for people with allergy/sinus/breathing problems. I've always had allergies but had no idea what people with real sinus issues were going through. Yowza! And lastly, I can't believe how kind people are--friends and parents of Loulie's classmates and family called and texted to check in on her. It was such a lesson to reach out to people instead of assuming you'd be a nuisance. It was really encouraging on long, cold, rainy days inside to get a sweet message from a friend. I will never pause again when thinking I should reach out to someone no matter how small the issue.  
So now that everyone is better we are looking forward to resuming life in the outside world (although everyone else we know is sick too), getting on those resolutions, getting back to church (we've missed so much being sick and online just isn't the same), getting back to school, and hopefully having a little date for restaurant week.

9:00 at urgent care Don't we look uber healthy?

Health, Wellness and Positive Outlook wishes to all!
     

Bringing back the 80s

Bert has been talking about growing himself a Magnum PI stache for TWO years (as a joke). I honestly thought it would never happen. But then came Duck Dynasty. And next thing I know, my husband looks like a woolly mountain man. And I could not kiss him without thinking of Kenny Rogers and Islands in the Stream would immediately play in my head. This went on for two months. His unruly facial hair was all he could talk about. 

So one would think when he finally decided to trim up, I would be excited about it...Not so much.


He planned this for the Polar Bear Plunge Party--a progression of identities. From a mulleted hillbilly to Magnum PI, Bert would disappear throughout the day. During the hillbilly portion of the day, my sister was kind enough to remind me that I had a child with this guy. 


By evening New Year's Day, he was back to his handsome self. And I can finally see that cute dimple again. 


So long Santa/ Kenny Rogers/ Willy Nelson/ Greg Allman! Husky, you sure do keep it entertaining!

5th Annual Plunge

We rang in the New Year same as we do every year, with a quiet eve preparing for the next day's festivities. This was our 5th or 6th (I lose track) year of attending the Sullivan's Island Polar Bear Plunge, but our 4th of hosting all our friends. In talking with some of the girls that day, we all mentioned that at some point during the day, we had a moment of prayerful thanksgiving for all these blessings. For health. For friends. For family. I am beginning my 7th year of marriage and my 7th year in Charleston. It hasn't felt like that long but when I think back to that first new years--a flooded house, no furniture, no clothes, a whole new life and no local friends. Sheesh--it was a rough one. And now, all the living that has taken place. Yes, I can only be full of thanks for this pack of people we chose to begin the new year with. 

A lot of our family and friends had a rough 2012. I think our nation as a whole had a rough 2012. Lost family members, natural disasters, debt, shootings, it was tough to keep your head up. I feel a little guilty saying this, but for us 2012 was pretty good. Status quo--no major news, no big changes but plenty of growth in a lot of ways. I'm going seal it off as a good year.

So Long 2012!

(2012? Still sounds so strange to me. Like shouldn't we still be in the nineties?!)

Making a home (Thanksgiving)

Homemaking. It's an actual title, a task, a balance that I have come to appreciate. That holidays and homes and meals and memories don't just come about. That my mother worked hard behind the scenes for decades pulling off the cozy, warm memories of my childhood. I've come to understand the balance it takes to cook and clean and organize and pack and travel gracefully while also pausing to kiss cheeks and toss footballs and bake cookies and watch Charlie Brown with patience, knowing that it will mean staying up later and losing some sleep so that it all comes together seamlessly. It's a mother's job. So yesterday we mixed grocery store errands with the children's museum, piles of laundry with a donut date and washing the dog with cookie baking. And at 6:00 the counter was covered in flour, Christmas music was playing and Loulie asked me to stop cooking to dance with her. I'm pretty sure this is why people have children. 

Today began with racing through downtown (Loulie's first with her own race number), trying to pack while Loulie keeps calling me in the room to watch the parade and heading to Augusta in just a few minutes. And I am overwhelmed with thankfulness; for this home, for this girl, for this family.

Here are a few pictures of our pre Thanksgiving with Bert's family in Highlands. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope that you too feel overwhelmed today with thankfulness for the blessings of family, friends and the constant grace of our Heavenly Father.