Friday's Photos

Well. folks, we pulled it off. After all the lists and the schedules and last-minute trips to the store, we finally got those two kids married. i say "we" as though I actually played some vital role in it. I should say my parents and Mr. & Mrs. Knight pulled it off. Today I'll be posting photos I took at their rehearsal at Traveller's Rest and at the rehearsal fiesta held in my grandparents' backyard. It was super hot (in the 90's), but the food and the company were wonderful. The photographs tell the story much better than my words can.

Keep being patient

I apologize for not having posted anything new about the wedding yet. We've been in recovery mode here. Once I get the rest of my photos uploaded and tweaked, I'll start sharing all the details.

Bridesmaids' Luncheon

We've had a beautiful, sunny (if hot) day for the start of Joe & Maggie's wedding festivities. This afternoon, I had the privilege of attending the bridesmaids' luncheon at Margaret's parents' home. I was in the company of a roomful of beautiful women and delicious food. I had a wonderful time, and I'm so glad I was included. Thanks, Margaret!

Pictorial

Here's a little photographic evidence of what we've been up to since we arrived in Franklin on Saturday night.


On Father's Day, we spent the afternoon at my grandparents' house. Aidan got to help Pop make ice cream. We ate and swam and enjoyed the beautiful day. Moments after returning to Mom and Dad's, I found Aidan here.

What else have we done? Played outside a lot. Caught lightning bugs. Neely gets to swing, and she loves it.

We went out and ate Mexican to get in the spirit of things.

And I've been working on redecorating these pinatas.

And for those of you who may be reading this going, "What?!" I'm in town for my brother's wedding, and the rehearsal dinner is fiesta themed. Should be fun!

Visitors

First and foremost, I’d like to apologize for my absence from Blogland for the last week or so. We’ve had company at our house, and I’ve relied solely on them to take pictures. I didn’t get my own camera out once. Okay, fine, maybe once. But I’ll go ahead and give credit for all the photos posted today to Mike and Jamie.

As you can see, the kids were super-excited to see their Uncle Mike. He makes a great jungle gym.

We took a trip down to the Boardwalk one evening for a walk and some ice cream. If Aidan looks like he’s up to no good, he probably is.

As you can see, everybody loved their ice cream. Neely shared some pink lemonade sorbet with me…

And Aidan devoured the biggest scoop of cotton candy ice cream I’ve ever seen.

We ventured out some, but most of our time was spent hanging out at home. Aidan can usually be found sporting some cool underoos.

And Neely is usually trying to get herself into trouble these days. I turned my back for 3.5 seconds, and she was under my desk trying to electrocute herself.

We had a friend over to play one morning, and to keep the boys busy, we played outside with bubbles and sidewalk chalk. Apparently the “new thing” is to pour the bubbles onto the sidewalk and rub your hands in them, making greasy, bubbly weird spots on the concrete. I guess it kept them occupied, regardless of the fact that they were covered in bubble juice by the time they were done.

Neely sat in the grass and played with Jack instead.

All in all, I think everybody had a good time. Neely even gave her Uncle Mike a kiss good-bye…

Okay, fine. So that happened a couple of days before he left, but I couldn’t resist. It made for a better story.

P.S. Watch Jamie's blog for more photos. I'm sure her favorites are different than mine.

Runaway Ring Bearer

Tonight, as I tucked Aidan into bed, we had a conversation about our travel plans for the weekend and Joe and Margaret's upcoming wedding. I told him that Joe would be wearing a special suit and Margaret will be wearing a pretty white dress, and that they'd be walking down an aisle to get married. I also reminded him that he'd be wearing a special suit and carrying the ring pillow down the aisle, and he should carry it carefully and walk slowly. To this, Aidan told me no, he would be running. We argued about this for a little while. I'm not sure who got the last word in. Maybe they should play Flight of the Bumblebee for Aidan's entrance. Please don't let him run. Whatever speed he chooses to go, I feel fairly certain that he's going to find a way to turn this wedding into a comedy. Joe, Margaret, I apologize in advance.

Dancing

Today was housecleaning day. I don't have video of it, of course, but Neely was sitting in the floor of the kitchen, I had the radio turned on, and she started to wiggle around. (It looked much like the car dance, Stef. She IS my daughter.) Of course, seeing Neely get attention for dancing made Aidan want to as well. He was so funny dancing around in his Nemo underpants that I couldn't help but to videotape him. (By this time, Neely had bumped her head on something, wanted to be held, and was no longer participating in family dance time.) One day, my son will probably be in therapy complaining of all the times his mother posted nearly nude photos and videos of him on the internet. Oh, well. It's worth it.

Potty Time - Not for the faint of heart.

Finally, we have some good news on the potty training front. Many of you know, we introduced Aidan to the potty last fall. He showed no interest in it and would scream if we tried have him sit on it, so we didn't push him. It was in his bathroom, ready for him, if he decided to try it. We'd ask at bath time each night if he'd like to sit on it, and he always said, "No!"

Last December, the night before we were to travel home for Christmas, Aidan decided he'd like to use the potty. I was ecstatic. My joy was short-lived, as he decided to be afraid of every potty other than the one in his bathroom. We made no progress while we were traveling, and by the time we returned home, he'd lost interest again.

For the last six months, I've been so frustrated. Aidan will pee pee in the potty, if you make him go. He never, ever would do a number two. He was treating his pull-ups like diapers. He would scream at me when I'd tell him it was time to try and go potty, and he'd go in his pull-up as I dragged him to the bathroom. I wanted to pull my hair out.

Three days ago, I ran out of pull-ups. I intended to go to the store for more, but I decided I would just put Aidan in his underpants and see how it went. (We tried this several months ago, and he'd just go in his underwear, really not caring that he was standing/sitting in a puddle.) He kept them dry for half the day and wanted to wear them to bed that night, so I let him. He woke up dry. I kept him in the underpants, and he kept going in the potty. He had a couple of accidents where he'd start to go, but he'd catch himself and finish in the potty.

Yesterday morning, Aidan had one such accidents where he couldn't pee pee in the potty anymore afterward. I knew he needed to poop. He kept asking me for a pull-up. I told him he couldn't have one, and that I wasn't putting his underpants back on him until he pooped in the potty. He hid behind the futon and pooped in the floor. BUT about halfway through, he started saying, "Mommy, help me!" I took him to the bathroom, and he finished pooping in the potty. Hooray!

Today, I let him wear his underpants in public for the first time. We went to the gym and Wal-Mart with no accidents. And tonight, he pooped in the potty all by himself. I'm so excited, and I had to share my joy. Over poop, I know. This is what motherhood has reduced me to. I so don't care. I will no longer be changing diapers for two children. Yessssss!

Ring Pillow

Here's a project that actually had a deadline. With Joe and Maggie's wedding fast approaching, I knew I had to finish their ring pillow. They gave me free reign, so I got to make this pillow however my little heart desired. This is the end result. I've tied my rings to it so you can see where they're supposed to go. And the yellow ribbon is tied across the underside, so Aidan has a place to slide his hands in and (hopefully) hold it flat. Hooray for finishing with three weeks to spare! Now, Aidan needs to practice with it.

Blueberry Picking

I have no pictures, because I forgot to lug my camera along with everything else today, but we picked blueberries in Haughton today with two friends and their kids. We had so much fun. The boys treated it like a contest, comparing their buckets every few minutes and showing them off, "Look how many I have!" It was cute. We made it out with only a couple of fire ant incidents, nothing too major. Neely got to go off-roading in her stroller and napped through half of the experience. Oh, and Aidan doesn't like to eat blueberries. He only likes to pick them. He at least tried one this year. It was in his mouth for 1.5 seconds before he was spitting it out. "Pleh! Pleh!" So funny. So $6 and two hours later, here I am, with four pounds of blueberries to use. I may be making a lot of pies. Or cobbler. Or muffins. Or pancakes. I haven't decided.

Neely is mobile.

I can't believe how big my baby girl has gotten already. Just in the last week, she's started crawling!

Revamped Foyer

A couple of months ago, in this post, I showed a photograph of my barren entryway. I’d purchased a set of Feather and Egg prints from L. Herbert Designs with the intent of eventually hanging them there, but I didn’t want them to stand alone.

Last week, I finished rehabbing this sofa table to coordinate with the prints. The table is situated, my feathers and eggs are hung, and I am eager to share! It took me a few days to situate things on this table, but I think it’s a good starting point. I tried really hard to use things I already had in my house and not spend any more money on this project.

I hung the prints in dollar store frames, spray painted the same brown I used for the table, and lazy-matted on aqua scrapbook paper. It was simple, and I love it.

Do you see that lamp? That lamp has been living in a box of things to take to Goodwill since December. I’m so glad that box never made it out of the house. I’d have been kicking myself! At some point, I’d like to vamp up the shade a little bit and maybe adorn it with a fancy tassel, but for now, I’m happy with it.

That little bird and upside-down bird’s nest jar have been adorning my fireplace mantel, but I like them better here. I don’t really miss them in the living room. They were just extra fluff there, and they’re going to get way more attention here in the hallway.

With the plants, I’m joining the succulent trend. See that little guy on the left? The one hiding behind the glare from the window? It’s ironic that I’ve given this one a home, because I’ve murdered one of his brothers. It belonged to our friend Steve (sorry, Steve!), and I was supposed to be babysitting it while he was deployed.

Once upon a time, that jumbo glass jar had a lid. It held my son’s Goldfish snacks, and I used a pretty old teacup to scoop them out each afternoon. I broke the lid one day and haven’t wanted to get rid of the jar. I’m glad I finally found a good use for it! I think the plants look wonderful and happy in there. And if they die, I’ll go spend $6 to replace them.

All in all, this was really easy, and it makes my foyer look much more inviting than before. Here's the full effect again, in case you've forgotten what it looks like by now.