Back From The Beach (Boo Hoo)...Part 1

Most of the Morrises went to the beach last week to celebrate Memorial Day.  Let me pause on that subject for a second and say thank you, again, to all of our Service men and women.  Both current and former military.  My dear Father-In-Law is a proud Vietnam veteran and I am free because of the brave.

(photo by Bob Morris)

Anyway we had a blast!  R and C, I promise that Mommy and Daddy will take you back to the beach again really soon.  We traveled to Orange Beach, AL for 6 days and 5 nights.  The group consisted of my mom, the kids, and me; and Tam and Kylee.  By the way, it has been way.too.long since I have been to the beach with T and K and it was so good to get back!

Once again, Kylee and I were asked several times if we are sisters.  We need to just start saying "yes" because, honestly, I barely remember a time in my life when I didn't know her and I am fairly certain she cannot remember a time.

We arrived on Saturday and the kids immediately donned swimsuits and jumped into the pool.  Since it was only truly a half-day we didn't do the beach yet.  I should mention that we were staying in the rental my cousins Timberly and Jack own, and I was so excited that I also got to spend time with my Aunt Joyce and cousins Timberly, Jack, and sweet Olivia -- who is 6 and played so wonderfully with Rob -- on this trip.

(photo by Timberly Harris)

Being a Saturday night, the Rib Shak, the restaurant my cousin Jack owns, had live music on their patio.  I know most people don't think of great bar-b-que when they think of eating at the beach, but now you should!  Y'all, the bar-b-que is outstanding, but they also have pulled pork egg rolls that are out of this world! Ohmigosh!!! I'm talking a lightly fried outer shell stuffed with meat, cheese, and a special sauce.  You then dip them in a sweet and sour sauce and you are hooked!  You have to trust me on this one...ah-MAY-zing!

Did I mention live music?  They were playing a variety of great tunes, but Caroline's favorite was definitely the banjo. I guess both my kids will now be musical prodegies.

(photo by Timberly Harris)

(photo by Timberly Harris)

So, with no further ado, it was time to hit the beach the next day!  Our kids were all decked out in their patriotic best.  Caroline loved, loved, loved the sand and the beach.  All except for the time she ate the sand (what toddler doesn't?) and she couldn't get it off her tongue...Rob, on the other hand, was extremely worried about the ocean.  He didn't want any buckets, shovels, etc. to be near the shore because he just knew eveverything would be washed away.  I think the constant motion was a little overwhelming, although in his defense, it was a Red Flag day everyday, so the water was rough.

After our first full day of beach, surf, sand, and pool, we had worked up quite an appetite.  We all gussied up and ventured out to our first seafood dinner at The Crab Trap.  We were lookin' good, too!  Check out the view from our balcony!

Perhaps we were having way too much fun; perhaps one can almost loose all sense of time while at the beach.  However, I can tell you we waited too long to venture out to dinner on a Holiday weekend! Y'all...we didn't get sat at a table until about 8:30 PM.  The kids didn't mind the wait much.  This is how they waited:

Yes, The Crab Trap has a great playground in a giant sand trap.  Fun times.  If you are in sandals.  Or a child.  Anyway, the kids didn't realize how long they were being held away from food.  That is, until we got to the table.  Look at this picture of Caroline that follows.  She looks absolutely worried about whether or not she will get to eat.  Ha!

Rob, on the other hand, said if he didn't get to eat soon, he would use his ferocious skills on the chef and force someone to whip up something edible ASAP.

After being well fed and becoming extremely tired it was time to do it all over again the next day.  So we headed "back" to the beach.  But I'll save that for Part 2...

'Til then, folks, that's all!  I hope you are having a wonderful summer.  Please continue to remember those less fortunate in your daily prayers, especially those affected by the April 27th storms.  Also pray for our Troops!

Caroline is 18 Months Old!

Y'all...like...Ohmigosh!  Where did the time go? I know, I know.  You are first asking "Where did the monthly updates go".  Once you read how active we have been, I hope you will have an understanding and a forgiving heart.

Weight: 23 1/2 lbs

Height: 31"

(very approximate measurements; our 18-month Dr's Appt is next week)

Sleeping Patterns: You go to bed about 7:30 PM.  Finally, after long months filled with long nights, you sleep through the night! Wahoo!  You sleep about 12 hours which is great!  You take one nap; its length varies depending on where you sleep and whether or not I managed to feed you lunch before you sleep.

Eating Habits: You are a great eater, just like your brother was at your age.  Some of your favorites include waffles for breakfast, fruit at any time, BBQ beans, green beans, chick peas as a snack, hot dogs (that I cut up into tiny pieces), etc.  Your guilty pleasure is a brown sugar/cinnamon Pop Tart.  Mommy was raised on them and your brother loves them, so that is no surprise.

New Discoveries & Accomplishments: One word: independence! No, you can't say that word; rather, you display your desire for independence in everything you do.  You like to feed yourself.  You like to brush your own teeth.  You have learned how to climb out of your bed.  You even fiddle with the straps of the car seat when we go somewhere.  You are (finally) talking a lot more.  You say "no" for every question, but I have noticed you also have picked up a sassy "NO" if you don't want to eat, etc.  Ugh, I think the 2's will be...hmm, interesting! Speaking of talking, Rob is "Bubba", you started calling me Mommy instead of mama.  You have a version of "I Love You" that is so sweet.  All drinks are "Dew".  You call your beloved "Pappy" whenever it gets lost.  You have started referring to your blanket as a "Night-Night".  Anytime you want to go anywhere, you whine say "Go".  Also, you are getting good at mimicking.  If someone asks you to say something, your 'babble' will contain the same amount of syllables and voice inflection.  So it won't be long until you are a true blabber mouth like Mommy!

Places You Love: We recently bought a Zoo membership and have taken you three times.  Once was with Pappa Joe which was a great day!  We spent hours at the ballpark this spring watching brother practice and play T-ball.  You loved playing in the dirt by the dugout more than anything else, but at least you were happy.  We have been to the park several times and your favorite thing to do is either swing or climb up the slide from the bottom.  Finally, we just got back from the beach and you loved everything about it.  You had fun in the pool; the beach and sand did not bother you.  The ocean amazed you. I wish we were there right now, but I promise to take you back really soon.

Special Friends: You are an animal lover, but you like the animals to stay at a distance!  It's funny.  You are crazy about your Aunt Kristy and your "Aunt" Laura.  At the beach, you got to play with your cousin Olivia who just adored you like a living doll.  You are surrounded by a multitude of family and friends, but without a doubt, you love your brother unconditionally.

Current Events: On May 7th, Jockey John Velazquez won the Kentucky Derby riding Animal Kingdom.  The weather has been crazy around here!  On April 27th terrible storms swept the Southeast and in Alabama around 300 people were killed an incredibly destructive tornado.  In May, heavy rains caused flooding in the Mississippi and Ohio River valleys. People in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Arkansas were forced to leave their homes.  And last but not least, Oprah Winfrey said goodbye to daytime television.  Her last show aired after 25 years.

What We Did This Day: Your 18-month b'day fell on Wednesday, June 1, 2011.  Today we woke up in beautiful Orange Beach, AL.  We had a blast, although this was Day 5 of our vacation and it had started taking a toll on your little body.  You were exhausted.  We played in the pool and on the beach all day, then that evening we ordered food in from the Shrimp Basket and had an impromptu dinner party/beach party in the condo with Mommy, Nona, brother, Khaki, Kylee, Great Aunt Joyce, Timberly, Jack, and Olivia.  It was a blast.  You stayed up way past your bedtime, but you slept late the next day.

Back To Bed, Sleepyhead! Please?

Where did my precious little baby girl go?  And who is this female monster who terrorizes me at bedtime each...and...every...night? I truly feel like a first-time mom all over again.  Rob and Caroline could not be more different in terms of their temperment if they tried.

Caroline was brought home from the hospital on a cold December day in 2009 and she was so peacefully perfect!  She was a delicate little flower who fit so nicely into our Morris bouquet!  It used to be that she would sleep anytime, anywhere.  If she were sleepy, you just said "night, night" to her.

Well, last night after an hour of rocking, patting, and putting an almost-sleeping baby into her bed only to hear her sit up and cry, I was exhausted and decided to let her just cry it out.  She stopped crying and I felt instant relief!  But then out of nowhere...wait for it...there she was in my bedroom!

Y'all, she has learned how to climb out of her crib.  Life as I know it is over!  She is not a sleeper anymore!  She only takes cat naps; we have to be silent when she is asleep.  I can almost never transfer her into her bed if she has fallen asleep in the car. What a non-sleeping li'l booger she is!

I should tell you a little history.  Rob was so sweet and easy to put to bed.  We had a process that we stuck to each night: rocking while reading a book, rocking and patting his back a little bit more, then put him into bed.  Now we have incorporated nighttime prayers into that routine, but after 4 years bedtime is a breeze! 

Not the story with Caroline.  She will not allow me to read her a book while rocking.  She's waaay to active.  Rocking her to sleep is a challenge, too, because she kicks around and plays with my hair and does everything she can to stay awake.  Now she also climbs out of her bed, too!

Ah, the glory days of the rocking chair!  With Rob, I was a rock-star mamma and it didn't bother me to be a rocker.  Now, with Caroline, I just want some consistency.  Tell me mammas, what method works best with y'all?  I really want my princess back!

Mother's Day (and a Porch Feature)

Happy belated Mother's Day to all the moms out there reading this.  I hope you had a great one and celebrated the woman who gave you life (whether that be biologically or emotionally and maturationally, or all of the above).

We had a nice Mother's Day that began with church and ended at my brother and sister-in-law David and Mary's house for dinner.  Let's start from the beginning, shall we?

I am so blessed to be a mother.  I always knew I wanted children, but no amount of pretending with my Cabbage Patch Kids and American Girls prepared me for this life changing moment:

...or this one below:

Woof!  Luckily I'm much better at parenting than I am at being pregnant.  My face becomes all-kinds-of distorted!  But those are 2 of the 3 happiest days of my life!  The third being my wedding day, but that's for another post!

So Bobby surprised me with this for my Mother's Day present and I am so excited to find the perfect hanging spot for it on my back porch:

This beauty holds candles and will eventually hang from my back porch rafters.  Our back porch waffles between man-cave and outdoor living space.  I want to cozy it up with some burlap curtains similar to these.  I have been doing some gentle landscaping and re-organizing of the space.  However, during the fall, my husband claims it.  We currently have not one but three grills out back along with a huuuuge TV for football game watching. 

Back to Mother's Day.  Like I said, we ended the day at David and Mary's house, and she has recently transformed her back porch into another whole living space.  They live in a typical 3 BR, 2 story house that I can remember used to be refered to as "salt shaker" style.  They have a wrap-around porch that literally wraps around the entire house!  We spend the majority of the evening here:

Okay, now I realize that isn't the best picture afterall.  She has taken a corner of her deck and covered it with this beautiful gazebo.  There are curtains hung for the occasional need of privacy.  Secret: she incorporated shower curtains!  Totally rain-proof!  Below are better shots of the little settee and a curtained corner:

FYI: That column above was just a white, concrete column that can be purchased from just about any lawn and garden shop.  Mary marbelized it herself.  Isn't it gorg?  She has a little side business called Faux Fantastic.  If you don't remember, I'll remind you of the little project she did to my house.

There's a water feature that my li'l booger really loved!  Personally, I find almost nothing as soothing as the sound of trickling water. Below is my beautiful niece Lauren and her best pal Bella.  If you notice the mighty grill in the background, that was the source of our dinner.

I made mention to my brother and step-father that they were behaving as typical men who like to play with fire.  "Do you guys even know how to work that thing?" This shot below was their response:

Ha!  Again, typical men.  Well, it wouldn't be a Mother's Day post without a shot of our Majestic Matriarch.  She hates, hates, hates having her picture made, which is crazy because look how beautiful she is!  OMG if I age half as gracefully as she has, I will be so proud of myself. 

Finally those men finished our dinner.  Mary's porch features a darlingly appetizing place for us to eat:

Thrifty Mary that she is, she found this dining set at a Goodwill!  Can you believe it?  It is in perfect condition!  She added the umbrella and cushions which were all purchased on sale.  If you look closely, there are LCD lights hanging from the underside of the umbrella, so after we enjoyed our sunset dinner, we remained outside for some delicious (homemade) strawberry cake!  Gosh, Mary is making it hard on Martha Stewart!

Happy Mother's Day everyone!

My Mother's Day DON'T...

Where are you, Muse of Creativity?  Why do you avoid me so?  Case-in-point: My attempt at Mother's Day Creativity.

Why do I stress over the perfect Mother's Day present?  It couldn't be because God has blessed me with the most amazing mother and mothers-in-law a girl could ever want...it certainly is not because my children have the most aMAYzing grandmothers ever imagined.  So I definitely do not stress over Mother's Day in attempt to give my mothers what they deserve--the best.  Nah.Nope.Not one of those reasons.

I've given some pretty decent gifts in the past.  Yet I take credit for no originality.  I am the take-and-run kind of crafter.  That's why I read all my blogs.daily.first thing. There...I have confessed. I'm obsessed. This year's inspiration came from this little bit o'goodness to the right -- my latest issue of the Lowe's Creative Ideas magazine I receive quarterly.

I decided I would make DIY windchimes for all my moms.  I needed about 1 million pint sized terra cotta pots which I found for next to nothing at a yard sale.  DIY and thrifty?  SCORE!  I was hooked.  Oh, if only...

The first step was the 2-color process.  I already had both colors I wanted to use.  Again...SCORE!  First problem?  When I applied the painter's tape to the pot-rims, I didn't smoothe it down using rocket science methodology, so paint color #2 ran onto the white.  I should have known then I was in over my head.

 

Yep, what was supposed to be a quick-dry spray paint process quickly turned into a sanding and hand-painting touch up.  Again, perhaps I should have just punted, yet in my mind the end result was going to be fantastic and homemade.

Now, about the details.  There are supposed to be 3 pots per windchime, strung together by clothesline.  So each pot must be wonderfully and artistically personalized. Check. I have nice handwriting.  I'll just paint everyone's grandmotherly moniker along the rim. And I'll use the kids' thumbprints as the base of some outdoorsy-insect-motif. Wait...did I just consider kids and paint? Apparently I didn't consider it and my artistic abilities enough. How do you paint a ladybug, anyway? (Confession time: I actually had to ask/double check. Are they red with black spots or black with red spots? Answer: the latter.)

Well, below are some images of what I have done so far.  Rob's thumbprints became my pitiful ladybugs.  Caroline's smeared thumbprints made the "perfect" body for my dragonflies.  The project is not finished yet.  Because I have 48 hours left and I hope I can redeem this, I am posting it now. I'll update with the finished look in time. Comments? Suggestions? Feel free.

In the good news section of this post, if y'all have some good suggestions, I have extra terra cotta pots.  Remember, I bought a million of them for pennies.  Also, please don't tell my Mothers about this just yet.

'til then folks! Bye.