greatest hits

this is how i know exactly how tired i really am: i forgot to blog.  it's thursday.  i never forget about this blog (i love it too, too much), especially on thursdays.  i have instead wasted away a perfectly good naptime by thinking about taking a nap and watching the judds on the oprah winfrey network instead of paying the stack of bills.  darn you, oprah.

my brain is fuzzy right now, friends.  we are in and out of rough patches these days so i have decided to turn this week's greatest hits in a different direction.  this week i will list what i am grateful for.  how's that for accentuating the positive?

1) i am grateful for burgers with the boys.

2) i am grateful for bedtime (for a multitude of reasons).

 3) i am grateful for these tomatoes from our neighborhood farmer's market and these sweet, sweet peaches from tyler (thanks, jason and kristie).

 4) i am grateful for this smile because in this moment his tiny little tummy is not in turmoil.  poor kid.

 5) i am grateful that my boys love each other so much.

 6) i am grateful for my goofy kid (and the photo wall, for that matter).  he's a ghost in this instance, in case you were wondering.

 7) i am grateful for baby joe (which also means a play date for me with his momma).

 8) i am grateful for ellie's kisses.  she gives them freely and they are just the sweetest.  (happy 2nd birthday, eg!)

 9) i am thankful for ellie's momma for taking care of one so i can attend to another.

 10) i am grateful for gymnastics.  day one and my boy looooves the trampoline (as well as roaming off away from the group.  oh well, it's just been one day, right?)

 11) breakfast at a new (to us) restaurant with creative decor.  those are industrial-sized whisk attachments.

12) i am grateful for this sticky bun.  my oh my.

13) i am grateful for my husband.

14) i am grateful for my momma.

15) i am grateful for a thoughtful card from a thoughtful friend.  

(all three swoop in when i need them most)

this weekend i am looking forward to a birthday party, spending the night at the lakehouse, fireworks, seeing my sister, and spending monday with my husband home!!!  woot, woot!

i  hope you all have a wonderful, restful holiday weekend.

p.s. i am grateful to you for reading this blog.

until next time,

xoxoxo

things i know for sure

1)

Source: thatsquirky.com via Cortney on Pinterest

2) i would rather shoot myself in the foot than ever travel to morrocco (or anywhere else) with ramona from the real housewives of new york.  i'll take jill zarin any day.

3) babies can tell when their parents are eating and showering.  i can prove it.

4) my youngest son cries like i am plucking each hair out of his head one by one (that is when he is not busy snuggling or charming us with his mad smiling skills).  we need ear plugs up in here.

5) speaking of plucking, if my money tree were still alive, i would pay to NEVER have to pluck my eyebrows again.  hate is not a strong enough word.

6) i miss my sister.

7) modelo especial > tecate > corona (i've done a bit of research on this)

8) my hunger is really interfering with my diet. (this takes us back to #1)

what do you know for sure?

practice makes perfect

Source: mymodernmet.com via Cortney on Pinterest

darn you, j. crew!

REASONS WHY I SHOULDN'T BUY A NEW SWIMSUIT:

1) ummmmm, i just had a baby.  enough said about that.

2) i have enough swimsuits. (you see, i have a bit of a problem thinking i need a new swimsuit every summer. j.crew makes the best one-pieces and i always find a good sale.  but that doesn't mean i need a new one.  note: i have a similar problem buying sunglasses.)

3)  my money tree is dead.  and by dead, i mean DEAD.

but look at these!  pretty, on sale, my size!  isn't it a sign?  ugh......

greatest hits

1) this tough guy.  although we have had some serious drama with his little digestive system, he is still a little trooper.

2) my boys + patio + bob armstrong dip + matt's margarita = a little slice of heaven

3) swim lesson success.

4) smiles.

5) hanging with the greats.

6) our little fish.

7) spending saturday morning in my parent's pool.  ben orchestrated this pool jump with daddy and grandpa.

8) spending father's day in his sunday best.

9) father's day with these guys (and my entire family. we've got some good daddies to celebrate in our clan!)

10) new bedtime rituals.

11) my most successful "mommy" day to date.  me, both boys, picnic, spray park, t.c. shaved ice, no meltdowns, sleeping baby.  i even remembered to bring the little fan to keep the sleeping baby cool (granted i don't always remember when they last bathed or when to trim their nails, but today i remembered the fan.  and that, my friends, is success.)

12) not pictured: dinner with my husband sans children.  it was bliss.  thank you, marcy.

how was your week?

until next time,

xoxoxo

DWTS

before my pregnancy, we were pretty good about sitting down at the table to eat dinner as a family.  then came my pregnancy, which brought with it a severe aversion to cooking along with a general laziness when it came to our evening meals.  we spent (and still do....oops) many a meal camped out in front of the television.  during this time, ben has developed quite an attachment to a few of television's finest programs: 'diners, drive-ins, and dives', 'wipe-out', and most importantly 'dancing with the stars'.  except he calls it 'dancing in the stars', which i find a little disturbing.  yet i am even more disturbed that his favorite dancer last season was kendra.  kendra, as in playboy bunny kendra.  kendra, as in hugh hefner's former concubine kendra.  let's hope this doesn't foreshadow his taste in women.  just sayin'.

after dinner, we were often entertained my ben's own 'dancing in the stars' routine, after which he would insist that we all give him 10's.  here is a video of my child's mad dancing skills.  keep in mind that this particular performance lacks the usual verve (you know, since it was more of a mommy-prompted routine than an impromptu one).  enjoy!

p.s.  we need to find this kid an agent stat.

another angle

marcy recently sent me her pictures from when crosby was born.  i have looked at my own personal pictures a thousand times, but looking at hers was so special, even though they were taken at the same time and place as mine.  it's refreshing to see your life from someone else's point-of-view.  here are my favorites.

 {i adore this picture.  we have that oh-my-god-we-just-had-a-baby look about us.}

 {crosby with aunt marcy}

 {ellie and ben just lying around.}

 {my beautiful friends}

{ben with his "big brother" gift}

baby daddy

i have the best dad.  he tucked me into bed every night by telling me how proud he was of me.  he supported my dreams.  he was present and loving and set the bar very high for the kind of father i would want my husband to be.

then i met this guy and i quickly knew that he would not only be a good friend, but a good partner, and ultimately a good father.  and not just a good dad, but a tuck-you-into-bed-every-night-telling-you-how-proud-he-is-of-you great dad.

chris-bo, thank you for my two boys.  they will grow up feeling safe, supported and loved because of you.  they will know how to play baseball, how to recite bob dylan lyrics, and how to treat a woman. just some of the many things that prove to me that i picked the perfect partner.  we love you, daddy.  

happy father's day, one day late.

crosby

6 weeks old

2nd annual girls trip

BACKSTORY:  it all started with an article in real simple magazine about a group of girlfriends who made it a priority to get away together once a year.  the kicker was that the trip was a surprise.  each year one of the women committed to planning this surprise trip with a specific budget in mind.  the beauty of the story is that they originally decided on a reasonable budget which paid for the entire trip and each year they increased their budget when able. so my group of girlfriends saw this as an opportunity to start a new tradition.  our group of friends does a pretty fantastic job as it is getting together on a fairly regular basis, but since some of us have moved away it is a little trickier.  
this year marcy was in charge of planning the weekend.  i was unsure if i would even be able to go this year since i have a tiny baby, so marcy planned this trip close to home just in case i could go.  and upon my husbands insistence that he could hold down the fort without me, i was able to join the girls.  thank you marcy and chris, you have no idea how much that means to me.
 

so without further adeu, here is our girls trip greatest hits:

1) sarah coming in from washington to surprise us.   

2)  floating and sun-worshipping, all while sipping cocktails from giant thermoses. (we are all really good at all of those, by the way)

3) dinner at the town's beer garden,

where we people-watched,

laughed with each other,

and danced and twirled

while two local high school boys serenaded us with texas country.

4) went to a fancy resort on a gorgeous ranch,

where we were spa-treated (they even personalized our lockers in the spa bathroom.  fancy.)

and lunched by the pool,

with some necessary hair of the dog.

(our view from the pool)

5) jami walking in the door (from germany, mind you).  danke, jami.  wir liebst du? wir lieben dich? what i am trying to say is, we love you.

it was an unforgettable trip.  we never worried about a thing, marcy spent our money and spoiled us rotten.  i am now pimping out her services as a travel agent (i am only kind of kidding).  let me know if you are interested!

cannot wait to see what happens next time.  

this one will be tough to follow.

*deets: we went to glen rose, texas where marcy rented a beautiful house on the river.  we were pampered at rough creek ranch.