life's a beach!

Oh yes it is! And we've just lived life on the beach for the past week. And it rivals my vision of Heaven! Mike, Giles, the dogs and I spent one week on St. George Island. The weather was perfect, the population was low- like we like it and Giles enjoyed the heck out of it. All of those things add up to a great week.
We packed up my wagon on Sat and got little sleep that night- toooo excited! Headed out in the eeeeearrrly morning hours in order to make it to mass at 10am in Apalachicola. I love St Patrick's church and Fr Roger. We've gone there for all of the years we've vacationed on SGI and it's very comfortable. I love the way Fr Roger relates the readings and the gospel to real life. He really keeps your attention. Giles was welcomed by all who sat around us. As we were about to go to communion he was lying on the seat of the pew. Usually he goes with us down the aisle, but because he was still and undoubtedly very tired, we just decided to leave him. We were going up to the alter when I noticed that one the parishoners had gotten up from her seat and had gone over to sit with him! Several people made a point to come over and talk to him--- and he loved it! After church we were starving and knew we needed to eat before trying unpack and deal with all that fun kind of stuff....

lunch at Owl Cafe- dogs invited to dine with us... upstairs, outdoor dining with a view of the bay
look closely...it's a rainbow, and although this pic doesn't show it well,
it was HUGE and very vibrant in person...

daddy and the boy eating a little breakfast...ready to slather the sunscreen...

little brought his bike...

and daddy decided he'd rent a bike to show him how much fun riding really can be...

once you get going ;)

stylin' and ready to go!

feelin' crabby? our pool had a visitor!

and we stayed out of the water until pool boy (mikey) came and retrieved the little crabby

you wouldn't think with a face like this....
he'd have a big ol' swollen lymph node, now would you???

enjoying all the amenities...

daddy boy with baby boy

it looks like we photoshopped in the beach scenery?!?!

we took pictures in this same spot with this same sweet jonjon last year....

makes me sad to know it'll be too small next year... =(---- he's growing up!!!

So, awesome time at the beach--- exactly as it should have been, restorative and relaxing. Worth the time and money spent--- not a second of regret. Already looking forward to next year!

starts and stops

Lots of starts and stops these days. Hubby is on a retreat and it's been me and the boy since Thursday afternoon. He's getting older, they do that don't they? Giles is learning more and more about expressing himself everyday. LOTS of days that expression involves weak knees, wailing, flailing, whining, crying and fit throwing. Fortuately he's a quick turn-around. Nothing lasts for very long, but it sure does come rapid-fire. He's still a ball of cuteness and personality that will keep me laughing- and that, fortunately, is what the memories I have are made of.
Right now it is IMPOSSIBLE to eat solo. Maybe that is just the way it is with kids? It is with mine. He can have just polished off a meal and see me or Mike working on something in the kitchen and it is as though he's just walked in from a long stint of malnourishment. I mean, really? Of course I have huge desires for him to only eat when he's hungry and trust his built-in, God-given hunger radar.... we'll just keep working on it =).

I think I may be pushing it here, but since I see pumpkins in the stores already and magazines are landing in my mailbox just bursting with fun fall decor ideas... I just had to make a simple contribution to our home decor...so, I did. For less than $5, here ya go. And to give credit, well, I can't. I saw this somewhere last year and made a mental note, but that's as far as it goes. It was in my mind- in picture, but not really all the minor details, like where the heck I saw it!
To start, I looked for a grease pencil and all I could come up with was a black crayon. So I made a few sketches of how I wanted my letter B to look. Decided I had what I wanted and went to working up an outline of the letter. Once that was done, I used black acrylic paint and filled in the lines. I think I did two coats, maybe three in some spots, but I really think it was two. I let each coat dry before applying the next. I finished it with a sealer so that the weather would not rub off the paint as easily.

outline
mid-way

finished and ready to go!

It was a fun project. I can't decide, should I add polka dots or just a big dot on either side of the B? Still mulling that over...

Alabama kicked off the football season with a fine start. Winning the first game of the season is always such a morale boost. Tonight AL plays Florida Int'l. It's a PayPerView game, so it's off to Mike's parent's to catch a little of the game. With it being only me and little, we won't stay too long. But it's that time of year... exciting Saturdays, packed Boulevards and cars EVERYWHERE! It reminds me of roaches scurrying around... seriously. That's what I thought of today at one of the major intersections while I was waiting for the light to change. Kind of a weird thought considering how much I LOVE football games/weekends and how much I DETEST roaches... but, nonetheless, it was a fleeting thought.

Last weekend while watching the AL game I finished my wedding album. Yup. Got married in '01 and picked '09 as the year to start and finish, all within 2 days, the whole album. I got motivated when some friends from church were talking about scrapbooking. We decided to get together at my house once little was asleep last Friday. It was a totally different experience than I had in my mind that scrapbooking would be. I had ramped up my anxiety about starting. I mean it's got to be just perfect, right? Well, once I realized that was certainly not the case, it got a lot easier! It was so much fun we got together again at my house last night! So that is two scrapbooking sessions in a week! Last night I started Giles' first scrapbook. His baby book was my first priority and that is finished- or at least up to the present. And now I have 8 pages in his scrapbook under my belt. That is a good feeling and it turned out to be LOTS easier than I expected. Little happies.

Hope the Tide Rolls in the right direction tonight, hope that Mikey is able to find peace and comfort in a weekend spent with the Lord, hope his travels tomorrow are safe and hope that my friend who is missing her daddy on his 67th bday is at peace with the fact that his bday party this year is happening in the most spectacular way---- he's partying with Jesus! Love you Elise!

Later, peeps!

busy bees, giles and me!

i am finally getting a little bit of a handle on the blogging... yay! i am learning that persistence pays off in all kinds of ways in my life these days. i am currently reading "the greatest secret in the world" and with that comes a 45 week commitment. i am eager to see persistence pay off in this respect of my life. it's a book to inspire that is for sure, and it quickly took hold of me.
i am also trying to persist in making giles' life entertaining. not that i am his entertainer, that is not how i want him to see me. but i am really great with it if he sees every day life as entertaining, that is what i want for myself AND for giles.... so, with that i am trying to include him in on some things that, if i were still a toddler, i think i would find pretty entertaining. a blogger, who by blog title alone, seems to embrace her life the way i like think i embrace mine, had a little project she did with her little ones... i thought it would be a fun intro into play doh for giles.... and so we got busy....

here we are with all of the ingredients
and donning the apron---- it's part of kitchen help time now... like, required... he loves it!

yes, play doh can be riced... or spatula'd... or squished into a snack cup...

so, my experience with the recipe i found was that it was not thick enough... it could be we were just too impatient (the TWO year old, people, not ME!) and so we thickened it up with equal parts salt and flour a couple of times....that worked for us. and it was fun! although when it was time to clean up, there was only 1/2 the amount giles started with..... we still haven't found the other part. yay.

play dough recipe... original version... but remember, i tweaked mine a bit

2 cups flour

1 cup salt

1 cup water

2 T oil

my mom's mom (grandma) had a banana nut bread recipe she made for us when we were little. my mom got the recipe from grandma and i got it from her. i luuuuuuuuuv it. i like to add an extra banana or two than the recipe calls for... it just adds a little yum. and i also have decided i like to cut the slices after the bread is chilled in the fridge for several hours. i think it cuts better that way and holds up better too.

here's helper extraordinnaire...holding the potato masher that belonged to grandma

again, real proud of that apron...

working that spatula as hard as he can... the batter is thick!!!

mixin' in the flour... he is okay with the mixer, but there's no love

but here...here is the love. "nan-uhbread, mamuh...nan-uhbread...."

over and over and over again...until the little bird gets some

Grandma (Helen)'s Banana Nut Bread

1 stick butter

1 tspn baking soda

2 eggs

1.5 cups flour

1 cup sugar

4-5 bananas (i definitely use 5, if not 6)

1/2-3/4 cup chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts, or both!!!)

preheat oven, i use 325, but you can use 350 (for 50-60 minutes- use the toothpick test). mix butter and sugar...add eggs...then flour and baking soda...add mashed bananas and nuts...pour into greased loaf pans

ENJOY!!!

giles is off to school tomorrow and mike has a few days of work taking him here, there and everywhere... so hopefully my next few days will be productive ones of working out, working hard and working on persistence... persistently.

Love!