Spring Break Rewind: Beach Baby

And now for a much brighter subject-- Anna Kathryn's first trip to the beach.  When we were in Florida last month visiting my parents, we spent the day in St. Augustine doing some of our favorite things... eating delicious Spanish and Cuban food at the Columbia Restaurant, and browsing the shops on St. George St. in the historic district.  Once AK had her fill of shops and the stroller, we headed out to the beach to introduce her to sand and surf.  Anna Kathryn had a great time playing in the sand and discovering the waves and water.  She quickly became a fan of beach life!

The ground feels kinda funny... but I like it.  

Checking out the water

C'mon in -- the water's fine!

Time for a beach stroll

Heading into the ocean again... and again...

One, two, three, whee!!

Checking out the sand-- Anna Kathryn also discovered how much fun it is to fling it

Hanging out with Daddy

We can't wait to go back!

Spring Break part 2: A Tea Party

We are so blessed to have been able to spend two days of our visit with my grandparents. Mamapa and Grandaddy are the foundation of our family and we are blessed by their leadership and love for all of us!  We haven't seen them since Christmas, so it was especially nice to have time now to visit with them.  They of course noticed right away how much Anna Kathryn has changed and grown up since Christmas-- she is now walking (often running), talking more, and definitely wants her own way in things!  She had a terrific time playing with and entertaining them. 

One of my favorite family stories is about the day my younger sister was born.  I was 2 1/2 them and spent the day with Mamapa while my mom labored at the hospital with my dad alongside her. Family lore has it that I hosted an all day tea party, and  Mamapa drank cup after cup of imaginary tea to entertain me.   If it had been real tea she would have been floating away by the day's end!

Anna Kathryn's favorite toy right now is her tea set (complete with a British-voiced singing tea pot), so she carried on the family tradition by having a tea party of her own with Mamapa and Grandaddy.  They enthusiastically joined in the fun!

Would you like a spot of tea?

I'll pour, Granddaddy!

Try the cakes, too; I hear the chocolate is the tastiest.

Mamapa, I think you need a refill.

This tea is delicious!

Why, I will take another cup, thank you!  This stuff's better than apple juice!

A happy hostess and beloved great-granddaughter.

Happy Chinese New Year!

Gong Hay Fat Choy! Chun Jie Kuai Le!  

Happy New Year!! 

We had a fun first Chinese New Year as a family.  This is the big holiday in China --also known as the Spring Festival, since the weather is supposed to warm up after CNY.  It's now the Year of the Ox in China.  I wonder what this year will bring, since AK was born in the Year of the Pig, and the Year of the Rat was when she came home to us. 

The day itself was pretty ordinary-- it was a teacher workday for us, so I took the day off and scheduled several appointments for me and Mark. AK went to daycare because all of our appointments were definitely no fun for a one-year-old, which means it would be nearly impossible for the parents of the one-year-old to get everything done! Mark ended up going in to school for a couple of hours anyway, so we met at lunch and had a productive afternoon.

I have to admit, we were pretty light on the CNY traditions this year. Honestly, we just don't have the time or budget right now to do a lot of extras and some of my ideas had to be put on the back burner for another year. Fortunately, AK is really too young to be super-interested in holiday books, movies and decorations, or to help me make treats and crafts. I'm glad we have years ahead to add to our CNY traditions! I thought we had a great celebration anyway, because we spent it with Allison, David and Maggie last night.

In honor of the holiday, AK wore her red "Made in China" t-shirt to "school" (we bought it in Guangzhou and it's barely been worn so it's practically new, despite the fact that I managed to get bleach on the side of the shirt-- not too noticeable) to "school" and I wore a favorite red turtleneck sweater. We headed over to the Maladys for supper and festivity, in the form of playing with the girls, watching the CNY episode of "Ni H*ao, Kai-L*an" and just hanging out.  We ate a yummy dinner of orange beef, Hunan chicken, sticky rice, spring rolls, Jiaozi (dumplings), and Buddha's Delight. (Yay for take-out!! No cooking is a fabulous holiday!!)

The girls got red envelopes with the traditional gift of money from Allison and David, and my mom sent along little red silk boxes with money in them as her CNY gift to them. They were excited to open all their loot! (Thanks, Nana!!)




After dinner, Allison and I thought it would be fun to get the girls dressed in their silk dresses and have a little photo shoot. Maggie, who is 3 and generally a very compliant child, bounced upstairs and had her dress on in a flash. AK, who was incredibly overtired due to a big weekend, a long day at daycare, and only a half hour nap, began pitching a royal fit as soon as Mark and I started wrestling her into her dress. Turned out that I missed opening a snap and a zipper, and the dress probably was squeezing her a bit. Ooops. Also, she has apparently outgrown her size 1 silk outfits and now wears a size 2.  Thank goodness I brought a backup outfit!

The photo session was as usual, a real show...

Could they BE any cuter??  (Go visit Allison's blog for more cuteness!)

Winter Blast 2009

Today we had our first snow day in a long time!!  Yesterday we got all excited about the possibility of snow when we heard the forecast.  Mark and I did our snow dance (think Elaine from Seinfeld crossed with the "Lawnmower") and Anna Kathryn looked at us like we were crazy.   I even wore my ancient and beloved wool snowflake sweater yesterday, which is my snow day good-luck charm.  Mark woke up at 3:30 and saw a few flakes but nothing much... but when the alarm went off at 5:45 there was lots of snow and school had been canceled!!

We got Anna Kathryn up, and showed her the snow falling outside.  She stared at the flakes for a while, intrigued.   After we had a family cuddle in our warm, cozy bed,  we ate breakfast and then began getting dressed in lots of layers to brave the cold.  Anna Kathryn was a little bit sweaty by the time she was all bundled up.  

She and Mark went sledding (no judging the cardboard "sled"!)...

Anna Kathryn and I made a snow angel:

And then we let her try to make a snow angel herself:

We also tried to build a snowman, but the snow was so powdery that it just fell apart.  

And she was curious about the snow....

...but really didn't want to actually touch the snow all that much.  Seems she and I are quite similar in our feeling about snow.  We love to watch it come down and enjoy being in it for about 10 minutes, then it's time to head indoors and break out the hot chocolate!!

Dedication Day

Yesterday, we dedicated Anna Kathryn to the Lord formally in front of our church family and friends.  This was the outward ceremony to confirm in public what we did in our hearts many years ago, when Mark and I first started praying for a child.  Our close friends Allison, David, and Maggie came with us and I am so glad they were able to share in this special day.  

Of course, there was a bit of stress involved with the whole thing, as is typical with anything in my life that is ceremonial and/or overly planned.  I got up extra early to make sure we had lunch cooking before we left and that we were all clean, pressed and dressed up.  Unfortunately, Anna Kathryn decided to fill her diaper right about the time we needed to be getting her dressed.  (I had waited until the last minute so she wouldn't get anything on her pretty silk outfit.  Instead of the traditional white, embroidered christening gown I decided to dress Anna Kathryn in one of the silk outfits we bought for her in China.  She wore a two piece pants outfit of bright pink and gold, with her pink, appliqued tiger slippers to match.)   Since these things can't be rushed, we had to hang around a bit.  We finally were able to dress her, shove her coat on and get out the door.  We stopped by Allison's house to pick them up and we were on our way.

We managed to arrive 10 minutes early.  That gave Anna Kathryn time to wave at lots of people before the service started.  Church began and she did well through all of the singing.  We sang lots of carols, which is all I want to sing at Christmas.  We hadn't been able to check with the pastor before the service began to see when our part would happen but I figured it would be early on, for the sake of the squirmy baby.  

After the praise and worship time, we moved into prayer.  This was about 40 minutes into the service.  Anna Kathryn had "helped" Maggie eat a pack of dried fruit and by now was ready to get on with things.  I was, too.  Plus her precious, traditional-for-Chinese-babies tiger slippers were too big and kept falling off, which was driving me crazy.  She had already hung out in everyone's lap, and began to get noisy while folks were praying, so I took her into the narthex.  

While we were out there, our pastor, a great guy, came rushing in.  He hurriedly explained that all through the first part of the service he kept thinking that there was something he'd forgotten.  Then he remembered... the baby dedication!  He apologized and said we'd do it after the offertory.  Hee hee!  I was glad to go back into church after prayer time and tell Mark that we were next. 

The other funny part to this was the candle... our church gives the family a candle that is lit during the dedication.  Pink for girls, blue for boys.  The pastor explains that the candle is a keepsake to be lit on the child's birthday every year.  When they are old enough to ask about the candle, the parents tell them about how they were dedicated to God as an infant and it's another opportunity to tell our children about how much Jesus loves them.   Well, the pastor didn't have an extra candle available so he had to wing it.  Thank goodness Anna Kathryn is a girl, because he plucked the pink candle out of the Advent wreath, and now she has an extra special candle!

A few more pictures from the day (taken at a discreet distance, so a little dark):

Allison and David took some HILARIOUS snapshots later on, after lunch, of the girls in front of our tree.  The combination of a three-year old and a one-year-old makes for entertaining photos, if nothing else!  She posted them on her blog.  I'm still cracking up over these.  

Anna Kathryn's First Birthday!!

Anna Kathryn turned one on November 3, but I have finally gone through all of the pictures from her birthday party and picked my favorites. We had a wonderful day celebrating our special girl, surrounded by family and a few close friends (who are practically family anyway!).



P.S.-- I'm back to posting on this blog at last!! I also have a new-ish name and got a facelift. I may be slightly addicted to redecorating my blogs-- it's more fun than writing posts, honestly.

I should be writing a paper, but...

... this Web site has been far more entertaining.  These notes are hilarious!  I can think of a couple I'd like to send to the professor who requires the 10-page papers on exciting topics like budgets and strategic career plans.  

Porch Time

I'm  feeling rather rusty at posting, since it's been almost a month.  I think that blogging is more like going back to the gym to work out than riding a bike.  It's easy to remember how to do it, just hard to get started after a long time away.  I generally prefer to sit on the couch.  

Where was I? For the internets who haven't talked to me recently, things were insanely busy at work for the final month of school.  I had no idea how much work goes into finishing the year in a school library media center.  I also started my two summer classes, and one of my professors has required 6 + page papers for every assignment.  With at least 10 references.  Ugh.  

Something had to give. Blogging, unfortunately, was first.  Next was laundry, house cleaning, and  cooking. (oh well!)  

It wasn't all work and no play, though.  

I spent the first weekend in June in Spartanburg with Allison, Leslie, and Reagan.  We shopped, saw "Sex and the City," and of course talked and talked and talked.  It was a fun little taste of what is to come later this month during Girls Beach Week at the Little Acorn.  

My parents arrived for a visit on June 6, which was also the last day of school.  Unfortunately, their arrival coincided with a massive heat wave, so we adjusted our plans to involve all air-conditioned activities (no Pops in the Park, sadly).  We shopped, gorged on delicious Italian food at Maggiano's up at SouthPark, and went to see "Kung Fu Panda" (hilarious, by the way. Mark did NOT want to see it, but he was snorting with laughter within the first half-hour.) Mom and I got pedicures, and Dad even came out to school and helped me straighten the shelves on my final workday.  Thanks, Dad!

Then, my sister Hillary and niece Emily arrived.  They enjoyed hanging out here with us for a couple of days (and Emily enjoyed a playdate with Maggie) before heading off to the North Georgia cabin for a week's vacation with Mom & Dad.  Mark and I followed on Friday morning, after we finished some schoolwork.   

The cabin was the best. thing. ever.  after the craziness and stress I have been under for the past month.  It's always a peaceful retreat from the world, since it is literally in the middle of the woods.  (No TV.  No cell service to speak of.  No internet!)  My favorite favorite thing to do is hang out on the porch and read or chat, or just look at the mountains around us and the creek below.  It is a little piece of heaven.

Sunset, mountain style

 

We did lots of fun things in the mountains: a scenic train ride along the Toccoa River,  yummy meals at the Smith House and Rib Country, and a trip to Babyland General Hospital, home of the Cabbage Patch Kid dolls.  The best parts were out at the cabin with my family:  chasing and catching fireflies with Emily and Mark, visiting on the porch with my folks, Hillary, and my Aunt Celia and Uncle Dick, making s'mores and watching a full moon rise over the mountain ridges.  

We want s'more!

Dad, Mom (aka Nana & Pop-Pop), Emily, & Hillary on the Blue Ridge Scenic Train

Me and Emily hanging out at the creek.  

I Wasn't Expecting to Do This on an Ordinary Sunday Afternoon

First:  I'm over the plague!  Finally.  And feeling much better, thank you.   Other than still not really being able to taste most food, for some reason.  Which I doubt contributed to my 3 pound loss at WW this week (yay!!  At last, I am a loser), since I still manage to eat plenty, but hey, if I can eat Cook-Out, Chick-Fil-A, and Brusters Ice Cream and still lose weight, I'll take it!!

And now for the BIG news.   Look at my new wheels (!):

I have a new Hyundai Santa Fe.  It's Slate Blue and very pretty, easy to drive, and so much bigger than the sweet little Honda Civic I've driven for almost 9 years.  I'm still getting used to driving up high, instead of low to the ground.  And I am still a little in shock that we bought a (gasp!) SUV.  Yes, I know how ridiculous gas prices are these days.  But my Honda has had major problems over the last few months.  Due to a number of things, we had sunk a lot of money into car repairs and we weren't done yet.   Both of our cars are aging, and we knew that someday soon we'd need to replace at least one.  Plus, we wanted a bigger car to hold more gear, and someday a car seat.    Mark wasn't overly crazy about getting a minivan, so we decided to look at a small, reasonably gas-efficient SUV.   

On Sunday after church we decided to just go and browse the cars at the dealership.  Mark and I test drove this one, and we agreed that it was a great car.  The dealership gave us a good deal on the trade, and the monthly payments fit in our budget.  Suddenly, we were on the verge of buying a new car.  So-- yesterday-- we signed the paperwork, and drove it home.  I loved my little Honda so much, but I miss it less and less as I drive my new toy.  (Somehow it has already become my car even though we both bought it.)

From this:

To this:  

BTW...  Does anyone know how to rotate pictures on Blogger?  

  

Want to get $25 for free?

I know it sounds too good to be true, but it's not!   Revolution Money Exchange is a PayPal-type program that allows you to transfer money online.  Just for signing up you get $25.00-- no catch!!  All you do is take a few minutes to sign up.  

 Honestly, I thought it was an Internet scam, until I read that Crystal over at Biblical Womanhood got a check for $500 the other day.  For real.  She signed up for an account through Revolution Money Exchange, and also referred many friends to this program through her blog.  Everyone who signed up through her blog button got their $25, and she got another $10 per friend.  

Wow! It's hard to beat a deal like that.  Heaven knows we could use an extra $25, what with weddings and car repairs and adoptions, all of which cost plenty o'dough.  No pressure at all here, but if you sign up through me, I'd be pretty excited!  This is a win-win for everyone!

But HURRY if you want to cash in-- this deal ends May 15!!  All you need to do is click on the button below:

Still skeptical?  Read this.

It's Fashion Fiesta Time!!

I actually did take my pictures yesterday, but here it is, Sunday night, and I am just now joining the party.  I guess I'd better skip the small talk and get to the important parts.  

BigMama asked that we show off our daily uniform, in all its glory.  For better or worse, here it is:

Ahh, yoga pants.  My uniform after work and on the weekend.   After a long hard day, there is nothing more comforting than an elastic waistband and stretchy knit.  BTW, I have no idea what those spots are on the picture.  I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that I pulled all 3 pairs out of the dirty clothes basket and smoothed out the wrinkles before snapping the picture.   Of course, they are about to be put up for the summer, when my equally nice elastic waist workout shorts will replace them. 

I have a variety of lovely options for tops to go with the yoga pants.  A T-shirt is always appropriate, for example.  

Yes, I am big on the pig.  No, not really.  I bought this shirt at the Piggly-Wiggly grocery store while at the beach.  As usual, I got slightly sunburned and forgot to pack a long-sleeved T-shirt.  Besides, you can never have too many long-sleeved Ts.  

Here's a my favorite ensemble for chilly days, or whenever it's warm outside but it's still 60 degrees in our house: 

Old Navy gray fleece -- a bargain since I paid $3.50 for it on clearance-- and a basic Hanes T from Wal-Mart underneath.  The layered look is in, ya know.  Fleece is my new favorite fabric.  My fleece yoga pants are my all time faves (they are on the right in the top picture.)  Ok, Blogger is being irritating and taking about 5 years to load each picture, so sadly, this will be an abbreviated post.  grrr.  I'm going to try one or two more...

New spring clothes!!  I heart them.  The black cropped jacket is about the cutest thing I currently own (now a weekly staple), except for maybe the aqua flats you see in the same picture.  I love them the most, especially now that I have discovered the wonder that is the Band-Aid blister prevention stick.  They have turned the Shoes of Death into a happy, happy, pain-free experience.  Wanna see the cuteness up close?

These shoes make me so very happy.  And it's best to end on a happy note, right?  What with Blogger being all uncooperative and all.  Thanks for joining me in the fiesta!!

People Get Ready

It's here!!  The Fashion Fiesta!!  

Stay tuned-- I'm real busy planning all the stunningly fashionable combinations with which I will wow my Audience of One (actually it's two, but I seem to be on a random thing with incorporating the titles of Christian songs into the post.  Can you find all of the "hidden" song titles??  OMG, that sounds like a VBS challenge.  Now, where was I?  Oh yes, fashion.) 

 In fact, just to get really inspired, I am spending my Friday night on the couch, with my beloved laptop, watching the Miss USA pageant.  Lots of lovely, bedazzled ladies!  Hosted by Donny and Marie!!  I know you are all totally wishing your Friday nights were as thrilling as mine.  

We will ignore the fact that, in this pursuit of fashion utopia (nirvana?  whatever.) I am wearing ratty light blue sweatpants and my almost-as-beloved-as-the-laptop "Todd's at Tigertail Beachside Grill Marco Island" T-shirt (with the picture of the pyramid of people, hiney-side showing, on the back).  I'll spare you an actual photo of this lovely ensemble.  The T-shirt is of an undetermined age, since I have no idea how I acquired it.  Especially since the only people I know who go to Marco Island with any regularity are my 89-year-old grandparents.  Somehow I doubt Mamapa and Granddaddy are hangin' out at Todd's shooting pool during their annual beach trip.  

I Will be Here later this weekend with my contribution to the fiesta!!  (I may be pushing the nerd envelope with that last song title, but I just indulged in a few chocolate chip cookies  and after 10 days of WW and chocolate deprivation, I blame all nerdiness on the sugar rush.)

Are you ready to party??

If you love fashion, head over to BigMama's blog and get ready to join the fiesta!  I'm already planning the outfit I am going to share.  :-)  Join me-- and BigMama-- on Friday!!