Lessons in Life

A tragedy happened recently to a friend of mine that has made me take a step back and reevaluate.  Every day is so precious and nothing should be taken for granted.  I think it is our job in life to take care of each other and appreciate everything we have. 

I was going through the pictures on my computer and came across this one.  It was taken on a trip back to Georgia from Alabama.  It seems that most of these trips I do by myself, but this time Chris was there and he was driving.  I remember feeling peaceful with Cade sleeping away and Chris and I talking quietly.  This picture represents everything I am thankful for. 

 

 

First Love

Cade is totally enamored with an older girl.  Dakota, our next-door neighbor, has been a part of Cade’s life since he was born.  When he was a little baby, she would want to help feed him and change his diaper.  Now, they play together, though I think she thinks of him as her annoying little brother.  He, on the other hand, is fascinated by everything she does and talks about her constantly. 

 

Mamma Mia

After going to DePalmas last night to say goodbye to Kelly (the Captain’s wife who is moving to Germany), Abby and I went to see Mamma Mia.  It was a really cute movie, but I’m not sure Chris would have appreciated it.  It was a good movie to see without him.  There were a couple of older women in front of us that looked like they had one to many cocktails before the movie because they were cracking up and stomping their feet throughout the whole movie.  They were quite entertaining in their own right. 

 

Goodbyes

For the first 17 years of my life, I never had to say goodbye to anybody.  None of my friends moved away, nobody close to me passed away, my parents rarely traveled, and everybody close to me lived within an hours drive.  I guess it was a sheltered existence.

Since then, it seems like all I do is say goodbye.  I’ve had to say goodbye to my husband countless number of times, my closest family lives 6 hours away, and I’ve had to move away from way too many friends.  It is a way of life for military families, but one I will probably never get used to. 

Melissa, AJ, and Sebastian are moving back to Nebraska next week.  We went and saw them at the World of Wonder playground on Friday morning along with Amanda and Henry.  It was cloudy and breezy so it was actually kinda pleasant to be outside.  The boys had fun playing.  Sebastian is getting to be sucha big boy and he wants to to everything Cade and AJ do.  He is pretty cute! 

 

 

 

When everybody started melting from the heat, we loaded up the kids and went to the new Chick-Fil-A on the east side.  I don’t know where Chick-Fil-A gets their employees, but they must treat them well because they are always so nice.  They bring your food out for you and somebody is always walking around asking if you need a refill and if they get you anything.  Other fast food restaurants need to take some notes. 

 

Goings On

Last night we went to a pool party/BBQ with our playgroup.  The group of women and kids that make up our playgroup here are awesome.  I have been so fortunate to have met so many great people.  A lot of us met at a breastfeeding support group at St. Mary’s hospital and as our babies were getting older one of the moms started a google group so we could keep in touch.  The group grew as more people invited their friends to join. Now the group is a pretty diverse group of people that gets together at least once every other week.  Everybody is so different, but we all get along really well.  I wanted to take more pictures, but I was in the pool most of the night. When we got out, Cade was shivering profusely.  It was a little cooler last night (we had actually gotten some rain earlier that day and that cooled things off) and there was a breeze.  He was pretty cute wrapped up in all of his towels. 

 

 

Tonight Chris and I left Cade with Emily (our awesome neighbor) and went to meet some his classmates at the Terrapin Brewery.  They have tours on Thursday nights- you pay $6 with the military discount and get a souvenir glass and lots of tastings!  It was pretty hot, but they had a live band (half of who were barefoot- what can I say, it’s Athens) and a really laid back atmosphere.  It was really interesting to see how beer is made.  The tour guide was pretty informative.  I wish I had  a picture, but I forgot to take my camera.

 

Embarrassing Moments

I don’t think you are truly inducted into parenthood until you are completely and thoroughly embarrassed by your child.  Today, I was.

We were at Kroger and there was a lady who was a lot shorter and chunkier than the average woman.  Cade, the observant child that he is, excitedly pointed to HER and loudly proclaimed “LITTLE BOY LITTLE BOY” over and over again. Not good.

This is probably the  first of many, many times I will want to run and hide because of something he says, but this is the first time.  I’m officially inducted.

 

August Days

Today we went to Barnes and Noble in part to play with trains, but also to look at some books.  Cade has been really into Today I Will Fly!by Mo Willems, which is in the Elephant and Piggie series.  We read the whole series while we were there.

After coming home, I let Cade play outside for a little bit.  He wanted to sniff every flower in the garden and run in circles.  While we were outside, he informed me he was not going to take a nap today.  He said “No nap today.”  I laid him down not long after and I guess he was telling the truth because he never fell asleep.

I finally gave up on the nap and we went to Kroger and Home Depot.  Cade knows that when we go to Sears, Home Depot or Lowes there are always lawn mowers to visit.  He isn’t happy just sitting on one and pretending to drive it- he has to try them all out and isn’t happy until he sits on every last one of them. 

Cade told me he was a big help unloading the groceries because he stuffed all the empty plastic bags into the refrigerator.  Big help, Cade! He was CRAZY tonight because he didn’t get a nap. He alternated between laughing hysterically and crying hysterically.

 

It was a Thriller

I’m not a huge swimming fan, but it is the Olympics and it involved Michael Phelps so I was watching.  I was not expecting to see one of the greatest relay races of all time.  The men’s 4×100 swim relay was such a fantastic come from behind victory by the underdog Americans it is sure to be an instant Olympic Classic.  If you missed it you can check it out here.

 

Lovin’ his Pool

This child LOVES swimming!

 

Charter Rant

We were supposed to get our DVR installed on Wednesday, but after multiple calls to Charter and waiting until 10:30p.m., I finally got a call from the technician (who sounded like he was stoned out of his mind) saying that he would not be able to make it. 

Flash forward to Friday and again I was stuck waiting from 1-3 (the allotted time the installation was to take place) and again I was stood up.  I called Charter two more times and each time they said the guy was 30-45 min away.  After cancelling our play date I had set up at the pool and moving it to our house and waiting all afternoon, he did not show up until 6:00! 

After all that, Charter had the nerve to send me this guy that tracked dirt all through my house and to top it off I couldn’t understand anything he was saying because he had a thick Russian accent! I wish we had another choice, but Charter is the only cable company that serves our area- I guess that’s why they can get away with doing whatever they want.