Friday Randomness

Happy Friday and Halloween weekend ya'll!

I for one do not care for Halloween, but when you have a child, everything is much more fun. I was just telling Chris that I felt like a bad mom for not having any Halloween-type activities for E this week, so maybe this weekend we'll decorate some baby pumpkins or bake some cookies. I am excited about seeing E in his race car costume and trick or treating on Sunday!

We are having our very first yard sale tomorrow morning. We've been busy cleaning out the attic, closets and the house and getting rid of stuff we will never use again. The big ticket items are our living room couch and my favorite green PB chair I've had since my first apartment. Sniff - the memories. The fact of the matter is that we just don't have room for them and they gotta go. Fingers crossed it will go well!

Thank goodness we don't have any major plans this weekend - just Halloween stuff and relaxing for once. Have a great Halloween weekend!

Sky Top Orchard

This past weekend our family had our 2nd annual trip to Sky Top Orchard in Flat Rock, NC. Although the weather wasn't quite fall weather, we had a great time! We did all the same things we did last year - take a hayride, eat apple cider doughnuts, feed the farm animals, and just enjoy being together. Here are some pictures of our time together:

What An Adventure!

We took our very first family camping trip the weekend of October 9th - 11th and let me say it was quite an experience. I'm glad I started the trip with a positive outlook because that helped us to get through the weekend with a smile, but very tired smile.

After walking the 5K race with our dear friends the Olingers, we had a yummy breakfast at the Pancake House in Charlotte then headed to the mountains! We got to the campsite about 2 PM and proceeded to set up camp. We set up the tent first and as soon as we blew up the mattress Ethan said "Let's go to the jumpy house!" He was so beyond excited and he just went nuts! The whole experience was new for him so it was so fun to see him get excited about his surroundings and being in the woods. We finally got everything set up around 4 PM! One of Chris' friends he made at the photography workshop last year, Joe, was in the area traveling so he and his wife stopped by. We visited for about an hour and then figured it was time to get dinner started since we were cooking chicken on the fire. We had a delish dinner, some smores, or as Ethan and Buzz Lightyear call them "smoes", got a shower and called it a night.

After a bit of a chilly night, we cooked breakfast and finally got out of the campsite to start the day around 11 AM. E had a good time putting sticks in the fire ... carefully. He also enjoyed his first cup of hot chocolate and he loved it!

After breakfast we headed out to Linville Falls. It was quite a hike up the falls but a beautiful one at that. Ethan just had to stop every minute to pick up a stick or look at the trees. That boy loves some nature.

Afterwards, we had a nice picnic lunch by a river and headed up to Little Switzerland. E took a bit of cat nap in the car while we stopped for some ice cream and a bit of shopping for me at a gem store. I scored three pairs of earrings for only $12! After E woke up, we did a very touristy activity - mining for gems! Chris and E had a great time and he loved all the gems he found.

When we got back to the campsite, Chris and I were pooped so we decided to let E watch a little movie in the tent ... looks like he's roughin' it huh?

We had a yummy beef stew that Chris made and called it a night. We were all pooped! We had a fabulous time ... tiring but fabulous. I would definitely say I don't regret going but when you have a very very busy 2 1/2 year old, it just makes it not as relaxing. I am looking forward to another camping trip ... in the future!

Friday Randomness

Happy Friday Ya'll!

It sure has been a while since I've done this! Ahh it feels good to blog again on a Friday morning where I don't have much going on at work. Well, actually I do have a 10 AM coming in in about 20 minutes so I'll make this snappy.

I am so behind in my post about going camping AND Frankie and Ashley's wedding, so I hope to do that this weekend. I've started them both but it takes so freakin' long to upload pictures and videos it drives me nuts! I promise it will be soon!

We are making our annual trip up to Sky Top Orchard in Flat Rock, NC this weekend and I for one am so excited! It's a super cool place with a lot to do. Ethan really enjoyed it this year and this will tell you how incredible his memory is. I told him we are going to the apple farm and he said, "And pick apples, and feed the goats, and play on the playground, and ride on the hay (meaning hayride), and eat donuts...". My mouth just fell open and I was so shocked! His memory is crazy! But yes, it has all of that and my most favorite are the apple cider donuts! Ohhhh I will be devouring them! They also have a small little selection of pumpkins which we still have not done yet, so hopefully we'll be picking a punkin' out too.

We are in the process of flipping our house upside down - quite literally. After discussing what seemed like 2 hours or more, and losing sleep over it, we have decided what we are going to do about rearranging things in the house to make it it better for our lifestyle, especially when the new baby comes. Right now our living room is just a living room. No purpose really - just a sitting area. It's nice but not really functional. The bonus room has been our "living room" where our TV is and some toys. So what we will do now is move the TV and sectional couch down to the living room and actually make that a living room. The only problem is that the sectional is so long especially with the two side tables and ottoman, so it will take up a good bit of room but it will work better for the family. Plus it will keep guests who come over in the bottom of the house, and not having to go upstairs to watch TV. The bonus room now has our desks, which were in our office which will now be the nursery, and we will make the room more of a playroom / office / kids TV watching area. I'm excited about the change .. now we just have to find a few strapping lads to help move the really really heavy couch, and other things too. Wish us luck! I hope to post about that too.

We also are in the process of making E's room a big boy room. My mom was sweet enough to come and help us paint it this week and it's looking pretty good! It's a mossy green which is quite different for our color scheme in our house but it's going to match the bedding and new bed quite nicely. I'm excited to be able to reveal that to him too. Hopefully he will be just as excited as we are to give that to him.

Last but not least will be the nursery whenever we can get to that, which will probably be January. Nothing like cutting it close - still three months to go at that point so we should be ok, right? I was a nervous wreck when E's room wasn't done in November and our furniture didn't arrive until November 1st, so hopefully this time around I won't freak out. Stay tuned!

Have a great weekend ya'll!

10 Things I Learned This Week

1. My son is a dancing party machine...literally! At Frankie and Ashley's wedding this weekend I have never seen him dance so much. He sat down on the ground, took his shoes off, and danced holes into his socks. He didn't even stop to eat. After about 3 hours, I finally got him to eat some cheese crackers. He was learning the Cupid Shuffle, the Macarena, and Electric Slide. It was hilarious!
2. Seeing my son and hubby in a tux brought me to tears when he was walking down the aisle. I don't want to think about the day when I'll actually see that at his own wedding. Oh lawd!
3. We have a new sister in law, Ashley Johnson!!!
4. Old people will not hold back in telling you exactly what they think ... like the fact that you're gaining hips and "Are you sure you're not due earlier than you think?". Bless them - I try to take it as a compliment, right?
5. I can never get enough of hearing compliments on our son. Of course we think he's just peachy, but apparently so do a lot of other people. The best compliment I heard yesterday was from Pa when he thanked us for raising a wonderful grandson that has become his heart. Ok - tear. Thanks Pa - you are one amazing man.
6. My baby bump is out of control. I feel like it's so huge and I'm only 16 weeks! Please tell me it's just the second baby.
7. Do you ever feel like there is not enough hours in the day or days in the week to do what you both want to do and need to do.
8. I'm so excited to take E to the apple farm next weekend. I'm especially excited about the apple cider doughnuts!
9. I have an awesome mother who is coming this week to help out with painting E's room in the process of transitioning it into a big boy room. Yipee!
10. I will have my 16 week check up tomorrow and with fingers crossed, I hope to talk them into letting us find out what we are having at 18 weeks instead of 19 or 20. Let's hope so!!

Friday Randomness

We are half-way packed and ready to hit the road on our very first family camping trip. Both Chris and I have fond memories of camping with our families when we were young and we want to start that with Ethan as soon as possible. Now is the time to go ... before I get huge and baby #2 comes and besides ... it's FALL! The weather should be nice ... mid 70's during the day, but 45 at night! BRRR - good thing we've got four blankets and fleece PJ's to brave the cold. I'm actually very excited about this trip. For the most part, just being in nature during the fall season is just dreamy to me. We've been talking with E about camping for the past few weeks and he seems excited .. maybe more about the animals we may run into, like a bear. Eek - you'll see mama freak out if we see a bear! We've got some fun activities planned such as hiking on the campground premises, Linville Caverns and Falls, mining at Emerald Village (E loves rocks - what boy doesn't?), maybe picking an apple or two at the Orchard at Altapass, and enjoying the cutest town in the world, Little Switzerland. Here is where we are going ...

www.bear-den.com
www.littleswitzerlandnc.com

I'm sure I'll have quite a report to fill you guys in on Monday when we get back! Happy Friday and have a great weekend!

10 Things I Learned This Week

1. I am so excited for our camping trip this coming weekend! Either I'm brave or crazy to take this trip while I'm pregnant but now is the time to go. I'm feeling so much better now and am excited to experience this for the first time with E and to celebrate the fall season.
2. It's amazing to see how prayers are answered when there are so many people praying. God is great!
3. I think my son gains more and more energy the older he gets. This weekend he literally did NOT stop talking or did not slow down for a minute.
4. Nesting has REALLY set in. Now I'm thinking about doing a little work to the kitchen. Eek - at least Chris is halfway on board with this one.
5. Finding a dress for a wedding while you're in the "in-between" stages of pregnancy is hard! While I'm only 14 weeks and there definitely is a baby bump going on, maternity dresses are way too big and normal sized dresses (non-preggo) are too tight! My sister patiently went shopping with me on Saturday for 4 hours to South Park Mall and Destination Maternity. FINALLY we found a very cute and affordable dress in Anthropologie, which is now one of my most favorite stores!
6. I cannot WAIT for Glee this week. It's faith based which should be awesome and sure to jerk quite a few tears.
7. We asked Ethan what he wanted to name the baby when it's born and he said "eagle". Umm ok. Eagle it is.
8. I'm really craving some candy corn pumpkins. Ummm.
9. I'm also really craving a candy apple and carnival food.
10. I've just added Modern Family and Raising Hope to the DVR. It's so refreshing to watch something so funny every now and then.

Reasons Why I Heart Fall

With the end of summer coming to a close (Thank God!), it made me start thinking about how much I love the fall. I pulled out a blog that I wrote from two years ago. It makes me excited to read through this list. I absolutely LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the fall! It's my favorite season and there are many reasons why it's my favorite!

•FOOTBALL! There's just so many teams to cheer on in our household that it makes it a lot of fun! Of course our favorite are the Carolina Panthers, but we also love Clemson, Tennessee and even USC, when they are not playing the other two and there's nothing else to watch! :)
•COMFORT FOOD! I love the soups and stews! I have found some excellent recipes over the years that are healthy and are great even as leftovers. Of course, like all of us, I love all the food at Thanksgiving, which leads me to my next subject ...
•THANKSGIVING! Need I say more! The food is something to look forward to for sure, but more importantly the time I get to spend with family is most precious to me. I am so thankful for what God has given to our family that words just aren't enough. We hope to actually host our very first Thanksgiving at our house this year.
•PUMPKINS, APPLES AND CIDER - OH MY! I love pumpkin patches and searching for the perfect pumpkin! Now that E is old enough, it makes the fall that much more fun. He had such a blast at the pumpkin patch and apple farm last year and I'm looking forward to taking him this year too. It's marked on the calendar and I'm counting down the days.
•THE WEATHER! The crisp, cool weather of fall is just a blessing from God! It's such a relief from the heat and humidity in the summer that when I get a glimpse of it, I just feel at peace and happy.
•THE BEAUTY AND COLORS! Another blessing from God! I don't see how people don't believe in God when they see the work he does to the Earth at this time of year. It's such a gift to be able to see the leaves turn colors and fall. I remember walking through the Winthrop campus in the fall when I was in school and literally feeling like I was in a "leaf storm" with all of them just falling around me. I was in heaven!
•"WAFFLE MIX", AKA WASSAIL: Tim likes to call it "waffle mix", but in reality it's wassail! My mom makes a wonderful wassail and I just love how the smell just floats through the house. I love grabbing a cup o' wassail and sitting by the fire, or just cuddling up!
•FALL SHOWS ARE BACK! I am so exited now that my most favorite shows, and even new shows, are back. Thank goodness for DVR! There is no way I can watch them all when they actually come on with having Ethan around.
•THE SMELL OF LEAVES BURNING! That smell just sends me into an oblivion! I want to go burn leaves just so I can smell it! That sounds nuts doesn't it?
•THE CLOTHES! My favorite outfit is a pair of comfy jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt, so bring it on! Plus, the comfy cardigans and sweatshirts are a plus too! Thank goodness I am preggo during the fall and winter months so I can take full advantage of all the long sleeved shirts and jeans.