Pithy Liz

Photography - noun. fuh-tog-ruh-fee, The process or art of producing images of objects on sensitized surfaces by the chemical action of light.

2010-11-16T18:46:00.000-08:00

A while back we gave Xander our old digital camera with a broken screen. He kept taking our new one and snapping pictures so we thought it would be best if we put him in charge of his own, as to not break another...Anyway, over time we've gotten some great pictures out of the thousands he's taken. Today he pulled his camera out again for an impromptu rainy day photo shoot with Mama and her boys. It's obviously not the best camera and on the black and white setting the flash pretty much washes everything out, especially if you're close to the camera, and when X is shooting he always is...
Brother kisses.
Today I was the human jungle gym.
I am in love with these guys.
Look at those cheeks! AND EYES!
Sometimes in order to actually get in the picture that X is taking you have to move quick...he just presses the shutter button over and over moving the camera the entire time. He's so cute.
Those famous Clark eyes will get you every time...I don't think Jonah is enjoying this picture as much as the rest.
The last one that Xander shot, you can tell he was moving the camera from the smear of the kitchen.

Ecstasy - noun. ek-stuh-see, Rapturous delight. An overpowering emotion or exaltation; a state of sudden, intense feeling.

2010-11-05T11:58:00.000-07:00

Yo Gabba Gabba live came through the area this last week so we packed up the family and headed to Columbia, South Carolina. Uncle Adam informed us earlier in the week that he was asked to be the Super Music Friend during the show, I think we might have been more excited than the kids, but that didn't last long. When the show started my mom had to chase Xander down the aisle because he was about to run up on stage and say 'hi' to his 'best friends', the Gabba characters. Even Jonah enjoyed the show, waving his arms and even singing along, it was really one of the greatest days. Caleb and I were talking about how life changes when you have kids and you get more excited when they have fun and it makes you have that much fun as well. So, all around the greatest family day on record!
The boys waiting outside before the show.
It's a rarity to have them standing still long enough to get a picture, but dang they're cute.
Watching the show, the boys were very serious and couldn't be distracted.
Holding X up to see.
Something I really hope he remembers but glad the pictures will remind him of meeting his friends.
Before intermission there was a song about balloons, when it was over a TON of balloons fell from the ceiling, the kids could barely stand it. It was so much fun!
Xander's back-bending balloon throwing.
Shake the silly's out!
Keaton was also very into the show. Silly parents and their picture taking.
This is one of my most favorite pictures.
Uncle Adam on the Super Music Friend Show!!! 'We All Love Our Pets!'
YAY!
Aren't they the cutest?! As you can imagine, they were so excited and passed out about five minutes into the ride home.

Halloween - noun. hal-uh-ween, -oh-een, The evening of October 31; the eve of All Saints' Day; Allhallows Eve: observed esp. by children in costumes.

2010-11-03T18:16:00.000-07:00

Fun, fun, fun Halloween this year and a packed weekend to boot. NoDa hosted party after party for kids and adults alike, just another reason to love this neighborhood! Our little men were so freaking cute in their costumes it's hard to not dress them like that everyday, I mean, it's laughable how cute our kids are. JUST LOOK AT THEM! We had a fun time trick-or-treating for the first time in Xander's life. I explained the process to him in the morning, we knock on peoples' door, we say 'trick-or-treat' and they give us candy. I can only imagine what went through his head. Regardless, Xander was beyond the happy all day. Saturday started with the NoDa Club Family kids Halloween party in the park, then we all went to lunch and took our annual family photos at the brick wall on Davidson. At 4:00 we had another family Halloween party where we got to watch the NoDa 5k Halloween Run. AND Caleb and I ended our night with the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Like I said, very busy weekend;
I told you, way too cute.
My little dinosaur working on his balance. I'm writing this while he's sleeping and I'm tempted to just go wake him so I can kiss his cheeks!
Charlotte is SO beautiful this time of the year, the leaves on the maple trees turn the most beautiful colors.
Little Ryleigh was the most beautiful Belle!
Another great picture of the beautiful weather we had over Halloween weekend.
I'm surely the most blessed of women.
If anything in life is impossible it's getting three boys under the age of three to sit still for a photograph. Honestly, this is the best one.
Sisters, sisters. There were never such devoted sisters.
This was on Sunday, on our way to watch the NASCAR race, before nap time and before trick-or-treating. Little chunky Jones was a Christmas elf and I wanted to eat him up. X wasn't dressed yet but wore his skeleton sweatshirt, he dressed as a tiger that night, also, very cute.
The Rocky Horror Picture show. My first experience...and yikes.
I think it's becoming a theme to end my posts with a picture of a handsome man...that happens to be my husband.

Jack-O-Lantern - n. (jak-uh-lan-tern), A hollowed pumpkin with openings cut to represent human eyes, nose, and mouth with a light inside.

2010-10-28T19:05:00.000-07:00

Another fall post! I'll keep doing it until we've worn it out. We picked tonight for the night to carve the pumpkins from this last weekend. You learn pretty quick living in the South that you can't carve your pumpkins as early as you do in Minnesota, they get all wrinkly and go bad pretty quick when they don't freeze. It's also nice using little battery powered tea-lights instead of candles, less worry, no burning smell and they last much longer. I ended up carving three pumpkins, I'm not sure how...to be fair Caleb helped me finish the last one while I put the boys to bed (AND he broke off part of the letter 'B' on 'BOO', but I won't hold it against him). It was a fun evening and I think Xander (and Caleb!) enjoyed himself, I know I did.
Me and Jones before bedtime, he's such a cutie, it's hard not to constantly kiss those cheeks!
Is that Caleb or Tim Richmond in that vintage Folgers racing t-shirt???
Xander drawing the face on his first pumpkin. He was super cute when I asked him what shape he'd like the eyes, 'Octagons!' Yikes, I had to figure that one out, never cut octagons before...
All set up at the kitchen table.
My little man with his finished product.
Octagon eyes glowing bright!
The finished products! The bottom two are Xander's creations, art directing of course, the other pumpkin had to have a mustache, ha, and my pumpkin in the middle with the ghost and Caleb's big one on the top step.
Keaton even stopped by to say hi and see the 'Pumpkin Heads', I think that's what he calls jack-o-lanterns. We are excited to have Keaton (and family) back in town. We missed them all too much while they were away.

Catch-Up - n. (kach-uhp), An effort to reach or pass a norm, esp. after a period of delay.

2010-10-25T11:30:00.000-07:00

I'm awful at blogging, we know this already. So, let's just skip past all the obligatory apologies and just get to it. I love fall and everything that comes with it. Our weekends are packed full of outdoor activities and I can't get enough. This last weekend was full of fall splendor, including the Balloon Festival, the pumpkin patch and DosXX Most Interesting Show. Enjoy.
The Most Interesting Show has the best VIP lounge, Mac's catering included. Don't mind if I do.
I think Johnny V. has something for Caleb.
Little Xander enjoying some time on the pumpkins.
Xander holding his not-so-little brother at the local pumpkin farmer's market.
My boys, growing up too fast.
I knew X would love the hot air balloons and I was right, he was a big fan.
Me and my awesome husband.

Friend - noun. A person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard.

2010-08-08T13:12:00.000-07:00

I am WAY behind on July updates, it's becoming somewhat of a habit. I'm in the process of moving some pictures to my laptop so hopefully I'll be able to get a bunch of posts done soon. We had a nice weekend and a nice night out with good friends last night. Here are just a couple of the shots. If you want to be cool, party in NoDa.
Caleb and pretty Elizabeth.
Uncle Spiderman telling some great story. I can tell it's great because his hand says so much.
This is a very nice picture of Auntie Anna to make up for all the awful pictures that Caleb posts of her. We stopped to see her at work before joining everyone else at Solstice.
An old forestry service hat that Caleb found on one of his 'treasure hunts'. It's a very small hat and so far I'm the only one it happens to fit.
Hanging at the bar at Solstice.
We honestly could NOT handle the music that was playing at the bar, so Misha and Nod sunk a good $20 to play the right music. I think their list finally started right before Caleb and I had to leave to get the kids.
Xander is already getting to be a great driver. He knows all the correct directions to get home from Mimi's house, (it's a block, but still...).

Top - noun. The highest or loftiest point or part of anything; apex; summit.

2010-07-16T08:10:00.000-07:00

We would like to introduce the newest product from enemy2fashion, the Cut Above Cap… this hat is the first piece of the “Keen As Mustard” collection which will continue to drop over the summer.

These heavy duty cotton denim caps have been adorned with hand cut patches made from genuine military issued pup tents. Each hat come with the bill uncut but we suggest chomping it off and making it your own.
%100 cotton front
%100 Nylon mesh back
One Size Fits All

First 50 orders will receive a one of a kind secret hat at no additional charge.

Order HERE!

Freedom - noun. free-dom, the absence of ceremony or reserve. A liberty taken.

2010-07-13T18:21:00.000-07:00

I know, I'm behind in my blogging, I've got a lot to catch up. We'll start with the 4th of July. Lot's of food, I think I ate ALL day, friends and family. I tried my best to dress the boys in the colors, Xander's shirt is my favorite. We also spent about $150 on Target fireworks (the kind that don't fly, we'd definitely hurt ourselves). The pictures do the best explaining...
Little Xander riding his big boy car over to Misha's in his new fly boots, a little big for him still but way too cute for his own good.
Papa, showing little nugget how it's done.
You can't stop this kid from eating fruit, especially any kind of mellon, he's like his Papa when it comes to fruit, they can't get enough.
Corn off the cob, I'm not sure if he's ever seen it this way. I said, 'Want some corn?' and he replied, 'That's not corn!' One taste is all it took, he was sold.
Anna, showing us real badmiNton (we made sure to pronounce the 'n' all day) form.
Censored for those involved.
Bubbles AND suckers?!? This has to be his new favorite holiday...not to mention...
FIREWORKS! We set off a couple for Xander and Keaton who were going to bed early...still pretty cool. Xander doesn't like loud things but sure wanted more when it was over.
Sparkle dance.
We were so amazed at the fireworks!
Jonah and Anna were equally unimpressed.
The fire-starter, my booski.
Anna put on a GREAT half-time fireworks show.

Simply put a great holiday...although next year I'm determined to find a parade, do they not do 4th of July parades in the South?

Bliss - noun. Supreme happiness; utter joy or contentment: wedded bliss.

2010-06-26T14:07:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had the privilege of attending my best friends wedding. It ended up being a pretty long day because my cousin Anna and I drove to Atlanta from Charlotte and then ended up driving back to Charlotte that same night, yikes. Thankfully the ride home went faster, without traffic and inclement weather. Mary looked beautiful and it was great seeing her whole family together, the Allen clan certainly are wonderful people and I love seeing them in action. I snapped as many pictures as I could the short time that I was there. I'm definitely planning on many trips to Atlanta while Mary is still living there.
Blushing bride.
The happy couple.
Apparently Mary and I can't take a normal picture. There was one where she was pulling my hair and I made a terrible face and another where I completely covered her face with my hands. I chose this picture because I look better than her...ha, it's funny because it's true. And by the way, I just want to mention that I am currently very tan, (you'll notice my beach trip in my last post) it just goes to show that Mary will always be tanner than me.
Auntie Anna and Baby JoJo hanging out at the reception. Thank God Anna drove with me!
That kid will eat anything.
The couple intro.
A beautiful set-up.
Watching the service.
This was before I left Charlotte to drive to Atlanta (the drive there took almost 5 hours where the ride back was only about 3 1/2). I was upset that we couldn't all go as a family, but I got over it, like I always do!

Release - verb. re-leased, To free from confinement, bondage, obligation, pain, etc.; let go: to release a prisoner.

2010-06-24T10:49:00.000-07:00

Warning: world's largest post! I won't use a lot of description as most pictures speak for themselves. We took an AWESOME family filled vacation to North Myrtle Beach in early June. Our first beach vacation since living in North Carolina and our first official vacation in way too long. We rented an enormous beach house with plenty of room for the entire Vaagen clan. We swam, we went to the beach, we ate and we spent quality time watching Dora the Explorer and Spongebob. I think from now on we won't wait so long to see the beach!
A large group picture. Everyone but Noah, Amy and Aaron, who were dearly missed.
Xander shows his beach muscles.
I love these boys.Evan and Xander jumping.
Ariel and Nate with my chunky monkey.
Mimi and Xander working really hard at puzzle time.
The three most important people in my life!
Me and the hotdog at our favorite snack spot; Mr. G's...
Siblings sans Noah.
Tent city on the beach.
I want this right now!
This is what happens when Xander should be napping and finds the camera.
He was a beach baby, he's got Papa's California blood.
Keaton is so cool.
There's the front of Mr. G's.
Uncle Gunz is too cool for the pool.
Xander showing Nate Potato how to use Mama's phone.
Keaton REALLY likes Dora.
Those boys are just so silly.

Golden - adj. gold-en, Full of happiness, prosperity, or vigor: golden hours; a golden era of exploration.

2010-06-03T11:18:00.000-07:00

In the Midwest we celebrate 'Golden Birthdays' it's when you become the age that your birthday falls on, for example, my birthday is on May 29th and this year I turned 29, therefore GOLDEN BIRTHDAY! And my 29th birthday bazaar was nothing short of spectacular. A huge thanks to my wonderful/perfect/fantastic husband for putting it together with such class and allowing me to ruin that class by having mojitos at the same party and drinking those mojitos. He had an amazing spread of food that filled a house full of people and an ice cream cake (my favorite!). One of my gifts was a pack of fireworks, which we all enjoyed, some people even did some impossible firework jumping feats. The night ended with a short walk to Cabo with our best bartending cousin, Anna! The rest is history...
Mmmmm, nummy, nummy foodies.
The spread with friends and family included. Even if Keaton doesn't love it.
X man and his bumped forehead enjoying some blueberries and watermelons.
No time for chit-chat.
Anna is so psyched to be at my party.
I love beets!! Caleb makes the BEST roasted beet salad with goat cheese, using the arugula/rocket salad from my garden!
Stripes are the name of the game...I don't know if you can see Carter is holding Jonah out of the picture because he wasn't wearing stripes...nice.
This is Xander's fake cry face. Not very convincing...
Caleb bought the ice cream cake and the candles...don't say anything, you'll just break his heart.
Bananagrams with the best of them!
Pick-a-little-talk-a-little. Pick-a-little-talk-a-lot.
Uh-oh, this is a dangerous face...watch out for it.
One of the last shots of the night, we were all in good spirits.
The next morning Xander wanted to wear his shoes to Smelly Cat to see Carter. Caleb was gracious to me the whole day and let me sleep off a crazy night.
It's always time for a back yard sprinkler/tub party...just take off their clothes and let them run...

Sale - idiom, For sale, offered to be sold; made available to purchasers.

2010-05-24T11:09:00.000-07:00

I've been working like a mad woman painting my windows and getting ready for all the art shows/craft bazaars hosted here in NoDa. We just finished the FemmeFest, an annual celebration of woman artists, which was a lot of fun and I ended up selling some of my favorite windows so far. We have another event coming up the first week in June, another NoDa All Arts Market. But I thought it only fair to offer windows up to those of you that aren't able to make it to the art shows. We can arrange shipping for those that aren't close. I love my windows and love even more to see them go to good homes. If you're looking something for a little more custom, like colors or something specific on your window, just let me know, I love to change it up (ie. http://cacmuffin.blogspot.com/2009/12/window-to-my-heart.html). If you're interested in one just email me; liz@lizvaagen.com and we'll work something out!

Annual - adj. an-nu-al, Occurring or returning once a year: an annual celebration.

2010-05-19T11:52:00.000-07:00

Happy 30th birthday to my wonderful and perfect husband! Yesterday we surprised him with a super-secret happy hour birthday party and he didn't see it coming. I was pretty proud of myself for not giving away the secret because there were a couple of times when I really wanted to. Caleb got home and I could sense he was a little disappointed that we didn't have anything planned for his birthday. I felt so bad that I couldn't say anything, but I held my tongue and brushed it off. We decided to go for a walk and after a lot of effort I kept Caleb away from the NoDa strip (so he wouldn't see anyone going into Dolce Vita), Caleb was getting irritated at me because I was being 'weird', ha, well, it was worth it...We surprised Caleb and I think he had a great time with friends and family, after which we went to Loco Lime for some taco action.
My handsome boy on our walk...you can see tiny Jonah behind X's head in our double tandem stroller.
I love this picture because you can actually see how X is strung out on sugar filled icing and poor Uncle Adam is trying to get a hold of him.
Another strung out baby with blue frosting up his nose, haha, his eyes might pop out of his head.
K2Forma enjoying her taste of the birthday cake with Amanda doing the same in the background.
A classic picture of mom drinking her wine and chatting it up while the tiny baby has spit up coming out of his mouth, haha, nice one.
Sitting at Loco Lime, drinking margaritas and waiting patiently for our tacos, I believe we ALL ate too much.
Nod was bummed because there was someone who gave him a run for his money in the 'who can eat more tacos than Nod' competition. Congrats to James for knocking Nod off his podium!

Hunt - verb, to search for; seek; endeavor to obtain or find (often fol. by up or out): to hunt up the most promising candidate.

2010-05-16T19:24:00.000-07:00

A long post with a ton of pictures because we had an incredibly busy weekend, and now that it's Sunday night I need another weekend to recover. It was a rough Saturday morning just waking because of our long night Friday, Xander's been sick and he was overtired and couldn't sleep for long stretches. Anyway, we woke up early and headed to Cline's Antique's, which cannot be described in words and pictures don't even do it justice...please come to North Carolina and visit us and we'll take you there, it's something that you need to experience. After we got home we had enough time for a nap and a shower and met with friends for dinner at Cabo, of course. Sunday we went to a local fashion show put on by our friend Elizabeth. It was a very hot day but we all made the best of it. Enjoy the show.
At Cline's what doesn't fit in the multiple buildings is put into multiple truck trailers with stairs, and sometimes ladders, leading up. It was hot and there is so much of everything it can be overwhelming. Carrying Jonah around didn't help with the heat!
Caleb and Xander escape the heat in the shade of a building so full it was spilling out.
What doesn't fit into the buildings or the truck trailers is simply just stacked into piles outside, it's truly an adventure.
Overwhelmed.
My goal for the day was to find chairs for my back patio area, and I found so many I'm going to have to choose between them all, next time we definitely bring a truck.
More chairs at the end of a long and tall trail of desks.
This has to be one of my favorite pictures, too cute, both of them.
After giving Jonah to Caleb it was amazing how light and cool I felt, that little Chunk can pull down on your shoulders and he's a little heater too, so I did a dance in honor of feeling so free.
Yay Cline's!
Carter and X in the sun.
Even Xander had fun treasure hunting and found this bouncy zebra. I was tempted to get it for him but Caleb said he'd probably hurt himself, he's probably right.
Another item I'll be coming back for when we get the truck. These metal pine trees where really reasonably priced and will look so incredible in my back yard!
Jonah is one happy boy.
My handsome first born.
A group of friends grabs dinner at Cabo...(on Drive-ins, Diners and Dives, Monday night at 10 pm E).
Nod driving to the fashion show. The reason I posted this picture is because I thought that Nod and I could be brother/sister...don't we have similar profiles?
If there is something on the menu with beets in it then I'll buy it...LOVE BEETS!
The Red Carpet!
Cute!
And my boys just hanging out...I'm one lucky lady!

Wave - noun. a swell, surge, or rush, as of feeling or of a certain condition: a wave of joy sweeping over a person

2010-05-14T13:23:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday night we had a large group of friends get together for the Angels and Airwaves concert, I think there were 12 of us total, so we could guarantee a good time. Caleb was ready with the camera and we got a lot of good shots. We got our tickets and (VIP!) passes and went to grab a bite to eat at the restaurant connected to the Fillmore here in Charlotte, I think it's called Black Bear or something, anyway don't hang out there, unless you're looking to marry someone who wears khakis...and who wants that? Ha.
This picture is pretty incredible. I'm very interested in what's being said, Adam is mad at the camera and Misha is very serious.
The other end of the table.
This is the face you get from me when you go to a concert, with people you don't know, and you're not in shape (not, not, not!) and you walk around in jean shorts without a shirt. Who are your friends and why don't they care? Because I care.
And it begins.
Elizabeth and Misha.
Attitude.
Sisters, sisters, there were never such devoted sisters.
From backstage.
Husband/Wife.
These people shouldn't be allowed to hang out.
Misha.Dance.
Is that me in the green room?
Yes.

Exhaust - verb. ex-haust, to empty by drawing out the contents: to exhaust a tank of fuel oil.

2010-04-19T19:55:00.000-07:00

A very busy weekend, so busy that when it was over I needed another weekend. We've run out of room in our little house, well, we ran out of room the moment we moved in, but it's gotten incredibly tight since having baby boy #2 and having all his clothes and toys out of storage...and don't even mention storage. Our only large closet is so packed that I call it the Tetris closet, I've got boxes on top of boxes up to the ceiling. So, because of that we decided to schedule a multiple-family yard sale with all of our NoDa friends. It was a success. We had a lot of people come out and we made a goal of not bringing anything back in the house. Because of my great deals, and giving things away, we only had a couple boxes left that we just left on the curb with a 'free' sign that ended up getting picked through anyway...this is such a great neighborhood. We set our alarms for 6:45 am (ON A SATURDAY) and had muffins and bloody mary's/mimosas ready to go when our friends arrived. We had originally planned on being done around noon(ish), so, when everyone left, around 5 (haha) we were more than beat. I barely remember the rest of the weekend but it didn't involve near enough sleep...maybe next weekend...
We took over two driveways and even had bean-bags set up to play, although we spent most of the day sitting on Yerg's (for-sale) table and chatting.
Xander LOVED having everyone over to play.
Hanging out with the ladies, playing crosswords and holding babies.
Lots and lots of visitors.
Two of my handsome men.
Oh goodness...Jonah has gotten SO big and is now in the 90% for weight, Xander was always so small, it's fun having a big boy. And Jonah is SO happy, he is a squealer too.
His big brother's coon-skinned hat.
We did get to spend time at a local hang-out, Solstice, so X could run around and play bean-bag...Even though it was a crazy weekend, at least we had a good time and made room in our little house.

Allergy - noun. al-ler-gy, Informal. a strong dislike or aversion, as toward a person or activity: He has an allergy to hard work.

2010-04-01T12:01:00.000-07:00

We're still enjoying the warmth and color of Spring here in NoDa. There are so many blooming trees it's hard to know where to look. I've also noticed, starting today, that the pollen has dusted the cars and my nasal passages, it's officially allergy season, get the meds out. Misha and I have started our daily walks, it's so nice to get out after a lousy winter, and to get out before Summer gets too hot. These pictures were taken on my phone, so sorry for lack of quality.
White blooms.
Xander loves picking flowers.
Misha grabs a close up picture of the pink blossoms.
One of my favorite pieces of graffiti on the streets of NoDa. You have to look for it otherwise you'd walk right by it.

Express - verb. ex-press, To show, manifest, or reveal: to express one's creativity.

2010-03-27T07:30:00.000-07:00

One of my weekend projects in this last month turned out to be a success. A while back we sold our bar-top table on craigslist because it wasn't as kid-friendly as we would like, we bought a great (and cheap) table from Ikea and used our orange benches as seats, it's perfect for Xander to climb up and down. We were brainstorming about what to do with the top, because it wasn't finished and it stained really easy, and we thought of the best idea...chalkboard paint! I had already painted a couple rectangles on the kitchen walls for notes and calendars, so it seemed fitting to match, and be totally kid friendly. It turned out great. I decided when Caleb was gone on a work trip that I would just get it done and surprise him when he got back. I took a quick shot of the table before X got a hold of it, now I wish I would have done a before picture, oh well.
Xander, breaking in the table.
He likes to practice his letters and his shapes. He's too smart.
He usually asks Mama to draw something, sometimes a ghost, and sometimes letters.
Talking away.
Highly recommend this table idea to anyone with toddlers. What a great way to keep them busy and creative at the same time, especially when you're cooking dinner and he wants to be close.

Spring/Sprang/Sprung - verb. to be released from a constrained position, as by resilient or elastic force or from the action of a spring.

2010-03-14T12:56:00.000-07:00

Beautiful weather. Beautiful babies. Beautiful drinks. Spring makes me happy, don't get me wrong, I love winter, but mostly because I love Christmas, so the longer winter hangs around AFTER Christmas the more unwelcome it is. But now it's spring; trees are budding and flowers (mostly lilies) are starting to bloom and the neighborhood is out in full dog-walking force. We watched X's cousin, Keaton the other morning and went for a nice walk in the wagon, a handy multiple-child tool. We still need to get around to buying our double stroller so I've just been slinging the new baby around, I like that better anyway, keeping him close. Here are a couple pictures of our last week.
Caleb pulling the boys in the wagon; as they get bigger it gets a little harder to pull. We bought the wagon at a garage sale and we asked the woman why she was getting rid of it, since she still had two girls at home, and she said they just got too heavy to pull them in, that didn't make sense to us until both Keaton and Xander were in it.
The classic Keaton glare, just get used to it.
Three babies, all a year apart (Xander 2, Keaton 1 and Jonah 1 month), I'm pretty sure we all have our work cut out for ourselves.
Eating bananas after a bath.
In honor of me being not-pregnant Misha got me some champagne, my favorite, and let me drink out of her pretty glass...even after I accidentally broke a different one.

Animal - adj. an-i-mal, Pertaining to the physical, sensual, or carnal nature of humans, rather than their spiritual or intellectual nature.

2010-03-08T16:29:00.000-08:00

The weather is starting to turn for the better, finally, down here in Charlotte and we couldn't be happier. After what seemed like the longest and coldest winter since leaving Minnesota the sun is awesome to behold! It's recharging us and getting us ready for gardening season, something that I wasn't sure if I'd be in the mood for, since having another nugget around, but now that the sun is shining and it's starting to feel warm again I'm feeling good about another garden. Caleb took X to the park and shot some amazing pictures of him this weekend, I think he really caught the essence that is Xander, all boy and all crazy. Also one picture of me and Jonah from the most recent All Arts Market in NoDa where Caleb had a table, now it's a family thing! Enjoy some pictures of my beautiful family!
All boy!
All the time!
But still beautiful!
Like father like son...they are practically identical.
Sitting on the couch watching some tv...
Me and little Jonah David, poking his head out of his little sling, my favorite thing lately, we never had one with Xander but I highly recommend mothers with tiny ones to get one.

Labor - verb. la-bor, To strive, as toward a goal; work hard (often fol. by for): to labor for peace.

2010-02-24T12:37:00.000-08:00

Well, two weeks ago today (well, at 12:01 am on Wednesday, February 10th, 2010) it finally happened! We gave birth to our second and super perfect and beautiful son, Jonah David Clark, 6 lbs 14 ounces and 19 inches long. Tuesday, the 9th, was a long day, I had contractions all day pretty much, nothing painful, just feeling a little off and pretty tired. I got a bath and spend most of the afternoon/evening timing contractions and durations with my mom and Caleb and big brother Xander. Around 9 pm, just in time for Lost, ha, we decided it was best to head to the hospital, I had tried to eat a banana but it didn't take and I threw up in the sink, I'm sure you're glad I'm sharing. We sent Xander to Auntie Mimi's house and he was such a trooper, we gave him kisses and said goodbye (we hadn't spent a night away from him, ever!). We arrived at the hospital around 9:30 and were sent to triage, a place where they decide if you're really in labor, they made me sit around too long, about 45 minutes, while contractions got stronger, I knew I was in labor and told them if they waited too long I wasn't going to get an epidural, because once I hit a certain point I take off. Around 10:30 they sent us to labor and delivery to get us set up and my saline started, before the epidural. Our friend Kelly stopped by a bit before 11:30 to drop off some flowers and playing cards, in case we got bored. Right after the doctor tried to get an epidural going, and I say tried because by that time I was having contractions 4 and 5 on top of each other and things were moving along. By the time the doctor told me to roll on my back and start pushing the epidural hadn't kicked in, of course, and I was already fully dilated. Pushing was much easier than with Xander so the epidural must have kicked in, thankfully, for the last part. I pushed twice and this little man was out and I was feeling great, ha. It was so nice to have my mom and Caleb with me. Here are a couple pictures of the crazy night.
Waiting in triage, the calm before the storm.
Still waiting...missing Lost...ha.
And there he is...a tiny little nugget.
Stamping his little foot.
A proud Papa all over again.
This little one gave his Mama a hard time coming out, but I guess that's what babies do.
Caleb was my hero all over again when he ran to the hospital cafeteria for a post-labor snack; french fries and Barq's root beer, a couple of my favorite cravings, that cafeteria made the hospital stay for us! There's also a bowl of carrots, ha, they were really good too! I craved a lot and Caleb was always able to deliver.

Stir Crazy - adj. stir-cra-zym Restless or frantic because of confinement, routine, etc.: I was stir-crazy after just two months of keeping house.

2010-01-31T21:47:00.000-08:00

I don't know how we fit everything into our weekends. Usually when I'm compiling pictures for blog posts I'm overwhelmed by the things we do, it's tiring just looking at them. This weekend was actually pretty slow, since Charlotte got hit by a snow/ice storm and most people, including us, we stuck with where we could walk, which really doesn't change our weekend much, since we usually stay around the 'hood anyway. It was nice to get a snowfall this year, I was starting to think we wouldn't get one and I was getting bummed, but here we are, two days later and it's still out there. I'm sure it will be gone in the next couple days but we'll enjoy it while it's here, especially Xander who's a big fan. By the way, I'm still pregnant. Baby has no choice but to come out this week, no matter how hospitable my womb is.

Keaton's first birthday was today, Sunday the 31st, and we celebrated for something close to 9 hours, which was a lot for me and nugget who are now both exhausted and hoping to sleep for a long time. Lots of friends showed up and we had a lot of fun being too loud.

Still having a great time at Dolce Vita's sushi night, Thursday nights, you must come, amazing food and better friends. Xander is always surprising at what he's learning, on his own even, we got our food this week and he said, 'Sushi!', then immediately asked for chop-sticks and sauce.

Here is our weekend-in-review.
Deb and Anna, hanging out at Keaton's birthday.
They totally love each other.
This little stud muffin just keeps getting cuter and cuter. His personality is starting to shine through and he continues to make us laugh and smile.
Not to mention the child is totally beautiful! Can't wait to meet his younger brother...
Lunch at Boudreaux's...
He couldn't spend enough time with the snow, even with frozen little fingers he cried when we had to go in. Luckily we have Auntie Anna who has about as much energy as he does.
Our little winter wonderland.
No more pictures.
Our little cultured man.
Having fun at Keaton's birthday...I just realized I didn't post any pictures of him...We didn't get the camera to the party until later in the evening. Keaton had an amazing time eating his first cake, those pictures must be posted soon.

Heartbroken - adj. heart-bro-ken, Crushed with sorrow or grief.

2010-01-25T11:39:00.000-08:00

Another busy weekend in the Clark household, even with a baby coming, but not busy enough to encourage the little nugget to want to come out, we'll have to keep trying. We went to dinner with a bunch of neighbors at a new place called 'Soul', and man, it was good food. We will definitely go back, but possibly try going during the week, that place is SO busy. Luckily we had a friend get us a table reserved, which they usually don't do, so we didn't have to wait. Otherwise it would have been at least two hours with a group of 11, like us. On Saturday we headed to Dolce Vita, of course, to listen to some karaoke, which was entertaining but we didn't stay long, it started later than we thought and we weren't really into staying out too late. Sunday was a very big day for us and just as big of a disappointment. We were really looking forward to seeing the Vikings head to the Superbowl this year, with no luck, it was such a good game though and the Vikes did do really well, just a tough game all around. And of course I uploaded all the pictures backwards so Sunday first to Friday night...
Hanging out during the game.
Misha and Adam during the football game, and we wondered where Keaton got his scowl...not any longer!
Keaton's famous scowl, he's very good at it.
Nummy, I love this dessert at Dolce. Chocolate and Raspberry, what more do you need?
Yes, I'm almost 10 month pregnant and I'm eating brie, you can't stop me...totally my favorite thing to eat at Dolce Vita, a must have.
He's so lovely!
Anna and her boyfriend Sake.
Misha and Adam at Soul, and that's Anna's 'claw' about to get Adam right in the nose.
Trouble makers.
This was some kind of fantastic. I'm pretty sure there is sushi buried under there.
Meat and cheese plate, isn't it pretty?
This isn't from the weekend but I thought I'd share my lovely.

Pregnant - adj. preg-nant, Teeming or fertile; rich (often fol. by in): a mind pregnant in ideas.

2010-01-21T15:48:00.000-08:00

Here are some of my favorites from this weekends photo shoot. 38 weeks and going strong, and by strong I mean we're ready to have this baby, we're both out of room and he's a little ninja. Laura Pegram (laurapegramphotography.com) did just a fantastic job on my pictures I can hardly express it. There are so many to choose from and I know Caleb will have fun editing them into something fantastic. Xander was a little firecracker so it was tricky to get good pictures out of him but Laura managed it perfectly. I love the pictures in the boys room, it shows the colors and the energy of the room that really should be shared, I just like sitting in the room while Xander plays around. NoDa has a couple great places for photography that I'm sure you'll recognize, we use the brick wall a lot because it's awesome and the broken down green shed is so great for aesthetics. Anyway, here are a bunch of pictures.
It was practically impossible to keep Xander from moving at warp speed, I'm so surprised she actually got a shot of him kissing the belly. He did what he was told and kissed it every time we asked, he just did it so fast we had to ask a bunch of times.
Caleb painted the suitcases on the wall. I had been collecting them and dragging them around the country with us for so long he finally figured out something useful to do with them. That's why were perfect together, I'm a pack-rat and he's a creative genius.
The henna was beautiful, we need to figure out how to make it darker in the future, it's still on my belly and I'm curious to see what it will look like when the little man comes out.
Outside of our lovely home. I realize our Christmas lights are still up, I should of had Caleb take them out on photoshop...or...I could have taken them down weeks ago, computer is just so much easier.
The only way to get him to sit still at this point in the shoot was to let him play cars on Mama's belly. We also had to bribe him with candy, a sucker to be exact, which is something I usually avoid because for being such a simple piece of candy that should be less messy, I mean, hold the stick and suck on the candy, Xander manages to make the biggest, stickiest mess humanly possible.

Overload - verb. o-ver-load, To load to excess; overburden: Don't overload the raft or it will sink.

2010-01-17T17:55:00.000-08:00

What a weekend! Fully loaded and nonstop, and now, Sunday night, we're exhausted and ready for bed before 9. The pictures uploaded in reverse, again, you'd think I would figure it out but I'm too tired to make it right, so we'll just go in reverse as well. I didn't get any pictures of today but the Vikings stomped the Cowboys and we're all feeling pretty good about that, just excited about next weeks game against the Saints and hoping the Vikes show up.

Friday night was a night out for adults. We had a lovely babysitter volunteer to watch Keaton and Xander so we went to dinner and out for drinks afterwards at a local spot. Lots of fun and laughs that ended at our house, way too late, for some henna belly painting. That's right, we know how to party. We didn't finish the henna until around 1:30 am and since you have to let it sit I ended up sleeping belly up on the couch until 6:00 am when I washed it off. It didn't work as well as we like, not so dark, but I think it'll work for pictures.

Saturday morning started out early with a pregnancy photo shoot that I'm pretty excited about, I think it went well and of course you'll see the pictures as soon as I get them. After the photoshoot we headed to Misha and Adam's house for a co-ed baby shower, lots of friends and food and such a great time was had by ALL! Thank you to everyone who made it out. It was a great day and I'll always remember it. We hung out at Misha's playing Wii until around 5:00 pm when we decided it was best for Anna and I to sneak away to get the supplies for Misha's surprise birthday party, Adam threw it together last minute with our help. We also had way too much fun on Saturday night, which is a big reason we're all so tired. Misha was surprised when she and Adam got back from dinner. We played board games and Wii and I watched everyone drink. Caleb and I ended up sneaking out home around 12:30, and thank goodness, I think they all stayed up until around 4:00 am.

Lot's of pictures to enjoy.
A group gathers in the kitchen for Misha's birthday party. Chips and margaritas, that's how Anna and I throw a party.Xander watching his papa's reaction to dying during Mario brothers, our new obsession on Wii. X will sit in Caleb's arms for hours watching him play, which is a miracle.
I'm not sure what we're all laughing at, there were a lot of these moments, playing Catch Phrase.
Opening gifts at the baby shower.
There's me and Kelly at the baby shower.
Keaton is such a little stud-muffin, especially in his rockabilly skull shirt.
A picture of a picture. Laura had her work cut out for her at my photo shoot when trying to get X to move slowly and participate for more than 5 minutes. He's got the attention span of his father.
Late night henna party, not something that happens around here very often...
Misha and I laughing at ourselves during picture time.
You really need to look at this picture to really appreciate it. Check out the top right hand corner of my head, you might notice a familiar face lurking in the back through the window.
This was us working on getting this next picture...although I like that it looks like I'm letting Anna have it and Misha is agreeing with me.It took us way too long to actually get a picture where we weren't laughing at each other. We were really working on Keaton's scowl face, some day I'll have to get a picture of him doing it so you can really understand what it's like to be scowled at by Keas.
Deb and Anna, having drinks.
This is what we're dealing with on a daily basis. Send help.

Nesting, verb. nes-ting, To create and settle into a warm and secure refuge.

2010-01-14T20:03:00.000-08:00

Getting ready for some miniature nugget cuddle time! Not getting ready for labor so much but of course it's always worth it. Lots of talk of early delivery and getting nervous that I don't have things ready but it always works out and it'll all be ok, that's what I tell myself anyway. I picked out a 'going home' outfit and every time I see it hanging in the boys room it makes me smile...you just forget how small they are. Xander is such a big boy and it's surprising and breaking our hearts everyday. He's turned into a 2-year-old and we're all learning about discipline together, which isn't fun but will be worth it. X is already a pro at his big-boy-bed and we're hoping potty training is next, but we're not rushing into it. Ready for a baby-party (we've switched from baby-shower, since it's co-ed and we don't want the boys to be uncomfortable) on Saturday and hopefully some maternity pictures beforehand. Let's just hope we're still pregnant through the weekend, not that I'm planning on popping that early, seriously, I feel overwhelmed with things I'd like to get done pre-baby, not that it's much I just want the house clean!!
I saw this beanie at Target a couple months ago and didn't pick it up and regretted it because I couldn't find it after that. I kept looking at our local Target and just happened to go to the Super Target with my mom the other day and what do you know, they had it, and at 50% off! Yay for cheap finds! I love tiny nuggets in cool clothes.

We'll be keeping you posted on the ticking time bomb.

Risk - noun. Exposure to the chance of injury or loss; a hazard or dangerous chance.

2010-01-11T19:50:00.000-08:00

Just a couple pictures for the beginning of the week. Xander found our old camera and it's so cute looking at the pictures that he manages to take of himself. Most of them are blurry or black but the ones that turn out are adorable.

We had a friends birthday party over the weekend at a local pizza place, I didn't get any good pictures from it, sorry, but I got a couple shots of the little monkey stuffing his face with noodles and parmesan covered tomatoes. Caleb's really in charge of the camera and is much better about getting good shots, I'm sorry I dropped the ball on K2Forma's birthday bash.

We've also gotten really into board games the last couple of weeks and made it our mission today to learn how to play Risk, which was more of a mission than we had planned. That game has a lot of confusing rules, I'm sure we missed over half and confused the rest but it was still an adventure and I still had a good time with it, I'm glad I at least understand what's happening.
He's a boy, through and through, he's never without scrapes or bruises somewhere, usually all over his face and legs, what a little man!
Loving his tomatoes.
Jared and Deb, our first Risk experience.
We definitely didn't finish, it's a really long game, but at least we started!

Friend - noun. A person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard.

2010-01-09T13:17:00.000-08:00

Now that Caleb is back in town with the computer I can get back to blogging. We went to Target and Trader Joe's today and probably spent too much money but how could I help going crazy over the cutest Valentine's Day stuff and all for only $2.50 each. I love the hearts and the red and the adorable owls. Something about those colors is really appealing to me, so I couldn't help but buy each piece they had to offer. My plan is to make heart-shaped brownies and give them out to neighbors and friends. Granted around Valentine's Day this year I will have two children, having just pushed one out, we'll see if the plan actually goes into effect, but I have the best intentions!

Spent last night celebrating a good friends birthday. Yerg's 34th started out at a local restaurant called Crepe Cellar, good food and even better desserts. We, as in my pregnant self and Caleb, ended the evening at Dolce Vita with the crew who ended up heading over to another bar, but you know me, beat by 11:30 and headed home. We're continuously reminding of the wonderful friends and family of which we are surrounded and love spending time with all of them. The holidays are always a reminder of those people in your life. Never take them for granted.
Cookie cutters, measuring cups and spoons, silicon heart-shaped pans and the cutest hand towels. All in the Target 'dollar section', I'm addicted.
Dessert time, everyone grab a spoon and dig in, that's my hand and spoon ready for action on the bottom right of the picture.
Mmmmm, nummy dessert crepe, Grand Marnier and ice cream.
Classic pose, new hair color.
Nod and Elisabeth with C-Dog.

Freeze - verb. To suffer the effects of intense cold; have the sensation of extreme cold.

2010-01-02T19:30:00.000-08:00

I got the best gift ever today. My hubby knows me too well. He found these gems at Ikea while shopping for dressers for our room. Our house is terribly insulated so my feet are usually freezing, even when I wear multiple socks. With these suckers on I don't feel a thing, it's amazing and very comfortable, of course, it's like wearing huge down blankets wrapped around your feet. What more could a woman want?
They are so amazing, they look like cartoon super hero boots.

Turn Over - verb. turn-ove-r, Turn over a new leaf : to make a change for the better especially in one's way of living.

2010-01-01T11:54:00.000-08:00

New Years Eve!!! So, all the pictures uploaded in reverse, so you'll get to enjoy the night from the end to the beginning. Good thing I don't drink, you can't see any sort of deterioration in my behavior, although, take a look at Anna, you might see some slight attitude changes. We started our night at the local wine bar, our favorite spot in the 'hood, Dolce Vita for some sushi, wine and friends. It was a great time laughing and talking and eating. After Dolce we all headed over to meet up with more people at Yerg's house to finish out the end of the year. Again, more laughing and talking and snacking. It's nights like this that make you realize how lucky you are.
Saying goodbye on Yerg's front porch.
New Year's toast! I'm looking forward to having some champagne, something I don't like to turn down...
Rob and Ann hanging on the couch.
Giving Caleb attitude.
Joking around at Dolce. I think here they are listening and laughing at my Anita impersonation.
This is me acting out my Aunt Anita (Anita, we love and miss you so much! We love to tell people how great you are!!). Obviously I have to get very animated.
Anna and Caleb bonding.
Sushi!!
Love of my life.
First picture of the night. And what a fantastic night it was.

Homemaker - noun. home-mak-er, A person who manages the household of his or her own family, esp. as a principal occupation.

2009-12-30T15:04:00.000-08:00

Thanks to extra time and Misha's Christmas present (photo printer, zing!) I finally finished my bedroom project to make it more family oriented and less like a blank slate. We finally painted over the bright orange and white, it gave the room a much warmer feel with our blue and brown but for a long time the walls just sat bare. I got a bunch of Ikea clip frames and the cutest material from there as well and just put some stuff together. Mom and Xander helped me lay the pattern and nail the walls. I just hung the picture frames before I had the rest of the pictures and there it sat for a month or two, but like I said, I finally finished and I'm super happy with the final product.
Xander grabbed his toy hammer to help hang pictures. The next two pictures were taken on my phone, sorry about the quality, or lack thereof.
Once I finished hanging, most of the frames sat empty for too long. I am a procrastinator.
Finished work, sorry for the unmade bed.
A close up of the pictures. I really like all of Ikea's material, it was hard to just pick one, I wish I could sew or make something with their pretty fabric, maybe that's my next thing...I'll figure it out.

Filler - noun. fill-er, A thing or substance used to fill a gap, cavity, or the like.

2009-12-28T11:21:00.000-08:00

A lazy rest of the week after Christmas, nice time with the family and hanging in the 'hood. This is just a short post with a couple pictures to take a couple minutes of your time. Not much to say other than the house should be being cleaned right now and instead I'm posting pictures of my adorable family online. Enjoy.
Xander and Papa's favorite local spot is Tasty-Yo, frozen yogurt with toppings of your choice. Xander HAD to have gummy bears on his so we made up for them with strawberries and kiwi, he liked it all.
He's just so ridiculously cute.
A beautiful shot of me and Anna eating our Christmas dinner...so flattering, especially the hole in my sock.

Yuletide - adj. yule-tide, Of or pertaining to the Christmas season.

2009-12-26T09:08:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!! We had an awesome time at home in Charlotte with our little family and a couple of friends too. I missed the snow and have made the Unbreakable Vow that I will be in Minnesota for Christmas next year, you can hold me to it, or I WILL DIE. It's very serious business. Xander got a lot of presents and all in all December was a very profitable month for him. He's very patient about opening presents and was up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed Christmas morning ready to open them as he was promised. He got a skateboard just like Tony Hawks, he's already bruising himself all over the house. Caleb and I aren't the best at waiting for presents so most of our gifts were already opened before Christmas morning, which is fine with us, we have more fun watching X open his. My belly is getting bigger and we're all getting ready to meet the newest member of our family, only a month to go!!
Riding in the Cabrio, we're starting to look for new cars and are all very exciting to have four doors!
Big belly on Christmas day, still in my pj's and no make-up, so don't look too close.
Already a pro.
Even Flooper got a gift, she's getting better at unwrapping.
Got a 'cycle' to add to his collection.
Hanging out at Dolce for Nod's birthday party...sometimes you just gotta put your feet up...look at that belly.

On the Town - idiom. In quest of entertainment in a city's nightclubs, bars, etc.; out to have a good time.

2009-12-21T07:11:00.000-08:00

Still managing to get out a bit here and there, even if I'm exhausted by 10:30 and I'm ready to go home, at least I saw people and had some conversations over the two-year-old level. Our friend Nod had a CD release party at a local restaurant and Caleb and I ventured into the freezing weather to support him, I even wore one of his NOD Original T-shirts, which barely stretched over the belly. Looking forward to some quiet family Christmas time in the next week, will post some pictures of Xander's awesome newly renovated room and Christmas presents.

Productive - adj. pro-duc-tive, Having the power of producing; generative; creative: a productive effort.

2009-12-18T09:19:00.000-08:00

I had such a good time putting together my display for the NoDa All Arts Market this year. Granted I waited until the total last minute and was already worn out from this pregnancy and having Xander and Caleb to deal with, but I managed to get it all done and leave the market with only one window and a bunch of great stuff. After I set up and hung out at the market selling it wasn't really about the money any more. I felt good actually doing something again, don't tell Caleb but I might make a habit out of it. So here are some pictures of the windows I brought to the show and a couple pictures from the show itself. I also made a couple more contacts for additional windows, which will be helpful since I've practically run out.
There you have it. All Arts Market 2009, keep in touch for more windows!!

Beauty - noun. beau-ty, The quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind.

2009-11-22T08:35:00.000-08:00

I just need everyone to take a moment and see how blessed I am to have the most beautiful little boy. It's so fun to see him growing and learning and see his personality come alive. He's got so much of his father in him, it makes me love him that much more. Here you are, take a minute and bask in the greatness that is Xander.

I just love these two, and soon I'll be lucky enough to have three of them!

Propaganda - noun. prop-a-gan-da, The particular doctrines or principles propagated by an organization or movement.

2009-08-10T09:52:00.000-07:00

Misha and I took a walk around the neighborhood this very hot morning and started to see random 'art' posted around. Some nailed others drilled into light poles. We went on a scavenger hunts of sorts and took pictures of those we found. This is why I love Charlotte and especially NoDa.
Shepard Fairey knock-off.
Whoever did this art is probably really sexy and has a gorgeous wife.
More Shepard stuff.
This is one of my favorite pieces in NoDa. It's on my favorite brick wall that's been painted and re-painted. I hope no one ever covers it up.
I don't know what this means.
I like this one, probably my favorite...unless they're making fun of NoDa, if that's the case I hate them.
I like this too.

Absence - noun. ab-sence, period of being away: failure to attend or appear when expected.

2009-08-08T18:44:00.001-07:00

I still love you. I'm sorry I've ignored you. I believe I'm back. I'll catch you up on my two months of me being AWOL:

-I'm married
-I'm pregnant
-I haven't been alone in my house with my husband since either of those two things happened.

That's about it.

Let's all forget about me ignoring you and never speak of it again.

My garden is being fruitful, no pun intended, it's more like veggieful, since I've got banana peppers coming out of my rear. I took it upon myself to pickle my banana peppers since I've never done it and I'm not going to eat them raw. Caleb did a great job of documenting my progress, and this is how it went.
Choppy chop.
Stuff.
Vinegar and water and salt.
Boil the cans for a while, set them on the cupboard and 'pop' the little lids just seal themselves. I felt a weird sense of accomplishment, in a housewife kind of way. Look how frugal and womanly I am, I canned something. I am planning on pickling a friend's jalapeno's sometime this week.

Bliss - noun. Supreme happiness; utter joy or contentment: wedded bliss.

2009-06-22T20:30:00.000-07:00

Way too much to do to be blogging so I'm just doing a nice short one to get you by. The wedding was a success and a great time was had by all! I loved every second of my wedding WEEK! Thursday party and TBS show and Friday gallery crawl and Saturday wedding, just so much time spent with family and friends I wish we could do it all the time, except I'm so TIRED and the house looks like a tornado went through it. Most everyone leaves tomorrow, which will be sad but refreshing in a the-house-is-actually-quiet-and-empty sort of way. Here are just a couple wedding pictures while you wait for what will probably be the worlds largest post...
This photo was randomly featured on Buzznet: http://www.buzznet.com/featured/?id=54721161, pretty cool...

Family - noun. fam-i-ly, All those persons considered as descendants of a common progenitor.

2009-06-15T07:23:00.000-07:00

Here are a bunch of pictures from the last week. The wedding is getting SO close and people are starting to show up, with Misha being the first. She flew in early Sunday morning, more like late Saturday night and we've been going ever since. Church on Sunday and the usual hot-spot Dolce Vita for wine with friends. X and K are so cute together, X will make such a good brother someday, he's sweet and nice and love to kiss K. Enjoy pictures...
Xander about to have beans and rice at Fat Burrito after I got a much needed haircut.
Xander loves this car/cart at Earth Fare, I love going there and sampling ALL of the soups, yep, I'm that person.
Misha and Xander, about to eat brunch at the Crepe Cellar, our newest addition in the NoDa restaurant scene.
This is a classic. Misha got herself trapped by giving X a taste of ketchup, then all he wanted was more...
Friends meet up at Dolce.
Ashley getting her practice in with baby Kea's.
Crystal (Muffin) joined us for a glass of wine before heading to the airport, duty calls...
Kelly and Misha being cute.
Xander singing 'Itsy Bitsy Spider' for everyone.
X is so sweet to his little cousin, he loves to give kisses and put the baby-paci in K's mouth.
Time to cuddle.
In awe of the little baby.
Kea's enjoys the attention while X watches tv.

Sarcasm - adj. A sharply ironical taunt; sneering or cutting remark: a review full of sarcasms.

2009-06-12T09:22:00.001-07:00

This lady is funny. There's no way around it. Even if you're not pregnant nor ever have been I think it's something that everyone should read, in case you're ever in the position of having a family/long term relationship or really just looking for a funny read. I'll go a couple days, maybe weeks, without reading her and then spend the next couple minutes laughing out loud or grabbing my head in the horror of her reading...she's raw and honest and very dark, and I like it.

Check it out: http://www.dooce.com/node

Wild - adj. Unrestrained, untrammeled, or unbridled: wild enthusiasm.

2009-06-09T07:13:00.000-07:00

What a great day out on the town X-Man and I had with our friend Kelly yesterday. We had planned to hit up the Mint Museum, before we found out it was closed, then we decided to go to Discovery Place (a science museum), when we arrived there we were told it was closed for construction! We were 0-2. Since we were already parked we decided to take a walk around uptown Charlotte and go to Imagine On, a kids library with a ton of things for them to play with and climb on, I'm so glad Kelly told us about it, it will definitely be a place for us to go from now on. Xander had sensory overload and ran from one thing to another. After that we went for a small snack and a drink and watched the trains come and go. On our way to the car we thought X would have fun in a little fountain and he sure did, and got very wet. It was such a nice day, we'll definitely have to bring papa next time.
Building towers for X to tear down.
He's a wild thing.
Mama posing in the picture frame.
Xander's tiny head.
Playing a game with mama, hoping that Kelly notices.
What a little ham.
Don't mess with this face.
Starting to get wet from the fountain.
What a little monster. His shirt is right...'Mr. Mischief'.
I'm in love with that little monkey.
When he would touch the fountain it would run down his arms into his shirt, getting him wet from head to toe.
I had to rein him in a couple times when he ventured too far away from the fountain. He wasn't happy at all to leave but it was getting late and we needed to get some food in that adorable belly. It really was such a great day!

Birth - noun. Any coming into existence; origin; beginning: the birth of Protestantism; the birth of an idea.

2009-06-02T08:59:00.000-07:00

This last Friday was my birthday and I had a great one! I'd say best one yet. We had a busy and exhausting weekend. We didn't even spend our usual Sunday at Dolce Vita because everyone wanted to lay low. I started my Friday going to yoga at the Y and it was smooth sailing from there, Earth Fare with Xander in a little car/cart, dinner with great friends at Cheesecake Factory and some drinks with friends at Dolce. Our Saturday was packed as well with a great trip to the farmer's market and the rest of the day in the sun at Rob and Amanda's cul-de-sac party, lots of friends and tons of food. Sunday, luckily was a slow day, church and walking through a couple of homes in the 'hood that are for sale. What a great birthday weekend!
We grabbed the cart with the little car attached at the store, Xander's first experience and he loved it! Driving like a crazy person, honking his horn and everything, he's so darn cute.
Matt, Kelly and Jake posing for Rob at my birthday dinner, sooooo much food!
Me and Amanda. Amanda gave me that scarf for my birthday and she's holding the coolest card that I got from Kelly.
I love making this little one laugh, it's a pretty easy job though, he's very happy.
Hanging out (and sleeping) at Dolce, it was a long day!
Me and the future hubby.
Caleb and Rob having a good time, watching a girl (who wasn't in her right mind) dancing for the firemen.
Jake being a fool.
Loving my sucker from Caleb's trip to NYC. We're on our way to Rob's party, Matt pulled X's wagon full of Red Bull Cola and NOS.
I like playing cornhole/bean bag. I think Caleb's going to make some for our back yard.
Gathering around the food.
He was so tired but was such a trooper all night. X-Man and I headed home while Caleb, Joey and Matt went to Crepe Cellar. I liked the time alone, I put X to bed and rented a girly movie...a perfect night.

Snuggle - verb. snug-gle, To lie or press closely, as for comfort or from affection; nestle; cuddle.

2009-05-27T19:51:00.000-07:00

Just a couple random cuddle-monkey pictures to share with you. Not too much happening around here, Charlotte is getting warmer but still very rainy. My garden is doing really well because of all the rain and thankfully the mulberry tree was trimmed back so it's getting more sun and less ridiculous berries are rotting on my plants. Wedding plans are coming along, it's going to happen soon and it's crazy. We recently joined the Y, I have yet to go but I will and I'm looking forward to it, I honestly am just so lazy, it will be nice to get moving and have some accountability there, even if it's just guilt over the money we spend going. Anyway, enjoy this beautiful child.
Being sweet to Mama, I'm not sure if this is before bed or after it.
Doing a little dance.
Goodness!
My sweet potato. See that tiny smudge on his cheek? He fell on the coffee table and has a poor little bruise, he's such a boy.

Belly Dance - noun. An Oriental solo dance, performed by a woman with midriff exposed, emphasizing movements of the pelvis and abdominal muscles.

2009-05-25T10:49:00.000-07:00

A neighbor/friend had a block party this weekend to celebrate his 20th anniversary of being an American. He's originally from Lebanon so his party was slightly themed, with awesome ethnic food, a drum circle and even some belly dancers. Xander loved the belly dancing, he was mesmerized. It was a great time and a great way to spend our Sunday night. He lives right around the corner from us so we just walked home, and right on time too because it started to rain pretty hard.
Loves his watermelon, just like Papa.
A small circle in the street, listening to the band that was playing on his patio.
He had never seen anything like this.
She gave him a great show, he couldn't take his eyes off of her.
Me and my booski.

Grow - verb. To increase by natural development, as any living organism or part by assimilation of nutriment; increase in size or substance.

2009-05-18T19:40:00.000-07:00

Yay, the garden update is here! Just for Crystal who specifically asked. I've been randomly taking pictures of the garden as it's been moving along. We start at the beginning and go to today, the last picture I took this afternoon. It's been such a fun experience. I've had gardens in the past, my family had them when I was young and my grandpa and grandma had huge ones when I was really young. This is my first vegetable garden on my own and so far so good.
This is Darrell, the friendly neighborhood tiller. I sent an email out asking if I could borrow one and he offered to do it for me, isn't Charlotte great? I think it is, especially NoDa. I've learned my lesson about choosing my location for gardens though. First off, I forgot that trees grow leaves, so even if my yard is super sunny in the spring doesn't mean it will be that way in the summer. Also, the tree that I've planted my garden near is some sort of berry tree that drops LAYERS of dark berries all over my garden on a daily basis...so, I guess I'll be more detailed next time.
After I treated the soil with some organic material and plant food...a blank slate.
Insert my little transplants. The onions didn't do as well as I liked, only a couple are sprouting little green chives so I'm hoping more will kick in.
Xander is an amazing little helper. He likes to take that little rake and pound it in the ground. I'm glad that he can see them grow. Today we were looking at the 'flower' that was blooming on my squash plant...Yay, things are moving along! Look how small the tomato plants were...where has the time gone?
Things getting bigger and a couple more transplants added to the mix. And some landscaping added in the background.
This was a heart breaker...A nest fell from the tree above the garden. I guess it was too heavy and the bottom just fell right out of it. Unfortunately all the eggs broke in the fall. Just too sad. The good news is my squash it landed in is just fine.
All the rain has really done good things for the plants. See what I mean about the shade from the leaves...Yeah, I should have thought about that. I think for now the plants are getting enough sun, but not as much as they could have if the garden were placed in the center of the yard.
There's a little shining angel in the corner of this picture. He's using a stick to beat one of the squash plants in the corner there. This was my garden as of today, it's moving along so nicely. I love walking out and looking at it. The tomatoes even have some tiny green balls forming, it's so cute. I just think it's amazing that we can just put things in the ground and they grow and turn into things we pay a lot of money for...incredible.

Birthday - noun. birth-day, A day marking or commemorating the origin, founding, or beginning of something.

2009-05-18T19:04:00.000-07:00

I wrote this post backwards, which is kind of different from my usual posts, and by that I mean that the first pictures are from tonight and then the lower pictures are from last weekend, chronologically speaking, backwards...Today is Caleb's birthday!! It was a low key day, I think that's what he wanted. We had a couple friends meet us for dinner at Pho Hoa, one of our favorite places to eat around town, X loves his noodle bowls! Caleb got what he considers one of the best presents ever, a prosthetic leg, complete with a wolf wrap...only Rob would give Caleb that gift and only Caleb would love it. Last weekend we did our usual Sunday which starts at Dolce Vita and ends at Solstice for some bean bag throwing, Xander's favorite patio game. Lots of pictures to see...
Yeah, he's ridiculously cute.
You do what you can to get a laugh...
Caleb's new addition to his office.
Rob gets hold of the camera.
Kelly's hot look and our awesome dinner! Thanks for joining us Rob & Amanda, Crystal (Muffin) and Kelly, a great birthday dinner.
Our newest find! We've been looking for a chest for Xander's toys for a while but nothing we see has been good enough. We happend to be cruisin' the 'hood and saw that someone had set this on the curb, well we couldn't stop ourselves, Caleb cleaned it up and painted a coat of poly on it and it's exactly what we wanted.
Kelly and Sunil entertaining Xander, who's about to lose a flippy-floppy...look at his right foot, the next picture in the sequence shows him running with just one shoe, he could care less when he's playing.
Chris, Sunil and Kelly...yep, Sunil's a nerd - Never Drink and Derive...ha.
This is a very serious conversation...it looks like we're about to fight it out.
Xander, hanging out in the croud...he's such a little socialite. Lately when the school busses drive by our house he waves and yells really loud, 'Bye!'...dang, he's just awesome.

Compete - verb. comp-ete, To strive to outdo another for acknowledgment, a prize, supremacy, profit, etc.; engage in a contest.

2009-05-11T11:39:00.000-07:00

Yay! Super Saturday has come and gone. Our skeeball skeason is over and ended this last Saturday with one final party! Super Saturday is the final four and championship of the teams (we didn't make it past playoffs), the wild card tournament (more on that later), the high roller tournament and the hundo roll. I just managed to wiggle my way into the wild card tourney and got pretty lucky because there were a couple people that didn't show so I got to slide ahead on the brackets. X man had a rough start because he wanted to play with all the big kids, he had a break-down then finally broke-down and fell asleep on Papa. All in all a fantastic way to end the skeason and get us excited for summer play. I grabbed a couple pictures off of Facebook and a couple that Caleb snapped during the day.
Xander pimpin' his new shades, he's just so cool! He's also in need of a nap.
A family shot at Super Saturday.
Little man just couldn't handle the excitement and fell asleep in the middle of it all, poor nugget.
Chatting up with the guys at the end of the Wild Card Tourney...THAT I WON!!!
Rolling steady...I was so nervous, over silly skeeball, it's really too fun.
Mama and nugget hanging out.
Skee Love and Special Sauce, one final team shot before our break. Summer league is random draft teams, so we won't get to play together, which is sad but will be fun to meet new people. No worries, Skee Love will be back for the fall skeason.
YAY!!! There it is...in all it's glory. I got to take it home, but I don't know what to do with it.

Fill - verb. To satisfy fully the hunger of; satiate: The roast beef filled the diners.

2009-05-08T14:12:00.000-07:00

This is X's newest trick in his climbing portfolio. He has been caught being a bridge between the couch and coffee table and climbing up his crib using the sit and spin. He's our little monkey and we love him. I needed to post something and I thought this would be a nice little entry way into your weekend. Hope you have a good one!

Cruise - verb. To travel about without a particular purpose or destination.

2009-05-04T10:10:00.000-07:00

Another good weekend. We woke early on Saturday to stop by a couple local yard sales and little Xander made bank, a new wagon a couple blow up toys and a lot of balls to play with. After that we headed to the antique fair and found a good couple of buys. What great timing we had as well, not 10 minutes after we got home the bottom fell out of the sky and it stormed and rained for about an hour. We stayed in on Saturday night, which is always nice. On Sunday after church we took X-Man and his new ride to our usual Sunday post, Dolce Vita, and met up with a couple friends. All in all another fantastic weekend in Charlotte! Cleaned the balls the laziest way we could...the washing machine. Xander just watched them spinning around, yelling, 'Balls! Balls!'
Caleb's antique show find.
So cute together!
Xander's new kickin' ride.
Hanging with friends at Dolce Vita.
Sunday conversation.
Xander's bad tattoo, don't mess with him.
On our way home, tired!!!

Capture - verb. cap-ture, To take by force or stratagem; take prisoner; seize.

2009-04-29T09:48:00.000-07:00

I can barely remember the time before camera phones...how boring. What would we do if we couldn't capture every moment as it happens? I guess you could say the same thing about cell phones in general. So, I use my camera phone a lot, to capture X being adorable (there are a lot of him because he's always adorable) and to capture moments I want to share with someone, and since I can email pictures to any one at any time, I can. I've uploaded a couple of my favorite from the last couple months, as you can imagine I have hundreds more but these are just a few.
On one of our daily walks I captured this azalea bush, quite possibly the biggest one I've ever seen...I think they need to take control of it, although when it's blooming it's so pretty.
My phone, really I am, too slow to catch X man going down slides...especially when he goes head first, he started that on his own, I don't know how/why, I've always set him on the slide sitting up.
This was at a local deli, The Common Market, it was too incredible to not photograph.
Tree hugger. We found a little park to wait for Caleb while he was at the dentist. Xander's first experience climbing trees, he didn't want to get down.
Xander waits with Mama, listening to music. Dolce Vita, the local wine bar, is a great neighborhood hang out, and a very easy 3 block walk.
X-man being cool in Mama's glasses, you can see my reflection in the glasses.
This sign at a close Chinese restaurant cracks me up...They write with Asian accents...'We Open Sunday'.
We invested in some foam letters for little man's bath time, he loves it, I've taken to spelling the word, b-a-t-h, instead of saying it because he gets really excited if he hears the word. It gets tricky leaving notes for each other in the shower because you're only given one of each letter and the numbers 1-9, so, we're creative in our letter usage.
X stays busy drawing while I work in the garden.
Waiting for Caleb in the car, you know I'm bored when I start taking pictures of myself.
This should be a Mac advertisement.
I think this was Valentine's Day, after our date and after we changed, I realized we didn't get a picture together.
Cutie.
This sweater vest is too cute.

Social - adj. so-cial, Seeking or enjoying the companionship of others; friendly; sociable; gregarious.

2009-04-27T08:54:00.000-07:00

We've been busy, between our social schedule and Caleb having oral surgery to our daily walks in the incredible Charlotte weather, it's hard to keep the days straight. We've also been super busy planning a wedding, yep, finally, right? I have to say though, these North Carolina allergies have hit me harder than any state I've lived in before, even Georgia...maybe it's just because of the time we spend outdoors compared to the past. Who knows and regardless, it's pretty miserable and poor little X has a runny nose too. Like I mentioned, it's becoming summer here and we love it, the garden is growing, landscaping is happening and things are coming together in life...a good time all around. Enjoy some pictures from our last week.
This NoDa baby, hanging on Davidson in front of Solstice, out for a Saturday walk with Mama and Papa, looking for an ATM for some cash, we went yard-sale shopping.
That's me...all the way across the street.
Rollin' with the top down.
Little X man loves Jacob (jacobchills.com), we haven't seen him in what seems like forever, at least a month, and Xander ran to him with arms up.
Goodness. He's so cute. A giggly little munchkin.
A shot of the family, hanging with Rob and Amanda at their church cook-out.
Xander looks like he needs a nap, and Caleb looks like he's on drugs...because he does and because he is.

Picture - noun. pic-ture, A visual representation of a person, object, or scene, as a painting, drawing, photograph, etc.

2009-04-22T09:57:00.000-07:00

Getting behind the camera more these days and I'm starting to feel it again. I wonder if it was just the winter hibernation that kept me away from it for a couple months. I'm also back into Photoshop, playing around and learning all I can from Caleb, he's a wealth of knowledge, I can't imagine how much there is to learn there. I had a small shoot last weekend and had fun with this little baby, they are so freaking cute, babies...

Beauty - noun. beaut-y, the quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind.

2009-04-21T13:40:00.000-07:00

This little man is my favorite subject in front of a camera. Probably because he's too beautiful.

Growth - noun. The act or process, or a manner of growing; development; gradual increase.

2009-04-21T07:05:00.000-07:00

You don't notice time go by with your child until you see old pictures. You see him every day and you notice his hair has gotten longer but you don't remember what it looked like when it was short. You notice his clothes are smaller and you get out the bigger sizes but he still looks like your baby...then you see an old picture. Your baby is now a toddler, and it's heartbreaking, he might as well come home with a girlfriend or a new job. Time goes by too fast. You push him to roll over then to crawl then to walk and after he does it all you wonder why you wanted it so bad...
Taken in August of '08.
Taken in April of '09.

Creative - adj. cre-a-tive, Resulting from originality of thought, expression, etc.; imaginative: creative writing.

2009-04-16T11:24:00.000-07:00

I've really been busy these last couple days, I can't remember the last time I had something to do after every thing I just finish. Thursday and today were blurs, I feel like tomorrow might be the same, the morning will be anyway. I've been getting in the mood for photography again, which is always nice, and sometimes profitable, which can be even better. Our local farmer's market has opened back up and we couldn't be more excited. We love fruits and veggies in this house (Caleb and X take care of the fruits, I love the vegetables). I think we'll take many, many trips there over the summer, that is until MY garden starts to bring us fruit. Below are some random pictures from the house and from my latest photo shoot. Enjoy.
Here's our healthy boy. I'm trying-trying-trying to raise him with a good pallet. I don't want him to crave bad food like his mom so I hope giving him fresh foods when he's little will give him the taste for it. Let's hope. Here's the little ones' lunch; apples, cherry tomatoes, blackberries, cheese and edimame (soy beans).
Carlee and Xander having milk-time together.
Oh my gosh, I don't want to brag, but my pizzas are the best. Asian veggie pizza, margarita pizza, grilled veggies pizza and by far the best; caramelized onions/grilled apples and goat cheese pizza.
This is the beginning of something beautiful...I'll post the final product sometime soon, or you'll get it in the mail, if you're lucky!
I'm glad he didn't move too fast for the camera, it's hard to get him to stand still these days.
One of our neighborhood friends.
My favorite shot from my mini-photo shoot...I love shooting kids, candids are always the way to go.

Easter - noun. eas-ter, An annual Christian festival in commemoration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

2009-04-13T06:41:00.000-07:00

What a fantastic Easter we had this year; great service, wonderful friends and we couldn't have asked for better weather. It's raining now, on Easter Monday, but Saturday and Sunday were perfect. We had a fantastic weekend, on Friday we had family time, on Saturday we joined our church for an Easter egg hunt and a cook-out, our friend's Rob and Amanda joined us for that and also hosted a 'Mimosa Sunday' after church on Sunday. Our church service was a special event for us because we joined Easter Sunday with our sister-church Greater Christian Fellowship, it was a full house! It was a learning lesson for us as well, GCF is a primarily African-American church, it was such a good time, you could tell everyone was enjoying it, smiles all over. Afterward we headed to Rob and Amanda's for an amazing brunch and mimosas, eventually we migrated to our Sunday hot-spot, Solstice, for dinner and The Masters. All in all another great weekend for our records, we love Charlotte! Now my sister and mom just need to move here!
Xander's new favorite spot to watch tv.
Not the best picture but Caleb bought me this shirt for our Easter egg hunt, I love it!
Caleb and Rob being Caleb and Rob.
Our Easter Sunday outfits, I should have gotten a full shot...
Our packed-full church, we had to sit in the balcony there were so many people.
Having some fried zucchini, mom needs to change HER eating habits so X doesn't eat all fried foods like her.
Friends gather to listen to Matt tell stories.
Rob is our resident babysitter when we go out, it's always a nice break.

Satisfied - verb. sat-is-fied, To fulfill the desires, expectations, needs, or demands of (a person, the mind, etc.); give full contentment to.

2009-04-07T07:13:00.000-07:00

I love busy weekends, and this last one certainly was busy. Caleb took Friday off which meant we got a three-day weekend and we took full advantage of it. Friday we went to Ikea and Home Depot, I finished off my garden (only to find out tonight will be 33 degrees, dang!). It was a gallery crawl night here in NoDa, so while our chicken roasted in the oven we took a really quick walk up the strip. On Saturday we went antiquing at the Metrolina, one of our favorite things to do when it's in town, usually once a month. We got home and cleaned and had some chicken and wild rice soup, nummy! Sunday was busy as usual, we had church and then a picnic and church softball, it was our service team Sunday so we were in our red shirts. After church we headed over to Dolce Vita, our new Sunday tradition with friends, the local wine bar. Friends and neighbors joined us into the early evening, then we migrated over to Solstice for dinner. All around a great weekend, here are all the pictures...
Me and X at the antique show, he's finishing off his snack.
He couldn't handle all the stuff and crashed, which was nice, he needs his naps.
Me and Caleb, I'm showing off my drink...it was actually hot, which was so nice. I noticed the next day that I actually got a little red in the shoulders...Ahhhh, sunburn, gotta love it!
My boys.
Having lunch outdoors, what a great weekend for our church picnic and softball game.
X loves playing, he chased around that bright yellow ball most of the day.
We arrived at Dolce Vita and Amanda's chair broke right under her, it was pretty funny.
Rob, Xander's entertainer, showed X around the bike, he loved it.
The wheels of a bug.
So cute in his little fedora.
It looks like a good story that I'm telling...
The end of the night, time to go home and go to sleep...we were all pretty worn out!

Puppy Love - noun. Pu-ppy Love, Adolescent love or infatuation, especially one that is not expected to last.

2009-04-03T06:41:00.000-07:00

Yay for long weekends!!! Caleb took the day off today and is currently sleeping in late, he deserves it. We have a busy couple days planned and I'm sure I'll post pictures from it. We want to hit up Ikea for a toy chest, Home Depot for the rest of my garden plants and we discussed seeing 'Aliens and Monsters' with Xander, this weekend is also chock full of antique shows, so...very busy and fun! I'm currently watching Xander pull his papa's backpack all over the room and watching our neighbor's landscaper blow all her leaves onto our yard, how is that fair? Anyway, have a couple pictures from the last couple weeks; me and X hanging out, Xander and his play friends (he even stole a couple kisses! Definitely his father's child) and Xander making an Easter card. Enjoy!
Hanging out and drinking milk before bedtime.
Xander and his play-friends, Xander is facing Carlee and this is right before...
He went in for a kiss!!! He did it a couple times and she even kissed back the first two or so times, that's why I managed to get a semi-shot.
X at a friends house playing with baby-toys.
Being a big boy, making an Easter card.
I can't lie, I did most of the work while he ate...hopefully not forever.

Cool - noun. Characterized by great facility; highly skilled or clever: cool maneuvers on the parallel bars.

2009-03-31T07:01:00.001-07:00

Eric Bana is hot.

Official Love The Beast Trailer | LOVE THE BEAST | Eric Bana, Jay Leno & Dr. Phil, Jeremy Clarkson | IN CINEMAS MARCH 12

Awe - noun. An overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, fear, etc., produced by that which is grand, sublime, extremely powerful, or the like.

2009-03-28T07:43:00.000-07:00

Oh.My.God.

Overload - verb. o-ver-load, To load to excess; overburden: Don't overload the raft or it will sink.

2009-03-25T07:38:00.000-07:00

Goodness. I haven't posted a picture post in a long time! We've been dealing with colds and Caleb going to LA on business and staying busy despite all of it. Xander's poor nose has been running and we've both been coughing for a couple days, really looking forward to hot summer days to clear our colds out! It's starting to warm up which has been really nice for my garden, I'm very excited about it. I had a neighbor come and till up a patch of ground and I've got all the seeds ready to go...and then it starts to rain! Dang. I'll just have to get them in the ground on the next sunny day, I'll be sure to post pictures and keep you updated on that. So, here are a couple weeks worth of pictures in one post, lots to see. A trip to Ikea, some time spent with friends and let's not forget St. Patrick's Day!!! Enjoy.
Xander loves the little crawl-through at Ikea, the entrance to the kids stuff.
A lot of good ideas for decorating a kids room, I think this is one of our favorites. I call it the Blue's Clues room.
Inside a little igloo tent.
We went to a party hosted by 'Ink Floyd' a local print shop/indoor skate park. Xander couldn't be torn away from the skaters, he clapped and pointed and even danced to the music. All around a good time, mostly watching him enjoy himself. I'm sure Papa won't waste time getting X his own skateboard.
A family shot, X is busy watching skaters.
We still love our trips to Target!
Getting buckled into our little car. The nice weather lets us put the top down and actually enjoy it for a bit.
Because of our colds I've been stocking my body with vitamin C, mostly disolved in hot water which helps my throat and cough...
A group of guys for Adam's going away party.
For your information; this is what we look like at 4:45 am when we have to get Caleb to the airport...not a pretty sight. Xander stayed asleep while we dressed him for the cool weather, he's a good trooper though, never cries when we wake him early and always falls right asleep when we get back home.
His shirt said I had to kiss him, I did my best all day.
My first try at corned beef and veggies, mmmm, so good! That was our first St. Patrick's Day meal at home. Last year this time we were in Atlanta celebrating The Worlds Smallest St. Patrick's Day Parade...haha, oh Conyers.

Bored - noun. bore-d, o weary by dullness, tedious repetition, unwelcome attentions, etc.: The long speech bored me.

2009-03-22T09:57:00.000-07:00

I found this here. It was fun to look at and made me giggle inside, so I thought I'd share it with you...

Patience - noun. pa-tience, an ability or willingness to suppress restlessness or annoyance when confronted with delay.

2009-03-21T11:18:00.001-07:00

So...Caleb took the laptop with the St. Patty's Day pictures on it, which I was going to post...SOOOOO Sorry for the delay in posting, I'll post when he comes home! Wait for it...

Drama - noun. dra-ma, any situation or series of events having vivid, emotional, conflicting, or striking interest or results.

2009-03-16T13:56:00.000-07:00

Heist - verb. To take unlawfully, esp. in a robbery or holdup; steal: to heist a million dollars' worth of jewels.

2009-03-13T09:45:00.000-07:00

I came across this video footage from CNN.com of an accidental capture of a jewelry heist done in London in the middle of the day! A reporter was doing her story of a book at a book store just a couple shops down from a jewelry store, she was in the middle of reporting when two sport bikes began revving their engines. It was discovered later the engines were to mask the sound of a sledgehammer breaking the shops windows. The cameras kept rolling and captured the, anti-climactic (if you ask me), get-away. But, get-away they did because last I heard police are still searching for the jewel thieves. Amazing.

Comedy - noun. com-e-dy, A dramatic work that is light and often humorous or satirical in tone and that usually contains a happy resolution.

2009-03-12T14:24:00.000-07:00

Vanity Fair did a line of photo spoofs on past and famous pictures using 'Comedy's New Legends'. You can find all the photos HERE on the Vanity Fair site. I always like Vanity's pictures and even more so when they use some of my favorite actors. These pictures do not disappoint, I actually had to check out some of the captions to make sure I knew who it was, ie. Seth Rogan does Frida or Rudd in Frankenstein. Seriously funny guys in seriously funny pictures...seriously.