The Days We Just Walk.

So lately I've had this urging desire to get out and walk. Not for the physical health benefits but the mental. Ed and I have been having a very challenging time at home with TJ and it has taken a toll on both of us. I find myself  frustrated and feeling like I can't escape the walls of my own house. It's so small that there is really no where to go. Being a step parent is so hard.

So I walk, sometimes for several hours. I like to take Deuce to Country Park. Before I came back to work I would take him here several days out of the week in an attempt to burn the post baby blubber. Now that I have Thursdays and Fridays off, I can get back to my 1 mile loop at the park. We talk to the waterfowl and we quack at them because you know, they are all "ducks" to a baby.

Country Park leads right in to the cemetery where my grandparents are buried. So we go visit them. Deuce takes good naps on these long walks. But he won't nap unless he's tounching me in some way. And I have quiet time to myself to think. To think about where I am in my life. To think about all of the wonderful blessings I have been given. To think about all of the changes that need to be made. To think about all of the things that I still need to get done. To plan for the future. To reflect on the past.

And just to talk to my grandparents. My grandparents that I never really got to know. My grandparents that would be {are} so proud of me. My grandparents that meant so much to so many people. Read more about them HERE and HERE.

The cemetery can be so daunting but for me it's so peaceful. Instead of dwelling on the fact that my grandmother and grandaddy were gone before I finished 2nd grade, I like to focus on the fact that I can go talk with them whenever I want. Their grave is not across the country, only a few miles down the road. And while I know that there spirits were never in those graves, it's a resting place for their bodies and for my mind. I understand that others may feel differently.

 But for now, it's my quiet place.

And it's the place I can take Deuce to tell him all about his great grandparents.

My Little Tiger.

Halloween 2011 came and went like the blink of an eye. I didn't think that we would be trick-or-treating on Monday because it was pouring down rain when I left work at 4:30pm and it was still pouring down when I picked Deuce up in Chapel Hill. I thought that maybe we would just dress him up and let him hand out candy but then that would mean I would have to stop and buy some candy. I wasn't prepared for that since we were supposed to be going out. As I started the drive home, the sky cleared up and when I got to Greensboro it looked like it hadn't rained at all. So we ran in the house to get dressed. This was what I got...

Really??? I wasn't surprised though. He hates anything touching his oh-so-precious hair. He doesn't like hats. He doesn't want anyone to brush his hair, unless it's him, he doesn't like his head rubbed {unless he's on the verge of sleep}, etc. So I kept trying to put the headpiece on and he kept taking it off. I was actually more worried about him being cold but we went on outside anyway. As soon as we opened the door there were some kids in our cul-de-sac. It was like once he saw them in their costumes he LOVED his, complete with a "roar" and everything! He took off down the cul-de-sac.

We walked through our neighborhood and he did really well. After the first few houses he became more confident and started walking up on his own. He wouldn't speak though. He wanted me to pick him up after about 45 minutes so I obliged.

After about 45 minutes in our neighborhood we loaded up in the car and drove to the neighboring neighborhood where TJ goes to school. We go over there every year. Most of his classmates live in the neighborhood so TJ usually meets up with alot of his friends. Deuce found TJ's "girlfriend" Quiarah {in the pinstripes - she loves Deuce and is so good with him.} She hangs out with Deuce at every one of TJ's football practices, playing with him and carrying him around. She's my future babysitter, I'm sure.

The little girl on the right, Katrina, is in TJ's class this year also. I had never met her before but she walked up to me and asked if I was TJ's stepmom. When I told her that yes, I was, she proceeded to thank me multiple times for making the Halloween bark that I sent to his class that day. She told me she loved it. And that, my friends, is why I stayed up until midnight making those things. So Halloween was a success and I'm looking forward to the holidays in November and December.

Oh Yeah, That Haircut.

It was time again for the dreaded haircut. The 2nd one to be exact. The first one went well but was long and tiring. We were scheduled to have family photos taken over the weekend so the hair had to go before then. On the suggestion of my friend Carrie, I decided to try out peek-a-do salon over at Southpoint. It's a children's salon and there is everything under the sun in there to distract the kids from the fact that they are getting their hair chopped off. I wish there was one in Greensboro.

At this point he's all "I don't know where we are but this place is awesome!" We were simply waiting our turn. Little did he know... When it was our turn he immediately clammed up and wouldn't let me put him down. They have 3 infant chairs for them to sit in: a car, a boat or a plane. I was sure he would sit in one and love the steering wheel. He loves the big Jimmy Johnson race cars at Lowe's and the grocery store. But I was totally wrong. He was clinging to me for dear life and the waterfall had already started. So we decided we would try sitting him in my lap like last time. Camille was the stylist and she was wonderful. As soon as she got near his head, his bottom lip poked out and he just started crying. He wouldn't even let her put a cute mini cape on him. So he had to suffer with hair all over him!

Camille took her time and we distracted him with everything we could. She turned Dora on the DVD player at her station and that worked temporarily. Thank goodness for my dear friend Patrice, who danced, and played with every toy the store owned trying to turn his head this way and that way. She was a lifesaver.

This was the one and only lick of the lollipop that he took. Then he just held onto it like it was money.

"Here, you wanna squirt yourself in the face with this water? Whatever works?" Can you tell I was sweating?

This was where he started to get sleepy. My plan was to give him a nap while we were at Patrice's so he would be in a good mood when it was time to get the cut. But of course he fell asleep right before we got to Patrice's and I was able to transfer him all the way in the house. But as soon as his head hit the couch, BOOM, he was wide awake and ready to play. So I thought the hair cut was just going to be a downright disaster. And it was for a little while. Then he got tired and just sat in my lap half asleep. I had told Camille that Ed wanted him to have an edge up if possible and she said she thought she could do it since he was so tired. And she was right. She got out the clippers and edged his entire head up. And when she went across the front, he just closed his eyes and let her finish. It turned out to not be so bad after all.

And then when we were done, he was ready to play! Like it was as though he really wasn't tired or something. The salon has those reflective windows that you can see out of but can't see in. When we got outside, Deuce could not stop staring at himself in the windows. He was giggling and laughing. It was hilarious. Then he started his football plays and all was well with the world. So we took Patrice to Sweet Frog's for yogurt as a thank you for her hard work. I think Ed was a little sad that he missed the first edge up. That's so important to the daddy's. Or at least this daddy. The one who's a perfectionist over the quarter-inch length hair that he has...

Just thought I would share a secret with you....

Lifestyle Crafts has a giveaway going on right now!

The giveaway is a Canon 60D DSLR camera and a Jo Totes camera bag. Sweet.

I'm entering as many times as I can.
Head on over to enter!

Road Trip to Death Valley!

A couple of Saturday's ago Ed & I left NC. On our own. Well we were with Daniel & Rebecca - but I mean on our own as in no kids. It was awesome. Even if it was only a day trip. We decided to head down to Clemson, SC to the Carolina game. None of us had ever been to a game down there & we had heard a lot of great things about watching a game in Death Valley. We were not disappointed. Well, I take that back. We were very disappointed in the showing and effort that our team gave as they were pretty much run into the ground but we enjoyed the beautiful scenery and the fans surrounding us. Clemson was 6-0 at that point afterall.

Our seats were way up high {like high as in Daniel is super scared of heights} but we didn't care. We were out of town and on our own. We laughed the entire way down to Clemson telling jokes, talking about the kids and other nonsense. We were amazed at the fan support {especially from the students} for a 12 o'clock game. It was rowdy in there! We literally saw people climbing the fence to get into the stadium. I can only imagine what it must be like during a prime time, nationally televised game against a big rival. WOW! That stadium definitely deserved it's name Death Valley.

And let me tell you, those people know how to tailgate!  I thought NC State had a great tailgating atmosphere with their stadium being at the NC Fairgrounds, but Clemson is beautiful and the stadium is on campus and those people tailgate to the extreme. They even have tents with professionally made signs and banners welcoming you to the "_______ Family Tailgate!" It was unreal! It is definitely up there with my aunt & uncle's tailgates at UT. And what better place to tailgate and watch a game than a stadium that sits on a lake? Sorta like one of my favorite things about Knoxville...

We left the game disappointed that we had lost but we thoroughly enjoyed our day on the Clemson campus. We even stopped and ate an adults only dinner at Outback in Spartanburg. It was so nice to not have to ask for a high chair and the most secluded area of the restaurant for once. And I was excited to stop in Spartanburg because it always makes me think of watching the movie Shag 10 billion times when I was growing up.  Anybody else with me on that??

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone!

We'll see if we make it out for Trick or Treating tonight. We may hit up a few houses and then ride the stroller the rest of the way while TJ finishes up.

We'll see if we even make it in the costume. We tried it on and some tears were shed. Sigh.

This was all I got. Without the headpiece.

Hoping for at least one good picture tonight.

I stayed up late last night making candy for TJ's class.

Why? I have no clue.

I used a silicone ice cube tray in the shape of skulls and cross bones to make orange and white candies and then I made some Halloween bark using chocolate chips, oreos, plain m&m's and candy corn. I adapted it from THIS recipe. It was yummy. And only took a few minutes. Will be making again.

For like every holiday.

Or maybe even not holidays, just for the heck of it.

It's that good.

Then I wrapped it all up, tied them off and added some toppers.

Hopefully the kids liked them - no peanuts involved!

And yes, I know that the grout in between the tiles on our table need to be cleaned {so glad you noticed} but did you know that graphite & crayon and pen come off of tile so easily? Me either, until I discovered my child's drawings on the table the other day. Not one to criticize learning, I told him good job and then gave him a piece of paper.

good parenting move? or maybe bad? hmm...

Hope everyone enjoys the night and eats lots of candy. Thank goodness our family pictures were yesterday and not after today...

Pumpkin Patch.

I think that my love for each season has evolved over time. I love winter time because I love the holidays. I love getting together with my family. I love having time off from work. I love the smell of cinnamon. I love a good fire. I love curling up to watch Christmas movies. I love celebrating my honey's birthday the day after mine. But right after New Year's, I begin to despise the winter. I hate leaving work when it's already dark. I hate the bitter cold weather. I begin to count down the days until spring. I love the summer because I love heading to the beach. I love the sunshine and not having to wear 50 layers of clothes. But this year, I was really, really, super excited for fall.

{obviously before the hair cut}

Fall always means football season but it also means the beautiful changing of the leaves in NC. And this year I made sure to take Deuce to his first pumpkin patch. We just went to a small church set up not far from Ed's work and it was a great spot. I let Deuce pick out his own 3 mini pumpkins and he even tried to pick up the biggest pumpkin in the whole patch.

He picked out several pumpkins that he wanted to take home but I was mean and only let him get the baby ones. We had already bought big pumpkins when we made our whirlwind trip to Lowe's a few weeks back.

The people that were working were so nice and even gave Deuce his own sticker that said "Pumpkin Patch Visitor." And sure enough, we weren't able to leave the pumpkin patch without a knock-down drag-out tantrum. Sigh.