Wow! I didn't realize it's been a couple of weeks since I've written. I guess we've just been that busy. When I realized I hadn't written in so long I started to think about the next topic...should I write about going to see Christy Rost in a cooking demonstration, planting flowers with my two kiddos, the Jimmy Buffett concert, or the quick day trip to the beach....well, let's cover them all, why not?

For my birthday present, my neighbor and good friend, Colleen, took me to The Southern Season in Chapel Hill to a cooking demonstration put on by Christy Rost. Who? Exactly, the same thing I said. Well, she is a chef who has a show on PBS around Thanksgiving....a wonderful woman and chef so I found out. We walked into The Southern Season, and I had no idea what I was entering. It's this huge kitchen and gadget store that has everything. I was in heaven. We walked around a little while and then it was time to go watch the show.

As Christy cooked, we got to taste wonderful wine and of course the delicious dishes; on the menu, minature onion souffles (to die for), sweet and savory roasted spring vegetables, boneless leg of lamb roast with southern herb stuffing and mint au jus, and dessert - Easter bunny cakes with seven-minute frosting and meringue ears and cottontails. Is your mouth watering yet???? Mine is and I got to eat it all. Everything was so good. I wish I had enough room to type all the recipes, but maybe some will make it to my recipe section.

The day was wonderful. I got to spend some time with my good friend sans kids and we got to catch up, watch a great cooking demonstration, drink some wine, and eat delicious food - could the day get any better?

Colleen, Christy Rost, and Me

 I guess the next thing on the list was planting flowers with my kids. I've been itching to do some gardening but the weather and our schedule have been a little crazy. After church last week we went to Lowe's and stocked up on some flowers for window boxes for our deck, some flowers for pots, and a couple of the little veggie and herb kid gardens. The kids loved helping. The got their spray bottles and loved wetting the soil. Hunter loved playing in the dirt, but I guess that's a typical boy thing to do. I really enjoyed spending some fun time outside on the beautiful Palm Sunday planting some flowers with my kiddos.

Before church on Palm Sunday

 

Say cheese

Taking a break for a qucik gogurt

And what a fun week we've had this week. The kids have been on spring break. I'm not really sure why they call it a "break" because there was not breaking in our house...we have been non-stop, but then again that's normal around here.

On Tuesday, Eric and I got a sitter and went to the Jimmy Buffett concert with some great friends. We have been to lots of shows in the 10 years we've been together, but I must say, this year we did it right...thanks to our friend, Jaleh. She organized us all to come to her house for pre-party with drinks and food, and then she arranged a party van to come pick us up, take us to the show, and return us home. What a fabulous idea, and what a fabulous time we had! We ate some really yummy snacks including Texas Stack, veggies, mini chicken tacos, a bbq chicken pizza, and I made mini cheese "turkey" burgers (in paradise of course). I was in such a hurry I didn't take any pictures of the burgers but they were pretty simple and really yummy. (I'll post the recpie on the recipe section.)

 

The night was awesome, and the concert as usual was fantastic. We LOVE Jimmy and love every chance we get to see him. He played some great songs, and ended with "Last Man Standing" - one of our favorites.

On Wednesday, as I was feeling a tad bit groggy (to say the least) I packed the kids and I up for a quick beach trip. My good friend, Olga, asked if I wanted to take the kids to the beach with her and her girls...yes, please. This is one reason why I love NC, the beach is only 2 1/2 hours away. We left around noon with  4 very excited children and drove to Topsail Island, NC. It's such a great little beach town. We stayed in a condo. The weather was supposed to be beautiful. When we got there, the temperature was kind of warm but the wind was blowing so hard we were freezing. Do you think the kids cared??? Nope, they wanted to go to the pool and the beach. So, we went. The water was so cold and the kids were shivering and turing a light shade of purple, but they did not want to get out.

Dallas and her bff Natalia

Thursday was a bit better. The wind died down and the temps started to rise. The water was still cold but a bit more bareable. We played at the pool, kiddie pool, and hot "pool" (as the kids called the hot tub). Then we went to the beach...and we thought the pool was cold. Yikes, the ocean felt like frozen water coming up around your ankles. It was freezing, but the kids loved jumping the waves, so jumping the waves is what we did.


Ms. Olga braving the frigid waters of the Atlantic.

Hunter running from the cold water.

Looks like the wave won.

Then, out of no where, a big black cloud came and didn't leave. It started to rain and never stopped, so we packed the car and headed home.

Are you tired yet??? Well I am. What fun week we've had, but I'm pretty pooped and tomorrow will start Easter festivities including the arrival of my parents. So, until next time, Y'all take care!



A perfect Baptism for a perfect little man

You know how sometimes words come so easy, and then there are times they just don't flow? Well, that's happening to me on this topic. I've been trying to write this entry for a few weeks now, and I can't seem to get it right. I've tried writing it as a story, but I'm not happy with it. It's not that it's a bad story, it's actually a very touching story to me, and I want to make it perfect..so we'll give it another 'good ole' college try'. I hope it works...

I have two nephews. The are both so precious and I love them with all my heart. Becoming a mother has filled every dream I ever imagined (although my mama seemed to hide all the gorey details...haha), and I will admit becoming an aunt has been just as special to me. My nephews are so wonderful and I love seeing and spending time with them. It breaks my heart that we don't live closer so we could see them more, but that's how life goes.

My oldest nephew is seven weeks younger than my son and I love that they are so close in age; it will make a bond between them that cannot be broken.



Mikey and Hunter now.

 

Mikey and Hunter when they were babies




  I have a "new" nephew too. Well, I guess being 8 months old, he's not technically new, so I guess we'll say he's my baby nephew - and he will always be that to me. Noah Eric was born on August 3, 2010. I love his name, and it fits him perfectly. 'Eric' is after my husband and he is so proud and honored that his brother and our sister-in-law chose that name.

Noah and daddy Mke when he was born.



Dallas and Noah now

Noah is the sweetest little man. He is always smiling and loves attention. He is such a joy to be around.
Recently we made a trip up to Delaware for a very special weekend. Noah was being baptized. There is something very special about a baby being baptized. It's the time when the parents make the decision to bless their child and recognize him or her as a child of God. We had the blessing of being there to witness this joyous and holy occassion, and what could make it better? Eric and I were asked to be Noah's Godparents. Could there be a better compliment given? Of course, I immediately said "yes", but the more I thought about it, I thought, am I worthy of such an honor? Can I live up to this? Well, I'm not sure, but I can promise you one thing, I will do my best to not only be the BEST (and only) aunt Noah will have, but I will do everything in my power to live up to being a great Godmother. I hope and pray that I do not let him or his parents, who have entrusted me with this title, down.

 

One special little boy



Proud Daddy and Mama



The proud Godparents

So, the weekend was a very short (not even 36 hours) but it was very special to Eric and me. We are now not only an aunt and uncle, but we are also Godparents....how special. The kids played so well together (as usual) and we (the ladies) made the food for the luncheon that would follow the church service. I was asked to make buttercream frosting for the cupcakes. Good thing I don't have carpel tunnel, because frosting 60 cupcakes was not an easy task. But they were for my little man, and I would have frosted 100 for him.

Anyone for a cupcake?

Noah was just precious on Sunday in his baptism outfit. As I watched the Holy water being sprinkled on his head and his parents give the vow to raise him as a child of God, I couldn't help but be filled with pride and joy that I not only get to be this precious little man's aunt, but I am also his Godmother.





A Homecomin' (and a little Bar-B-Que)

If you've ever moved away from the town you grew up in, you might understand this next entry because honestly there's nothing like going "home".

What is home you ask? Home...to some it might mean the actual house structure in which one lives, and that is true, but the meaning of home is different for everyone. Dictionary.reference.com defines home in many ways but the definition that stands out to me is: "the place or region where something is native or most common".

This past weekend I had the opportunity to go "home". Eric was traveling (boo), and Thomaston (my home town) was putting on their annual BBQ Festival - Smoke on the Water. We haven't been in a few years, so I decided to take the kids down and enjoy a nice weekend.



It's all about the bar-be-que

The 8 hour trip in the car was well worth it when we topped the hill coming out of The Rock, GA and headed towards Thomaston. It was Thursday afternoon and I could already start to feel the excitment boil inside me as we got closer. We drove down the country roads, onto Highway 19, and finally the trek was over; we were on top of Sunset Hill on R Street...we were "home". Now, this home is not just the house in which my parents live, it is the street I'm referring to. I grew up on R street and always love coming back to it; it's just your typical, quaint mill village. R street is always beautiful with the tree lined streets, but I must say that Spring has to be the prettiest. The dogwoods were in full bloom and they were everywhere. I guess I realized this weekend why dogwoods are my favorite tree...the delicate white flowers that adorn the branches were open like arms ready to embrace me and welcome me home. 
The kids were so excited and I was too. Not only were we going to get to spend time with my parents, aka Mama Suzy and Papa G, but we were also going to get to see and spend some time with my 'big' brother and his wife.
Of course our first meal in town was at La Fiesta...can you get any better? It's the hometown Mexican place, and it's my absolute favorite. It's nothing special, but always tastes sooo good and I can't go home without going there...at least once.
Friday, was a peaceful day. I decided to go for a run, and what a great run it was. As I was running and listening to my music I started wondering why the run felt so good. I felt like Forest Gump...I just kept running. Then I realized...I was "home". All the trees especially the dogwoods were in full bloom and lined those Mill Village streets as if they were the crowd cheering me on...so I kept on and on.
Later in the afternoon it was time to go to the festival; it why we came to town, afterall :o). Garrett (my brother), his wife, Cassie, along with a high school friend, Travis make up the band Soul Kitchen out of Savannah, GA. Every year they open Smoke on the Water, and this year would be no different - except for the fact we were there. The kids were just overjoyed to go see their Uncle Garrett and Aunt Cassie sing on the "big stage". The performance was awesome and as usual they surprised me with how great they are (I definitely did not get the musical gene in the family).




Arriving at the festival



Garrett on the right, Cassie center, & Travis on the left

My big brother doing his thing...



Kids dancing with Aunt Cassie







Enjoying mouthwatering bbq



















I just love this picture!



 













Saturday was a crazy fun-filled day. We woke up bright and early to go to the first annual "Hog Jog". Mama took the kids along with BB on the fun run - or 1 mile. I cheered them on and then they rooted for me as I ran the 5K. I didn't win, but I did make my best personal time of 28:25...yes I'm bragging a little here.



The kids and me before my race

BB, Mama Suzy, and kids before the race

This is me finishing the race...best personal time ever.

The kids taking a ride with BB pulling during the race.

After showering and cleaning up, we headed back to the festival. We spent all day out there. We listened to some great music, the kids played in all the bounce houses and inflatable slides, got their faces painted, and of course we ate lots and lots of bbq. It was the best in the southeast. The best part for me though was just catching up with old and dear friends. When I say "old" I don't mean in age, I mean friends I haven't seen in quite some time - even years. It was so good to see everyone and catch up.

 



Hunter showing off his face painting.

 As I drove home (back to Raleigh) on Sunday the kids and I were talking about our favorite parts of the weekend. My son chimed in and said it was the race because he liked being pulled in the wagon (typical boy). My sweet daughter sat up straight in her booster seat and said "Mommy, my favorite part was seeing Uncle Garrett and Aunt Cassie sing to me on the big stage". What a sweet girl. She knows how to warm my heart...and I know that will just melt my brother's heart.

As for me, the whole weekend was wonderful. The kids slept well and didn't whine, so that makes for a fantastic weekend. The car rides seemed quick, I ran a good race, and got to spend time with my family. But I must say my favorite part of the weekend was just being "home".

 

Everyone loves an Italian Icee.



Thanks to Darcey Fuller and Mama  for all the wonderful pictures from Smoke on the Water.