Hanging on by a thread

[Can you believe this is my 15 month old nephew Bennie holding on to that rim all by himself?]

I apologize for my disappearance this week. Life has been hectic as I try to dig myself out of a major laundry deficit. And by major I mean, a few weeks ago I didn't do laundry for...a few weeks. And I'm just now catching up. Truth be told, the most time consuming part is all the whining and moaning that is required before actually doing any laundry. What can I say? Life is hard.

I am in need of a major vacation, which is convenient since we are going on one next week! Our first vacation since Mary Bullock! We could not be more excited. It's supposed to rain at least part of the week, and I don't even care as long as we are not here. I've got books that need reading, naps that need taking, bubbas that need snuzzling, and chairs that need rocking.

Don't call me*. Don't write. Don't check the blog. Go about your merry ways and wish me rest and renewal. After all, there will be another ten loads of laundry to tackle when I get back, and perhaps then I can tackle it with a smile.



*Unless you are Jen or Rachel. And ok you can email me. But don't expect a snappy response. Unless it's an emergency. In which case, you** should probably call someone else. 

**Unless you are Jen, since apparently I'm the only emergency number on her contacts list.

Have a great weekend/week/next weekend!

You're Going to be Jealous

I don't know how to tell you all this without making you hate me, so I'm just going to throw it out there.

I live across the street from The Pioneer Woman.

Ok, not really Ree Drummond. Her name is Ashley. BUT--she made PW's cinnamon toast this weekend and guess who she shared it with? Moi.

So yeah, go ahead and be jealous. This is the best cinnamon toast on the planet, I assure you. I ate it for dessert last night and breakfast this morning, and I'm having a serious chat with myself about whether to eat it for lunch also or save some for Lee.

Major internal conflict.



[Ahem. If any of you are inspired to attempt this recipe, I hope you know where I live.]

Business in the front

Party in the back!

The baby mullet is in full effect, y'all. It makes me want to just kiss her sweet cheeks, because bless her heart, you know?

In other news, see her boo boo? I know, you might have to squint. She fell down in the driveway last weekend and smacked her head pretty hard. But the knee has turned out to need the most care. This is how it goes:
MB wakes up from her nap.
Me: HI, BUBBA!! Did you have a good nap?
MB: Knee! Kneeeeeeeee!
Me: Huh? [I'm slow--even though this has been going on for days]
MB: Kneeeeeee! Kneeeeeeeeeee-uh!
Me: Does your knee need a kiss?
MB: Yeah!
Me: Ok [kiss!]. Does that feel better?
MB: Yeah.

But apparently not for long, because that knee needs lots of kisses. At dinner the knee needed a kiss, but I couldn't really get a good look under the high chair and kissed the wrong knee.
Me: Does that feel better?
MB: Yeah.

Can't she just stay little?

For the MB stalkers

You know who you are.

Let's see. What have we been up to lately?

Hanging out on the couch in our pjs.

Snacking.

Trying out pigtails.

 

Play dates. 

You know, the usual.

I hope you get to hang out with a snack on your couch in your pjs with your hair in pigtails someday soon, too. We highly recommend.

The Cat's Out of the Bag

I've always known that I married an amazing man, but I try not to talk about it a lot. I figure: why brag?

But then the Jacksonville Business Journal had to go and name Lee one of Jacksonville's most influential 40 under 40, and now the secret's out.

So now you know, if you weren't already suspicious: my husband is awesome. I'm so proud of him! Kind of makes all the cancelled vacations worth it. We can always take our honeymoon on our 10th anniversary, right?

I love you, sweetH. 

Do you know Sugarboo?

No no no, not this Sugarboo...

This Sugarboo:

I saw this last piece in a back issue of Southern Living that was about to hit the recycle bin a few weeks ago and decided that it shall be mine.


[Dear Lee, I will expect to receive this on or about May 9th. K?Thx.Love.]

Whip It Good

Laura, you would be so proud: I whipped my own cream yesterday. In fact, I was pretty proud of myself, so if you're underwhelmed, that's ok.

[This isn't mine--I forgot to take a picture. But I swear it looked like this. Maybe not quite as prettily styled.]

Lee and I were in the grocery store getting supplies for dessert on Sunday, and one of the items we needed was Cool Whip. Simple enough. Except that Lee has been reading The Omnivore's Dilemma

and couldn't help pointing out that Cool Whip is basically chemically contrived. It contains no milk or cream at all, and water is its most natural ingredient. Ick.

So, the only thing left to do was put on my big girl britches and whip some freaking cream, you know? On the upside, I got a nice arm workout with that whisk.

Just don't make me look at the ingredients in my Jalepeno chips. For the love of God. Don't make me do it.