Reunion and R & R

Hello Blogosphere!  I've been missing you! 

I've been around the world in 8 days!  Let me catch you up...Last Friday I went to Fayetteville for my Sorority Reunion at the University of Arkansas!  My travelling companions were John Stephen and Sydney.  I dropped them off in Bentonville with Don and Paxton for the State Championship Baseball Tournament.  Don was totally pumped about having all three kids in a hotel room and at the ballfield for the big tournamet by himself!  Ha!  It went ok- I did spend the day on Saturday with John Stephen at the hotel to give Don a break. 

My  Kappa Sisters were just as Fabulous as ever, and we had a blast!  We spent the weekend in the sorority house and pretty much pretended we were young again!  On Sunday morning my real sister, Stephanie (who is also my Kappa sister) and I packed up early and got John Stephen from the hotel.  We then headed to LR to pick up my neice and nephew, Wilson and Liza.  Then, we rolled out to the beach to meet my mother (aka Nana).  Let's do bullets from here:

* Drove Steph's SUV with a "turtle" strapped to the top.  Kids were wedged in anywhere they would fit around the luggage.  We only made it about 10 minutes out of town before a "good ole boy" flagged us down on the interstate to tell us that our "turtle" was blowing off of the top of our car!!  Luckily, good ole boy had a tupperware container full of bungee cords and donated a few to our cause! 
*The kids took a little while to get settled in to travel mode- we stopped 3 times in the first 2 hours of the trip, and Steph and I thought we were NEVER going to make it to Florida!
*I learned that DVD players are a blessing and a curse.  My job was to keep everyone happy in their movie lineup (not very easy), and Steph drove.  Of course, noone would wear their headphones.  So we ended up listening to the movies the WHOLE WAY!
*Google maps sent us on a different route through Mobile than we have ever taken.  It took us through the older part of town, and through a sketchy neighboorhood.  It was so late at night and we had to slow down because of the speed bumps and street gangs that were in the middle of the road.  We knew with our turtle and loaded down car we must have looked like sitting ducks!  Hysterical laughing ensued!
*The route through Mobile ended up in a lovely old neighborhood with live oaks arching over fabulous homes- it ended up being my favorite part of the drive!
*Once the kids were asleep we decided to press on rather than unload everybody to spend the night on the way.  At Midnight we rolled in to Seagrove Beach!

*We ate at our condo most meals, but we did venture to Seaside for dinner one night.  We went to Great Southern, and sat on the patio.  I had Shrimp and Grits a Ya Ya.  Fun time!

*Do yourself a favor and google "Beach Shrimp" from Southern Living.  We made it- it was easy, and DELISH!! 

*John Stephen loved the beach.  I loved the time with my family!  We were all just full of love! 

*Came back from the Beach and headed straight to the Lake to meet Don and the big kids!  We had a fun night and headed back to our house and a LIFETIME of Dirty Laundry!  Glad to be home!  Happy Independence Day! 

I Ain't Gonna Lie...

Well, I ain't gonna lie, this baseball season has been pretty.rough.on.us! 

I want to write about it because it has been such a part of our lives this year, and there is a happy ending to the story- this blog is where I record "our stuff"- so here goes.   Last year, Pax was on a local city league baseball team.  He was the starting pitcher, and played every inning- either as pitcher or first base or third base.  A couple of times a week we went down to the local ballpark and watched the game.  These were mostly on weeknights, and it was a fun outing for the family.  I also loved the fact that I didn't have to cook supper on game nights!  Fast forward to this year.  Our team had disbanded, and we were anxious to find a team for our little star!  Don made a few calls and found a team in our new town that is a traveling team.  Now, I was pretty worried about the whole "traveling team" thing.  I had heard that those teams spent every weekend at motels away from home, and that the baseball team became your social life, etc...But, Don told me that our team never went far enough that we would need to spend the night, and there were lots of reasons why we thought that this team would be right for Pax!  We still feel like this team is right for Pax, but LORD HAVE MERCY, we have had Blood, Sweat, and Tears to get to where we are today!

We began the season with the harsh realization that our boy was not going to get to play as much as we were used to.  Don was totally prepared for this, but I can't say that I was.  The truth was that he was going to have to EARN his spot on the field.  We were in "a different league" now, and if Pax was going to succeed he would have to WORK HARD!  So, off to practice he went.  Once a week he had practice for a few hours on Tuesday night. Then on Wednesday night he would have private hitting lessons.  Followed by private pitching lessons on Thursday nights.  Don, being supportive, went to EVERY practice and lesson.  I have to say that I was not supportive of his being supportive!  After staying home with a toddler all day, I usually watched the clock until Don got home from work.  It was so deflating to see him walk back out on the way to practice! 

So, I became increasingly cranky.  The game schedule was usually a Friday night game at 7:30 or 8:30 and two daytime games on Saturday, and then one or two games on Sunday.  Not exactly a schedule that works for John Stephen in his stroller.  I usually made it to one game in a tournament weekend. I had hoped that when we were playing in Memphis (most of the tournaments) that I could take John Stephen, and that we could run around at Target and the Mall when he got tired of the ballpark.  That just wasn't realistic, and Sydney didn't want to be stuck at the ballpark every weekend either! And, many weekends were bitterly cold and wet!  So then, I was stuck at home with John Stephen and Sydney ALL DAMN WEEKEND, EVERY DAMN WEEKEND! Mama wasn't happy!  And, the rest of the family wasn't happy either.  Despite all of the hard work, Pax was still sitting on the bench.

Paxton was so strong, but it was breaking our hearts to see how hard he was trying, and not getting to play very much. He was very upset that he wasn't seeing results!  Don's mood was directly related to how well the game went.  There were some depressing weekends.  This was not the lifestyle I wanted for our family!   But, a couple of weeks ago, our team had run out of pitchers in the championship game of a tournament.  They really didn't have much choice but to let Pax pitch.  This is where his talent and interest is, so it was a BIG deal for him!  Of course, we were soooo nervous as he stepped up on the mound.  Anyway, he was INCREDIBLE!  Striking people out left and right!  The coaches were surprised, I think, to see how well he could throw!  We all felt that this was the breakthrough we had been waiting for! 

And, we were right, he pitched all of the innings he is allowed to pitch last weekend, and did great- AGAIN! Looks like we will wrap up the last two tournaments of the season getting to pitch!  It was such a victory for Pax to see the fruits of his labors, finally!  Of course, this has been a wonderful lesson for Pax (and me) about persistence and hard work.  And, despite my bad attitude, no one has been prouder than me to see him finally make it!  I'll be honest and tell you that I am still not sure if the "traveling team" lifestyle is for me.  I want to go to the lake for the weekend, have friends over to cook out, plant a garden, and spend time with my husband on the weekends!  I didn't grow up in a sporty family, so this is totally foreign to me!  And, I just don't have the slightest idea what to wear to the ballfield when it is 100 degrees outside!  But, this is a small town in the south, and most teenage boys play sports constantly.  It is a wholesome family entertainment that keeps them occupied and out of trouble.  And, Paxton is a pretty good pitcher- I hate to think that we would limit his progress by making him play on a less competitive team.  So, I guess I am trying to find a way to be excited about travelling baseball.  It looks like this is what we will do until Pax can play on the high school team.  And, now that we have had the "breakthrough moment", I am optimistic that Don will not have to attend every practice and in the future.  And, maybe we can miss a tournament here and there.  I know Pax is greatful for all that Don has done for him this season.  He has dedicated every moment of free time to helping Pax get better, and he has sat in the rain, wind, and scorching heat for every. single. game. By the end of the season the team will have played about 60 games! I know he takes partial ownership of Paxton's accomplishments this season. And he should!  We all do, in fact!  You could say we have all taken one for the team!

So, I am glad to put this little chapter behind us, and move on to the next one...Football practice started today:)!  The good news...Field down the street from my house, games on Tuesday nights, Don can't go to every practice unless he wants to quit his job!  Toodle loo!  If you are still reading, you are a loyal friend!!

Sorry I've been gone so long!  May is so busy and hectic!  I have 3 million things that I still haven't accomplished, and DON'T GET ME STARTED ON BASEBALL!  I'll have to devote a whole post to our sport of the moment soon, but let's just say it has taken over around here! 

John Stephen had his last day of Mother's Day Out, I wanted to cry more than the first day I dropped him off!  The big question is, What are we going to do all summer?  Not that one day a week from 9-2 was that life changing, but it was one day a week that he was occupied.  I am thinking the swimming pool will be a good place for our summer entertainment! 

And, Does anybody know a night nurse for toddlers?  I'm ready to hire one!  I haven't had a full night's sleep since Maui!  This morning he was up at 4 and ready to rumble!  I tried to get him back to sleep, but at 5:30 I finally gave in!  For some 5:30 is no big deal- For ME- it's MAJOR!  Sorry to whine, but I need to record this for future guilt trips I am planning on putting on this little goose!  We had a busy Memorial Day weekend with 5 baseball games and a really fun cookout.  Now we are back in the saddle, and the upside to getting up at 5:30 is that I have already done 2 loads of laundry and watered the yard!  Have a good one!!

Show and Tell

Hello Blog Readers! 

It has been a while!  I have to say we have been fighting the crud around here- John Stephen had it and then I got it.  And we all know mamas can't get sick!  SO, I have just tried to avoid thinking about how bad I felt- the Scarlett Approach!  Here is a random post about random stuff that I thought was blog worthy...

First, My niece Liza turned 3!!  She had a Fairy Princess Party, and my sister made the most adorable cake!  Isn't this PRESH?

The little "fairy cottage" on the left is made from Pepperidge Farm Pirouettes, and she used ice cream cones for the castle turrets!  I love that my sister usually makes her kids birthday cakes!  I am not a great baker, but I aspire to bake a cake for John Stephen's birthday this year!  Also, note the herringbone tile pattern on her backsplash- I encouraged her to do that and it turned out great!!  Here is the Birthday Girl!  How cute is she?

Liza's shoes lit up!  Oh, she is super girly, and I am so glad- we are going to have fun through the years!!

Next, here are pics of some cookies I made for Easter.  I stole this idea from an entertaining blog- wish I could remember where to give credit where credit is due!  But, aren't they fun?  I do not think that they tasted very good, but they were fun to look at!  White chocolate mixed with chow mein noodles and corn flakes made the nests.  Then you add the egg shaped candy while it is still gooey.  I wondered if they could be made like rice crispy treats with marshmallows- What do you think?

OK, Aren't these cups hilarious?  My mom had these at her house, and I thought they were cute for this time of year when everyone is breaking out the white linen and the silver for Easter! 

And, If you haven't been watching the news lately you might have missed the fact that the DELTA is FLOODING!!  The Mighty Mississippi has risen to levels that rival the GREAT FLOOD OF 1937! 

This is the approach to the "Old Bridge" to Memphis!  There is normally farmland where you see the water!  I40 has been shut down at one point in Arkansas because of the flooding.  The detour is adding several hours to the trip between Memphis and Little Rock. 

Yep, halfway up those poles!  And, Can you see the almost covered street sign?   We took these pics today on our way to Memphis.  We couldn't miss seeing this with our own eyes!  SO, we are praying for our state and all of those affected by this flooding.  Our farmers are desperate for some dry weather, and my Dad's real estate business has had countless problems with storm damage and flooding!   I think my brother is working into the night to get some cotton in the ground!  Good thing tractors have headlights!! 

Well, I had to throw in one pic of JSM!  We have been driving the Cozy Coup up and down the drive way any chance we get!  He is loving the outdoors right now!!  And I am LOVING him not messing up my house!  So, we might just set up camp outside for the rest of the summer!  Ha!  Just bring your lawn chair and cooler over!  You are all invited! 

A Tale of Two Dresses

Hello Friends!  Let me start by saying that my last post was written in a hurry, and it may have sounded like Don and I spent our ENTIRE vacation lounging by the pool, and were then TOO EXHAUSTED to go on any excursions or even eat dinner!  Just to clarify...We did spend a lot of time by the pool, but we also toodled around the island quite a bit!  And, because of the 5 hour time difference, we would be up at 4 AM most days!  So, there was one busy day when we just ordered room service for dinner because we couldn't go on any further!!  Ha!  I just had to let y'all know that we are not TOTAL slackers!!  We squeezed every once of fun we could into our vacay...

So, back to the issue at hand, A Tale of Two Dresses...

I typically do not buy Sydney many clothes.  Maybe I'm weird, but I just feel like certain areas are not "my turf" as a stepmother.  It is kind of like if your Mother-in-Law kept bringing bags of clothes to your house for your kids.  If you like her taste, you are thrilled.  If you do not like her taste, you would really rather she didn't.  So, I pick up things a few times a year for Christmas, birthdays, and special occasions.  So far, I think Syd has liked most of my selections.  Shew!  Talk about pressure!  Recently though, I was faced with a challenge.  Don offered to buy a dress for Syd to wear in a local talent show that she was participating in.  That means I got to pick it out!!  Now, a normal person would have driven to the mall, gone inside and bought the cutest dress in her size.  Then they would have gone home and moved on to another issue.  But, I am an obsessive, over-achieving, people pleaser.  So I took Sydney on a scouting trip to the mall, spent a week perusing the Internet, and then thought of different "looks" to go with possible song choices.  Then I spent an entire day shopping and ended up with two dresses. 

In my fantasy world, Syd would have sung a Disney song like "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes"  or a classic like "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and she would have worn a big, pouffy, princess dress with a little sparkle on it.  But, she sang "Blessed Assurance"  which is a lovely song- just not very princessy.  So, with that in mind I set out to find a perfect dress for the Talent Show and Easter Sunday.  More bang for the buck.  Here is what I came home with...

It is darling, no?  Pink seersucker with a bubble skirt!  A big sash!  LOVE IT!  And it is the kind of dress that she will love to see in pictures when she is grown up.  A sweet, innocent spring dress!  Excuse the pollen covered porch!  I need to hose it down!  OK, so after I picked this dress out, I felt a little guilty.  It is a darling dress, but, I knew Syd wasn't going to flip out over it.  She has a little more spunk than this dress. And, I have to say when you are on stage you need some sparkles.  So, dress number two...

Much better for performing!  Right?  I laid both choices on her bed and when she came home from school she ran back and immediately told me that she liked the PURPLE ONE!!  I knew it!  So, we decided that she could keep both dresses, and that the pink dress could be a good summer church dress. I love the purple dress too, but it is not easy to find cute dresses for 9 year olds- everything is either too grown up, or too casual, or too pageanty! 

She looked adorable, and she sang so well!  And, what a wonderful song choice for the beginning of the Easter Season!  "Blessed Assurance, Jesus is Mine!  Oh what a foretaste of glory divine! Heir of Salvation, Purchase of God, Born of His Spirit, Washed in His Blood!"  Happy Easter!! 

MAUI Wowee!

Well, I decided to spare the blog readers of  a million pictures of me and Don in front of the tropical sunset. This post is just going to be the basics about what we did and what we ate and what we would recommend to our friends. 

1. Our Hotel- Hyatt Regency.  Loved it, but it is a BIG resort.  Fabulous gardens with pink flamingos, penguins, parrots, and swans.  Fabulous art, views, concierge was great.  The location seemed to be perfect.  We could walk along the ocean front path that goes in front of all of the big resorts in that area.  The shopping, dining and water sports area was a short stroll away.  The restaurants and bar offer as much ambiance as I had dreamed of, and they have servers who take orders at the pool.  The food by the pool was spectacular!  I was impressed.  The downsides are few, but if I had to say a few...Very crowded pool, hard to find a chair by the pool (but we always got one), not a ton of umbrellas around pool, not exactly a "nap by the pool" atmosphere.  I had a hard time reading my book and napping because it was so lively.  But, I did have friends with me each day, so maybe I wasn't in the mode to nap.  The hotel served Pepsi products- bummer for a Diet Coke addict.  And finally, there are definite Asian themes in the decor of the hotel, and in keeping with that, the beds are extremely low.  They are almost like cots on the floor- no box springs, just mattresses on these cool Asian bed frames.  It was very comfortable, but we both found ourselves commenting on these "damn low beds"!  We had drinks at the Swan Court restaurant in the hotel.  It is touted as the most romantic location in Maui.  There is a lagoon like area with swans swimming around and the ocean beyond that.  It was romantic, but I liked the outdoor bar better.  And a few people ate there and said it was disappointing.  We never ate at the sushi restaurant in the hotel- Japengo, but the views alone would have made it enjoyable for me!!  I realized that I am at least 50% in for the atmosphere.  I mean, it is the tropics, let's have some palm trees and sunsets!!  One last note on the hotel, we had a partial view of the ocean, and it was fine.  We spent very little time in our room, and unless you are springing for the Presidential suite, I'd save that money to spend on something else!

2.  Places we ate-  Farm Bureau had meals for us on three nights, so we didn't have a lot of time to try the local cuisine.  But, two out of three of our choices will be with me forever!!  The least favorite- Sansei sushi.  Great reviews and food, but no view.  We tried some adventurous things, and I thought the food was GREAT.  I just want a view.
-Everyone wonders if Mama's Fish House is worth it.  And I can wholeheartedly say YES!  It was one of my favorite experiences on Maui.  The drive there was fun- sugar cane fields, cute villages, surfers etc...And Mama's was FAB!  The food was excellent.  This is their famous dessert The Black Pearl!

It was great!  But the atmosphere was what I loved.  The most picturesque beach front location with open air seating and Hawaiian decor.  The service is excellent, and it is just hard to believe that there is really a place that beautiful in the world!!  But, beware, it is very expensive.  Too expensive to even justify, but I considered it  like admission to the most beautiful spot in Hawaii!  You gotta go!!  Critics say it is too touristy, but I am sensitive to that, and I didn't think so. 

-OK, I know you want to know where this is!  Merriman's!  AHHHHH, Merriman's!  This was our favorite!!  Arrive before sunset and enjoy wine from the wine bar while watching the sunset!  This place is at Kapalua where there is some famous PGA Golf Tournament, and I wouldn't have been shocked if Tiger Woods had walked in- it is the kind of place where you EXPECT to see famous people!! The food was incredible.  We dined on the lanai, and it was just Magical!!  Expensive, too, but not quite as bad as Mama's!

This is the front of the restaurant!  Nice!!  Also, loved the Hula Grill. It was just down from our hotel.  Great food and views- less expensive, more casual...
The rest of our meals were either Farm Bureau events or room service- we did that once when we were too tired to go out!
3.Activities-  We didn't do many!  Some people had stuff planned all day, every day, but we did a lot of poolside relaxing!  But we did go Whale Watching!!

I even bought the hat to prove I did it!  I got a little woosy and decided that it wasn't very fun for me, but everyone else seemed to enjoy!  Don LOVED it!! 
We did see some whales- incredible!!  Other things people in our group did...
-zip lining- if you are the kind of person who likes that kind of thing then you will love it.  Some people went because they felt like they should, and they didn't enjoy it.
- the road to Hana.  We were on the fence on this.  It is a guidebook must see, but it takes a whole day to do it right.  And most people in our group seemed to think that they were disappointed that they had spent a whole day in the car.  It is a treacherous drive with lots of twists and turns. 
-Surf lessons, the girls who did this loved it, but they are very sporty.
- GOLF- everyone liked the golf and the views.  One of our friends played several courses, and his favorite was Kapalua.  Who knows if I spelled that right! 

OK, so I might add more later, but I have to go take Sydney to her Talent Show Rehearsal!!  Aloha!

Aloha!

Aloha!  We are jet lagged and delirious from sleep deprivation, but I had to post a few pics from our trip to Hawaii! I am sure that I will have to do another post as I go through the 560 jillion shots from our vacation!
As I write this post, at 12:45 AM, I am waiting for Don to return from a late night ballgame in Memphis.  Paxton's game started at 9:45 tonight!  So, we hope Don will arrive safely home by 1:30 in the morning!!  He is a devoted father and fan! 

There is a five hour time difference between Arkansas and Hawaii.  And honestly, I never really adjusted.  The reentry wouldn't have been so hard except that we were up for 24 hours straight on our trip home!  If you are planning a trip to Hawaii, I suggest giving yourself a few days to recover when you get home!  And, I would consider staying a night or two in San Francisco or LA to break up the trip.  For us, the second leg of the journey was really tough- we were on a full flight, and there never seemed to be enough air conditioning or leg room!  I did manage to get us Exit Row seats on the way home, which made a HUGE difference!! 

Here is a pic of Don at he Luau!  We arrived at bedtime on our first day, spent the second day by the pool, and went to the Welcome Luau on our second night!  It set the tone for fun and was a beautiful ocean front setting!  The palm trees were uplit with bright colored lights and the flowers were incredible!

These little cuties were there to greet us at the party!

And the entertainment was a very fun Hula and Fire Eater routine!  There was also Hawain music! 

This is blurry, but I loved the palms lit in different colors!!  It is a BEAUTIFUL place!  And we had the best time!  I will be back with more as soon as I can sort through the camera!  Don just walked in- Home at 1:15! He is operating on fumes!!  Aloha!!