The blog is Breathing

Obviously,

the blog tends to get the air knocked out of it from time to time and I apologize for that.

It's time to take some deep blog breaths and get this sucker revised!

My disclaimer is as follows:

I do put wife and motherhood duties first.

However, I do try to capture tidbits of those special moments here so that I can share with you!

Today I'm not feeling it the whole... I'm going to take sweet pictures of my home and family and post them for the world to see. I am going to skip the babies first Christmas and keep that private. We are taking a journey today. Even though I love the snowy cold weather my mind tends to escape every once in a while to all the T.H.O.U.S.A.N.D.S! of places I'd rather be.

I can think of such better places to be than sitting here;

at my boring little desk.

in my boring little office.

in boring little Winston.

Can't you?

Let's take a fun little photo tour of April's mind, these photos bring back some of the fondest memories I can recall in recent years and I want to share today. Now, remind you, these are as random as the thoughts in my head so good luck wondering what's going on in there!

So...Happy Thursday & thanks for visiting! Go ahead...take a little trip in your own mind!!!

I'd rather be...

Walking in the fields off HWY 89, exploring the old barn!

Rocking on the front porch of Shattley Springs with these two, telling big tales!

Standing in the center of Boulders resort taking in this Arizona sunset.

Standing in his arms so deeply in love, when forever was just a twinkle in our eye!

On the lonely beaches of Cozumel, just after we said "I DO"!!

Or meeting up with my Old Friend Don Julio in the Mayan Riviera

Or here....making our own attempt at a beer commercials at Coconuts!

The salt air, the sand at my feet, the smell of M's fish tacos, the beautiful blue water, the Mariachi band playing, tasting that ice cold beer....THE LIFE!

What about here, or here exploring old forts on the beach of the Dominican Republic with my hubby.

Here, in Emerald Isle with my Mama!

Even here, drugged and tired...as my first love shows me my the first glance of my new love. I'd so much rather be here with these two.

Or here with these two....

No matter where you are now...

I hope there are places in your mind where everything is perfect!

My Little Snow Angel

Baby H got to see, play, taste and feel his first snow this past Saturday.

He hasn't felt very well so we were outside only a few minutes but he loved it and so did I.

Nothing can get me into the Christmas spirit like fresh fallen snow as we "deck the halls"!

Merry Christmas to you as you Deck the Halls in your little cottage!!!

Southern Girls....Random Post

I thought I might need to get away from the baby talk for a minute

... so...
you get pure randomness today!

I wanna talk about women. Southern women. Carolina Girls to be exact.

I take a lot of pride in being from the south believe it or not. I have been all over the world and I'm pretty sure people think I'm stupid. I talk slow. And that's OK. I like it that way.

I like knowing that I can tell you the ingredients for the gooey middle of pecan pie off the top of my head and that I chuckle when someone asks how to make chicken stew or sausage gravy.

unknown source -intranet

I like the fact that I buy pure salted butter every trip to the store and my name isn't Paula Deen.

That I can recite the words to Coal Miner's Daughter just as well as the Apostles creed.

That Stand By Your Man & You Ain't Woman Enough To Take My Man stays in my player of choice rarin' and ready for blarin' at a moments notice.

That I can put my pearls on and have fun pretending to be fancy not letting people know the first thing I knew how to drive was a John Deere Tractor and can still hook one up to any implement if need be.

That y'all and ain't are true everyday words in my vocabulary & household no matter how right or wrong they are.

That my son will grow up knowing that he has a hard working and hard loving Mama, because that's all she knows.

That my husband knows the same thing and still loves me for it.

That there are a trail of hard loving and hard working women that have taught me well and may God Bless all of them for making me who I have become in my 32 years!

Here are a few...Have a good weekend!

The Makings of a Photo Shoot...

For some odd reason I thought it would be super cute to dress Baby H in his November best and take his picture out in the leaves for his 7 month birthday. MK was already out getting up leaves so I thought it was the perfect thing to do on a Sunday! Well....about 20.6 seconds into it I realized I was up for a challenge. While most of the pictures looked like this...

I was able to get a few decent shots....after my client had a quick nap and his Grandma showed up to help keep his attention! We still had a lot of this...

and this...

a little of this...

some of this...

We had to take a few breaks...

So that we could capture this....

Even though he never was really happy about being in the leaves and he didn't bring his best laughter and smiles out to play I still feel like these are some precious photo memories from the day he turned 7 months old! Hope you had a good day little buddy!

Baby Learns to Fish!

We had a GRAND time in Emerald Isle!

We got in lots of relaxation, fishing, feeding birds, eating and of course family and baby H time! He was such a good baby for our trip, hardly ever cried and loved on everyone.

Such a schmooze, I tell ya!

Here are some of my favorite moments that I captured from our trip!

H and his Ta-Ta feeding the birds. We gave one a cracker and he then called his friends in, literally, before you knew it there were 50 or more squawking, pooping, birds.

H was like....

OHMYGOSH!WHATTHEHAYHAY...MOMISTHISREALLYALLOWED?!?!?!

He LoVEd the birds, we ended up feeding them again with Dad when he was done fishing, that one we got on video.

Speaking of Dad fishing, above is just some of the catch. I think they ended up with around 12 of these bad boys. Something that tastes so yummy sure looks gross. To those who aren't "angler certified" those are flounder. They are bottom feeders that bury themselves in the sand, therefore, that's why they're flat with eyes on only 1 side of their body. They are FUN to catch and it's what most people go for when shore fishing on the Atlantic. Our boys didn't make it "off shore" which is 30 miles or more this trip due to weather conditions but still were able to get in many hours of jigging close to shore each day. OK...enough fish education, I want you to check out that little punkin' head, Daddy's first mate...best a man could ask for!

Here H is spending quality time fishing with Papa...every little boys dream. He is starting early! H loved the beach even though it totally wore him out. Most of you know about his white noise addiction, well, the ocean seemed to calm him so much that a nap was necessary after every trip down to the water no mater how much wake time he was running on!

So...there you have it. Our week in a nutshell.

We are all now back to the grindstone living in rat race hell but yet very thankful we have jobs to return to. Hope you are well!!! Until next time......keep your toes in the sand! :)

FFF....Fall Festivals and Fairs!

Disclaimer...

I have always loved fall.

Always Have. Always Will.

Fall has finally arrived here in NC!

I hope it plans on sticking around for a while keeping our days warm; mid 60's and nights cool upper 40's. No more 986 degree days for us!

With every fall comes the return of festivals and fairs, pumpkins and fun!

We got our share of all this weekend...Is that not THE cutest pumpkin you've ever seen?

Here's H all ready in his car seat on Saturday going to the Apple Festival in North Wilkesboro ...in his railroad overalls and matching hat. He was too cute and caught the attention of many festival goers.

On Sunday we visited our local Dixie Classic with Granny TaTa and Papa Virg. You may recall us visiting...I mean eating last year. http://theketteringcottage.blogspot.com/2009/10/dixie-classic-fair-yum.html

Well this year was no exception however it wasn't the highlight it used to be because we had this lil punkin' head to keep us occupied.

The boys looked at tractors - even though the mulch was much more interesting.

H always gets lots of good lovin' from Granny, no matter what!!

Did you even know they made 'Realtree" that tiny? You have to wear your camo to the county fair here or you just won't fit in!

Mama has to get her country lovin' in too...

Of course we can't forget Daddy... Here they are playing one of their favorite games!

So...I hope you are having as good of fall as we are. Get out & Enjoy the weather.

Oh My....You'd think our lives were crazy!

Wow...Where do I begin? Get ready for a long post and some photo editing as I explore new things!

It's been over a month since I posted. I love to keep up with the blog but I have to admit most days it's at the bottom of the priority list by the time I finally crash 8 or 8:30...and you know bed time is still 9! I need to work on that! You'd think our lives were crazy!

At 5 months, Baby H is growing so fast ...he makes leaps and bounds that it's sometimes hard for me to update you all on.

*In case you didn't know he - LOVES- to eat! Along with nursing he gets 2 meals a day on solids. He holds his own bottle now and quite frankly doesn't enjoy you "helping" him unless he's super tired. Sophie is his teething giraffe, whom he gives on heck of a time. No teeth yet but we are bound to be close!

*He can sit up with little or no support and responds to him name when it's called. That is...if there isn't anything more interesting going on in the room.

*Cause and Effect has entered his little brain. ( Which I shouldn't call little because it's like a mega super absorbent sponge...taking in so much every day!!!) Sometimes he'll bang on the same toy 237 times to get the same effect over and over, but not giggle at it, he studies it intensely with those eyebrows drawn. See "the look" in the picture above, ha!

*His favorite games are taking turns blowing bubbles and squealing. Peak-A-Boo or "Peep-Eye" as us southerners call it is ranking a pretty close second; along with his Dad's motor sounds. Speaking of...

*H has a hero; his name is Daddy. He cranes his neck constantly to see where dad is, what he's doing, how he's doing it, does he see me watching him, can I do it too? So much LOVE!

* He hates lying flat now, even for a quick diaper change.

It's all about the action and where ever he can catch a glimpse of our pets...or the TV.

OH. MY. GOSH...The TV?!?!?!

How could I leave out such an impressive item...I mean, all 5 month olds should have one of these new finagled gadgets. H is truly amazed by the ol' tube. No certain show or genre' of shows...News, Drama, Reality, Comedy- Doesn't matter, just the colors and movement. Sports Center in the mornings with dad is pretty fun. I mostly have to keep his back to it while he's in the room or he will just sit and stare in a daze, pure astonishment! Mom thinks there are better ways to spend our time.

He has yet another new found love.

Of course the little adrenaline junkie we've produced has had his first encounter with Miss Bo...His Grandmother's Harley. He just loved the rumble beneath him and the cool chrome gas tank that he could see them both in. Oh and yes...you read that correctly...his grandmother's Harley. She's pretty cool to be called a Granny! Go Granny Go!

On September 12 H was baptized in the Methodist church I grew up in. He had a lot of friends and family there for support as we dedicated him to the Christian faith.

Oh..project update!!! Remember all the sweating we done back in August removing the pavers from our old patio? Well, here's a sneak peak at our new back entrance! A sexy concrete patio was designed poured by G'Pa Bill for all of H's Nascar , basketball and extreme sports to take place in the years to come. Those pavers were re-purposed as a new side walk. MK also built us an awesome arbor gateway over the break in our fence that was also re-purposed. I LOVE IT!!! Thanks so much to my Kettering men!

So..that's a brain dump of our last month. Before you know it we'll be 6 months into parenthood, can you believe it? I can't. We are loving every single minute!

Stay Tuned!