happy friday!

did you have a good week? ... ours? it definitely had its ups and downs. but nevermind that now....it's friday! we spent this evening celebrating luke's 16th birthday with family. we talked. laughed. ate. sang. danced. and had a ball. what an awesome way to end the week...

the "boys" before dinner

once again...excuse the grainy photo, care of the cellie....if only i had a new camera...sigh

any exciting plans for this weekend?  we will be venturing out to enjoy our beautiful city. and enjoy an autumn festival by the river. the boy is beyond excited for this. and mommy is beyond excited to accompany the boy with a pumpkin spice latte in hand.

love. love. love this time of year.

christmas pics? check!

this past saturday we had our christmas pictures taken. early? i know. but our wonderful photographer (and friend!) holly kittle is expecting twins- so exciting!!- & wanted to take all holiday photos before the end of october when she might be feeling, shall we say, less agile? as i said, she's wonderful, so i signed us up for the first available spot.

we met at the chattanooga choo choo. the boy was pretty sure it was to be the best day of his life. what with the trains & all. that is, until he had to play model for 30 minutes. nevertheless, we forged on. and even managed to have a wee bit of fun in the process. here is a sneak peak....

the Mister & I would like to thank holly for always taking such beautiful photos and for being so patient with us. the boy would like to thank Ocean Spray for craisins, and their moral support during the photoshoot. 

sixteen candles....

hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

i wanted to wish my sweet stepson, luke, a very happy 16th birthday. here's to many. many. more.

i spoke too soon

it happened. i spoke much, much too soon. the boy ate a small piece of cheese at school yesterday. it was an accident. an oversight. his teacher felt so guilty she could have cried. and i could have too.

we are so blessed. jack's reaction was mild compared to what it could have been. he had some eczema. some hives. some swelling of his face. a sleepless night. lots of pain & discomfort. and lots...no, scratch that.....TONS of bloody diarrhea (tmi? sorry 'bout that...) my poor, poor boy.

i know this is probably the first of many uh-ohs we will have to deal with. and we were so, so lucky. but it definitely was a not-so-gentle reminder that i can never get too comfortable.

food allergies...they bite.

perfection...

pretty sure these would make all of the boy's halloween dreams come true...



Divvies, you rock my world.

run, jack, run...a 3-step guide

I mentioned in yesterday's blog post that my boy has a passion for speed- running, in particular. he is the fastest little boy on 2 legs & i believe this is due to his methodology. if you, too, would like to attain such swiftness, here is a simple 3-step guide:

first- begin with your knees bent, crouched down slightly. count aloud, "1....2....3(which can sometimes be omitted)...GO!"

second- after you take off from the starting position be sure to pump your right arm back & forth as fast and as hard as it will go. your left arm, you ask? that stays stationary. bent & attached to your side. the motion of one arm will propel you to speeds you didn't know could exist. also, it is important to note that your feet must be slightly turned in.

third- as you near your destination, be sure to keep looking back over your shoulder at the competition. this will cause you to stumble and stray off course....we like to call this move the drunken sailor. don't worry. it's intentional. you will still win the race.

finish up- in 1st place...duh- by slamming your body into whatever solid structure is closest to the finish line. lastly, and perhaps most crucial, shout, " I got you!" at the top of your lungs to notify the competition of your victory.

if you live in the chattanooga area, lessons are given free of charge every evening. if not, i'm fairly certain the expert can be made available to answer your questions.

excuse the poor photo quality..i'm in desperate need of a new camera & i'm doing my very best to work on the Mister....subtle, no?

this boy...

my boy is 26 months old. i wanted to put into writing all things "jack" before too much time passes & i forget all these sweet little moments. & since i didn't create this blog before his 2nd birthday, i'm playing catch up now. so here goes;

the boy is still on the small end for his age. he's weighing in at a whopping 27 pounds. he sleeps between 9 and 10 hours a night. in his big. boy. bed. (yup. that's right. worth mentioning again.) he naps 2 hours each day- but only at school. we are lucky if he naps for 1 hour when he's home.

he is entirely and thoroughly boy. i mean, utterly and completely. he is rough and tumble. he is reckless. he is nonstop motion. and because of these things, he is bruise-laden.

he loves to talk. he loves to laugh. he loves to read books. he loves to make up songs. he loves to pretend he is any given animal on any given day...especially the baby version of said animal (ie, baby kitty, baby monkey, baby dinosaur...you get the idea.) he is smitten with everything baseball. his absolute favorite activity of the moment is running. really fast. and his run is quite the sight. in fact, i think i'll devote tomorrow's blog to his method. it's amazing, really.

my boy is insanely funny. the absolute best sense of humor of any 2 year old i know. comedic timing: impeccable. i am convinced this will be both his greatest strength & greatest weakness. and probably all of his future teachers' waterloo.

he is dramatic. like, big time. he goes through the full gamut of emotions each & every day. he is smart. i mean, crazy smart. he remembers everything he's ever seen. he's intuitive & sensitive & industrious & even a tad bit naughty at times.

he has the best smile. the cutest, widest, and sometimes stinkiest feet. the most precious little bum- which we fondly refer to as his peach pie . he gives the best kisses & the sweetest hugs.

this boy of mine...he's the greatest gift i've ever been given. he's simply the bees knees. and boy oh boy, do i  love him so.

happy friday!

what will you be doing this weekend? me? i'll be hidin' from mean, lellow dinosaurs...

no soup for you...okay, well maybe a little

the Mister bought me the most darling little gift. in other words, i picked them out & he paid. delightful, nonetheless! these little beauties are soup bowls...perfect for chilly autumn evenings. i simply adore them.

 

so, you can bet, if you come to our home for a dinner this fall (or anytime, really), you'll be dining on the soup du jour from these little babies.

that's what i call mmm. mmm. good.

welcome to the nut house (but not literally)...

did i mention that the boy has food allergies? no? well...he does. so i thought i'd use this blog entry to share a wee bit about how it has changed our lives & how we deal.

 my sweet is allergic to milk proteins, peanuts & treenuts.

severely allergic...epipen and all.

i'm often asked by others (more often than not these "others" are skeptical mommies) how i know that the boy has these allergies. i think the word allergy is thrown around so much that some people don't trust it. and i get that. i really do. but in this case, after struggling with a very, very sick infant (2 months old). 2 trips to the ER. and countless sleepless nights ( and days!). the boy was tested- skin & blood- and we discovered that these foods i was eating were practically poisonous to my little guy.

it has changed everything. the way we shop. the way i cook. the places we can go out to eat. birthday parties. family get-togethers. vacations. everything. i'm the labelest readin' fool out there.

i feel so blessed that we've found a preschool that caters so well to all of our "rules" and "just-in-cases". we feel really good knowing that the boy is safe & sound there. if you've been in our shoes, you know this feeling is hard to come by.

the boy's allergist thinks he'll retest when jack is about 5....based on statistics dr. l thinks the boy may outgrow the milk protein allergy. but probably not the others. so, i guess, we'll see.

for now, though, we've adjusted & are all doing well.

so. for all of you blog followers out there (read: mom).

thank you if you "get" how serious this is. be a champ & advocate for these kiddos that did not ask for this.

and for their nervous wreck mommies.

oh. and if you have questions. ask me.

i'm pretty much an expert.

these are a few of my favorite things...

a few things that make me smile...

shellac manicures, hot tea, cute flats, the coffeehouse on sirius xm radio, scarves (like, a lot-all year round), adele, fall festivals, phone chats with my newly engaged bestie, mindy gledhill, the Mister-big time, cucumber salads, pedicures, the bachelor-it's a sickness, fresh haircuts on my boy, finding dinosaurs & guys in random places around the house, sweet smelling candles, bliss lemon & sage body butter, distressed furniture, pretty desserts, reading in bed-especially when it's with the boy, pearls, baking, schnauzers- especially my 2 pretty girls, chalkboards, presents-giving & recieving, fruit, cahoon mermaids, date nights...oh, and most importantly, God- he's where it's at.

summer accomplishments

we had an amazing summer. not only was i able to stay home with my boy, but we accomplished so much & had a ball while doing it. our days were filled with play. laughter. talking-lots of  talking...about dinosaurs, trucks & mailmen- pretty much all of the coolest things... we went to the pool. almost everyday. we spent many afternoons at the Passage, followed by Rita's italian ice-naturally. we picked blueberries. we went to the zoo, the aquarium, the splash park, & the discovery museum. we spent a week on cape cod & celebrated my boy's 2nd birthday.we went to the beach & watched a baseball game & saw fireworks- twice. we played with dear friends & family. it was simply spectacular.

what more could you want, you ask? well... let me tell you. and before i do, i'll let you know that what i'm about to tell you trumps all of the above. the boy (with a wee bit of help from mommy & daddy) gave up his nighttime bottle- i know, i know. should've happened a while ago. but it didn't. i'm over it. are you?- he moved out of his 'little boy bed' into his 'big boy bed'.  and, wait for it.....wait....wait.....he potty trained! we're talking big boy undies all the day long. i am so. so. so proud of  my guy. definitely the coolest 2 year old around these parts.

and if you ask him what the best part of it all was...i'm pretty positive he'd tell you it was learning to cannonball off the diving board into the deep end of the pool. what can i say...he's a rockstar.



the good ol' days

we've had a bit of a sad week. my stepson, luke, lost a very dear friend, mason, last friday. he was only 16 years old. just a kid. so young. so, so sad. in his passing i have been reminded of a couple things...God never gives anyone more than they can handle. this has been exemplified for me by mason's family. they have handled this tragedy with such grace. i just cannot imagine. i'm also reminded that every day is a wonderful gift. even those rushed, chaotic days. those filled with screams or tears- or more often than not both. in fact, those days may even be the very best because when they are all said and done, i still have my sweet family to share it all with.

this reminder couldn't have come at a better time. the boy has been having some difficulty with his asthma. his pediatrician put him on prednisone. let's just say prednisone & the boy are not the best of friends. my adorable. sweet. wonderful boy becomes, shall we say, a bit unlikable. i know, i know. completely out of the question, right? trust me on this one. i desperately needed the reminder that 'this too shall pass' and that despite the current situation, i am deeply blessed. beyond words even.

the boy & i took a walk together this evening. just the two of us. we didn't go anywhere special or do anything particularly amazing on this walk. just walked. held hands. talked. and laughed. oh, and hunted for "big wocks" (read:big rocks)... these moments, and my boy, make it all worthwhile. and i'm certain that when i'm old and gray i will look back at these moments & know, without a doubt, that they were the good ol' days.

putting a wock in his pockey.



just around the corner...

my absolute favorite season is fall. cooler weather. pretty leaves. drives to the mountains. fall clothes. apple picking. and, most importantly, pumpkins. I ADORE all things pumpkin....pumpkin bread. pumpkin patches. pumpkin spice lattes. pumpkin candles. pumkin ice cream. you get the idea.

now that fall is officially nearing and it is starting to feel a wee bit like it in our neck of the woods (for the week, at least), I am getting overwhelmed & excited with all of the possibilities this fall might hold.

oh, and I almost forgot (but not really)...my birthday just happens to be in the fall.....the most wonderful time of the year!

so. is fall your favorite season? it should be.

and if i haven't convinced you yet...

take a gander at this little doll:

halloween 2009- fall at its finest...

come on, ride the train, hey ride it, woo woo...

so, i'm officially hopping on the blogging "train". thought it'd be a good way to share what's going on in our lives with our family & friends, near and far...and pretty sure it'll help to satiate my mom's never ending need for updates on the boy.

quick intro...i'm ashley. wifey of shane, who I shall refer to as 'the Mister'. mommy of jack, aka 'the boy'...i love my guys oh-so-much...they make life very sweet. i am also a part-time elementary teacher & a soon-to-be juvenile mediator.

starting this blog is a new year's resolution. new year's, you ask? yes, a new year's resolution in the month of september. either i'm a major slacker or incredibly on top of the game....let's go with the latter.