Our Saturday & Quinn Goff Photography

Well we spent the day today working in our yard. Since we own a landscaping company, our yard always looks terrible compared to those nice paying customers. I somehow convinced Adam to come home and work here after I helped him on a job in the neighborhood. We have been living in our house for 3 years now and since we have lived here, there has been some ivy growing up the side of the house and we have NEVER trimmed it. At first I thought I liked it but recently I have been dying to see it go. I want a more clean look on and around the house. Well let me tell you that was a PROJECT. We are talking 3 years of ivy now growing in to our brick. It was more than difficult to remove. We got it done and trimmed all the bushes around the house and the yard is looking marvelous. I always forget to take before and after pictures of things. I'll work on that so you all can see what I am talking about.

Last Saturday Aidan and I had the pleasure of finally meeting the lovely Quinn Goff. She was a former colleague of my best friend Amanda and she has just recently started her own photography business. She needed a few people to let her take some pictures to begin building her portfolio. I was more than happy to volunteer my handsome boy to have his picture taken. We met her at a local park and took a walk while she snapped pics of my little man. Quinn was so sweet and great with Aidan! I knew I wouldn't have any trouble being comfortable around her because I basically felt like I already knew her. Well let me just tell you...she was super speedy about getting the pictures back to me and they were absolutely AMAZING! I was honestly blown away at how well they turned out. The photo session was so laid back and Aidan photographed very well. I love having pictures taken of Aidan and these were some of the best. I will most likely blow them all up and use them on a photo wall I have been planning for his new room. Not to mention, all of the grandparents are already requesting their copies. Here are some of the pictures and if you live in the Charlotte area (I am not sure if she will travel just yet) Quinn would be a great choice for your photography needs. Here is the link to her blog...quinn photography. You can contact her there!

I am almost positive this will be on the front of our Christmas card this year!


I had to put this last because it is my FAVORITE! It will be blown up HUGE somewhere in our house!

Pre School Pics

Just as promised...

Couldn't you just eat him up?? He was just precious this morning. He was so excited that he didn't even cry when I dropped him off. I cried the whole way home!!! When my mom picked him up today, they said he cried the WHOLE time! I felt sooooooo bad. His teachers are really sweet and they all reassured my mom (who reassured me) that after a couple weeks he will be just fine! He didn't even eat his yummy lunch I made him. Bless his little heart. Thanks for checking in!!! Hope everyone's kiddies had a great first week of school!

Pre School Tomm

In case, you haven't read my blog everyday this week (ha!) Aidan is FINALLY starting "pre school" tomorrow. It's really a glorified Mothers Morning Out program. His back pack is ready to go and I know exactly what I am going to pack him for lunch in the morning. I have a checklist of things to remember before we dash out the door. Don't worry taking pictures to show everyone is on the list!!! I know it seems like I am putting to much thought in to this whole deal but it's my first rodeo people. I am inexperienced in the school department. Anyways, I'll update tomorrow on how it went.

WWYCSW

Family American Style is hosting "What Would Your Child Say Wednesday" again this week and I actually just have a funny little story to tell you. Aidan is doing really well with his words and is even starting to put a couple of words together. So, the other day I had been out for a few hours and he stayed at home with Adam. When I returned from my errands and as I walked through the door, Aidan was sitting on the sofa watching a cartoon. I looked at him and said "Hey Bud". Without skipping a beat, he slid off the sofa walked up to me hugged my legs and looked up at me and said "Hey Mama". Who knew that while I was running errands he was going to go from being 2 to 12. Jeese! What a big boy he seemed to be to me in that moment. I did the only thing I knew to do in the moment and knelt down, squeezed him really tight and said "I love you my sweet big boy, you are just so smart and I'm so proud to be your Mama".

It's OK

So, it turns out Aidan will not be going to pre school tomorrow. Apparently the teachers decided there was a conflict with kids going back to school so it would be best to start on Thursday. It ended up working out perfectly for us because Aidan is still recovering from his little cold and I was starting to think sending him tomorrow wasn't the best idea anyways. It's OK. Which brings me to what I really want to say in this post.



It's OK that I am sad Aidan is starting pre school. Even if it is only for 4 hours a day, 2 days a week. He will be in school from now until he goes away to college.



It's OK that I cried when I picked up his monogrammed book bag today. I waited to do it until I got in the car. His name looked so perfect. It's his first back pack and in my book, it's a milestone. The best part...he put it right on and wore it with pride.



It's OK that I have been soaking up these last days with him. Holding him tighter and kissing him longer. Begging him for more lovin'. He isn't a baby anymore and honestly (Hootie said it best) "It Won't Be Like This For Long".



It's especially OK that I love this sweet boy so much, thinking about it makes my chest feel heavy and I get goose bumps. I HONESTLY never in a million years thought it would be possible to love anything like this.

We Are Just Days Away...

My sweet baby boy (OK he isn't EXACTLY a baby) is starting school on Tuesday!!! Tomorrow I have to shop for his school supplies and pick up his back pack that we had monogrammed. Your probably thinking school supplies for a two year old? It's a small list, I can assure you. Included though is the cutest idea...a disposable camera for them to take pictures of him while he's in school! I just think that's great. I am anxious to see how the kiddo acts when I drop him off for his first day. It's kind of a loose, loose situation because if he takes off and doesn't look back I will be heartbroken. If he holds on to my leg, while his teacher pries him off, I will still be heartbroken. Anyways, I'll let you know how it goes. Until then...enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

Kelly's Korner

Kelly's Korner is hosting "Show Us Your Life Fridays" and this week we are doing baby shower ideas. I was lucky enough to have two baby showers when I was pregnant with Aidan. One given by a good family friend and the other by my mother and sister in law. Since Aidan's nursery was a "Twinkle Twinkle" theme, so were the showers. I don't have many pictures to show you, because I did not want to be photographed pregnant. AT ALL. I thought I looked terrible! Some great ideas I picked up from my own showers were...

*The "Clothesline"...this is when you take a bunch of onesies and create a clothesline with them. Mine were hung across the tops of the windows.

*Favor ideas...My sister in law made white chocolate ducks for everyone to take home and our family friend made cinnamon buns (like buns in the oven) and there was a note attached to each one that said she had made a donation to Room at the Inn (a place where single pregnant mothers can go) in honor of me. Really cute idea.

*Games I loved were trying to guess the size of the baby and the day he would be born. I did not want to do the poopie diaper guessing game with candy bars. YUCK! Also, no measuring the belly for me. I knew I was huge and didn't need to be reminded!

*Both my cakes were designed to go with the invites. So cute.

*Taking booties and joining them with a diaper pin as a corsage for the mother. I still have mine hanging in Aidan's nursery.

One of my girlfriends needs to get pregnant soon so I can throw her shower. These are some of the pictures I have stolen from the Internet (The Bump.com) to get ideas for a shower. I would love to rent a big white tent for the backyard and do it there. Since, I have gotten so accustomed to doing things for a boy...here are some of the pictures I found for a shower given for someone having one.

Isn't this the cutest cake/cupcake tower?
Love these tea light chandeliers to hang from a tent.
Hydrangeas duh!
Love this invitation
The whole turquoise theme.

I couldn't leave without showing you pics of two diaper cakes I made for friends recently. They were my first ones but they turned out so cute.

Sicky Little Baby Boy

My sweet baby boy is sooo sick today. He caught a cold from his daddy. Luckily, my pediatrician is letting us give him some Benadryl and it is helping him sleep it off. Here are some pics of the sick Prince.

Another Wednesday & WWYCSW

Still...no...A/C. By the time it gets fixed it will be Christmas and I won't need cold air. Thank God my mom and dad decided they wouldn't be TOTALLY put out if we stayed with them until the part we need comes in. If Aidan wasn't apart of the family, I can almost guarantee that we would be home in the heat. My dad is crazy about him.

This week I am participating in "What Would Your Child Say Wednesday" brought to us by...Family American Style. This week my story is short and sweet. Aidan and I had been running errands this week and the time got away from me. I know this happens to you ALL. It was two o'clock before I realized that we hadn't had lunch. I decided to stop off at Chick Fil A and grab some chicken nuggets and allow Aidan to play on the play set. We were in line ordering and I noticed Aidan wasn't standing beside me anymore. I frantically looked around and came to the realization that Aidan was walking from table to table saying "hungwee". I almost died. People were looking at me like "feed this kid before he takes our food from our hands". One lady actually gave him one of her fries. I ended up ordering him extra nuggets and he ate them ALL!!! Thanks for reading!!!

Oh A/C I am so sorry I took you for granted!

We are going on a week of being without A/C in our house. Last Tuesday just as Adam left to go out of town, I came home to the HEAT CAVE. Like I hadn't cried enough that day. We keep it pretty chilly in our house (between 69-71) and it was 77! I knew something was wrong. I ran out back and could see that our A/C unit that is usually buzzing away making lovely cold air for us...was silent. Anyways, since I have already blogged that about this...you guys know it was going to cost us $3000. Well, the husband said no how no way. You probably won't even believe me if I tell you this but after allowing Adam to shop around for someone that would do it for cheaper...we found a nice country boy willing to do it for $650!!! Isn't that amazing!!! The name of his company is "Get Air Done" like "Git Er Done". He is the NICEST A/C man I have EVER MET...because you know I've met a lot of them. Long story short...there were a few more things wrong with the unit that we couldn't tell until he got inside. After it is all said and done it is going to cost us $1200. Still much better than the original $3000 and that was even before the company knew about this other problem. So there should be cool air in my house by 10am tomorrow! I am so ready to get back to our house and out of my parents. Not that I don't love staying in this luxurious home and the great care my mom is giving us, it would just be nice to be back in my own space, where I don't have to worry about Aidan breaking something or slamming a door and I could have my own computer that I can navigate flawlessly and my sick Hubby (sinus nastiness) could get better in our own bed under my care and not my mother/father/neighbor/crossing guard/everyone who makes an incoming phone calls advice on how to feel better. I have never appreciated A/C and our (itsy bitsy) home like I will after this whole ordeal. I may even keep it on until Christmas.

Reality Television

I swear sometimes my life is entertaining enough that people could watch us on reality t.v. Last night, my dear husband returned from visiting an old friend in Indiana (whom he was also helping out with some business) and with him he brought us a precious package. A dog. Not just any dog...my FAVORITE dog of all time...an English Bulldog. He somehow missed telling me this during our numerous phone calls on his trip home. We had an English Bulldog before Aidan was born, but she started to get VERY protective of me when I was pregnant, so luckily we found a nice couple to take her and give her a nice home. Needless to say, I was heartbroken. I digress. The point of the story is this...When Adam arrives with this new dog, he is apparently concerned I may not be gung ho on the idea of having another dog right now. So he begins to tell me all the great qualities this dog has...she's fixed, she has health insurance paid up for another year, she is the kind of dog you can put food in her bowl and she will just eat when she's hungry and she has been to training school and is very well behaved. I start to think "OK all the hard work seems to be done, maybe this won't be that bad." The night progresses and the dog has some behavioral issues that I try to correct by saying "stop", "get down", "sit", "lay"...you getting the point?? She is not responding to anything. A little annoyed I say to my dear husband "I thought you said this dog was trained?" "She's not listening to anything I say." He responds "Well there is a small catch." I should have known. There is always a catch. "What's the catch Adam?" He looks at me with a grin and says "She is trained....uhhh...it's just that....uhhh...she's trained in Spanish." Only my life.

Show Us Your Life Fridays

www.kellyskornerblog.com is hosting "Show Us Your Life" again this week and we are showing off our favorite vacation spot. I am hoping it is okay to have "spots" because I have three. My favorite vacation spots are Massachusetts (yes the whole state), Folly Beach, SC (my parents own a home here and we have come to LOVE it) and Italy (ha ha yes the entire country). I am originally from Massachusetts and going back there to vacation or visit family is always a great time. I feel at "home" when I am there. My parents have a ton of history there and I love to see places that carry a family story.

Folly Beach, SC is a beach town right outside of Charleston. It's the best of both worlds because the city is 20 minutes away from the beach but when you are at the beach, you would NEVER know the city existed. Folly Beach is probably the most laid back beach in the Charleston area. That's another reason why we love it. I don't want to have to be dolled up to make a trip to the beach (this doesn't include my pearls because I don't go anywhere without them). The house there isn't right on the beach it's actually on the marsh. We have a great dock that has a perfect view of the Morris Island lighthouse. There is also a HUGE screened in porch and my mom found the best wicker chairs that just eat you up. We have had some of the best conversations on that screened in porch. As a matter of fact that was the first place I told Adam I loved him.

Then there's Italy. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Italy. I went once after I graduated high school with a group and we traveled to around 20 cities all over Europe in 32 days. I remember seeing Venice for the first time. It is so much better in real life than in the movies. The history is just amazing. The way the entire city is built on water it beautiful. The people are so rich in their culture. The food is to die for and the shopping is out of this world. I felt the same way the first time I saw the Vatican. Growing up Catholic it was so special to go to my first mass given by the Pope. I was still a teenager but old enough to know this was such a once in a lifetime experience for me. Two years later I returned with my family. We vacationed with another family that we have been friends with for years and we stayed for 3 1/2 weeks. We rented a villa in a tiny town called Pornello (Umbria) and the population of the town was 8 people. 4 of which worked at the Villa we were renting. This was truly the ONCE IN A LIFETIME trip. My dad pulled out all the stops and it's a trip I'll never forget. We visited Rome , Venice, Florence, Deruta (famous for their pottery), Perugia , Assisi and the list goes on. It was a dream vacation and I am thankful I was able to experience such culture. My family hopes to be able to get Adam over there one of these days. It's like nothing you've ever seen.

This is the link to the villa we rented in Pornello. I don't have any pictures from that trip on my computer because we weren't using digital then and they are all on film. If I get a chance to scan some of them, I will. They are great!
http://www.tuscanynow.com/Rentals/Villas/La_Torre_di_Pornello_PriceID_411.aspx

Some pictures of Massachusetts:

Trees in the fall in Massachusetts...Fall is gorgeous there!

This was my Nana's house. You have to know, we were from VERY small towns in Mass. outside of Boston. It wasn't this color when she lived there and she had gorgeous landscaping.

This is the inside of a apple farm barn (say that three times fast) we used to walk to from our house when we were kids. Adam loved the Carmel apples they make last time we were there. It will be so cool to take Aidan one of these days.

This was my childhood home. Minus the front porch, garage, and tacky lamp post in the front. As a matter of fact, our driveway wasn't even where this one is. One thing that stayed the same...the color!

Our names in the sand at Folly Beach

Sunset at Folly.

The view from our dock.

As usual my pictures are all out of order, but this goes with my Massachusetts pictures. Except these are pictures of Maine. Kind of cheating but part of that vacation. This is a great little fishing village in Maine.

When we were younger, we had a house in Maine and when we wanted to go to the beach, my mom and dad would put my brothers and I in a blow up raft with all of our beach stuff and they would swim across this saltwater river to the bridge you can barely see in the dunes to get to the beach. Never would I ever do that.

This is a picture the chairs we have on our screened in porch. Except ours are magenta with black and white polka dot cushions. Your butt just sinks right in and we have the best ottomans to match. Makes me wish I was there right now!

Sorry for being all over the place on this post. Thanks for stopping by!!! Can't wait to see your posts!!!

Bad day...Everyone has them...right?

I am not having a good day. Last night, I discovered our AC is not working and at 11:30 pm, it was diagnosed that we need an entirely new condenser. Don't ask me what that is...all I know is it's going to cost me $3000. Today, I got up and the mail came. There was a letter from an attorney we used for Adam when he got a speeding ticket recently. The letter had been mailed but in July but for some reason was just getting to us. The money due to the court for the ticket was due August 4. I was now looking at a $100 late fee. I threw Aidan in the car and we headed uptown to park 3 blocks away and walk in the pouring rain without an umbrella to the courthouse to pay the ticket. When we got home, I realized I had locked us out of the house. GRRRREAT. Pouring rain, no house key and I really had to go to the bathroom. Luckily my mom came to our rescue with a spare key. Once we got inside, I happened to glance at a photo of our wedding day in a frame and thought "Oh my gosh...my wedding album!". I pulled out the paper work from our photographer and sure enough...if I didn't get the 120 proofs (I had hand picked out of 750 pictures) to the photographer by TODAY I was looking at adding $100 to the cost of the album. JUST MY LUCK! So, I have just finished doing that and I am taking a time out to post this blog and get myself together before I journey out to drop off the proofs. Hopefully with a house key. We are on a serious budget around here this week (thank you new AC condenser, speeding ticket late fee) so we will be eating Mac N Cheese and mini blueberry muffins for dinner. Yummy right?
On a better note yesterday we had a great day with our friends Mike and his son Ryland and Mike's girlfriend Chelsea. We headed to the local park to have a picnic lunch and feed the ducks (my worst nightmare). After lunch I suggested we drive over to another local park where there is a spray ground for the boys to play in since it was hotter than Haiti's outside yesterday. I am proud to announce...I ACTUALLY TOOK SOME PICTURES!!!!

Aidan on the playground
Ryland swinging

Aidan Swinging

The boys in the splash park

These are from our picnic and feeding the ducks

I didn't get too many pictures of this because I was too busy making sure my fearless son wasn't going to jump in the pond!!!