Friday Night Fun

A long time ago, I decided not to be one of "those" moms. You all know them. The ones who can't leave their house between x:00 and x:00 because it's naptime and have to go out to dinner at like 4:30 because their little one's bedtime is at 7. Well, the younger a baby is, the easier it is to not be one of "them". Branner is on a pretty good napping/sleeping schedule, which I try to accommodate most days, but there are sometimes (ex: if your babysitter is out of town, and you're on your own) when you just have to suck it up and *gasp* deviate from the sleep schedule. Friday night, we decided to risk it.

We went out to dinner at Brixx with Lauren and Bennett. It was delish, Branner was an angel even though he was awake past his bedtime, and all was well. It was just a little odd because we are used to leaving him home for our nights out ever since our sitter started. We used to do this all the time, but really enjoy the luxury of a sitter, so we take advantage of hiring Lauren often.
Also, we made a delightful little discovery on Friday night. It is what will become my new addiction: Yoforia. It is a self-serve frozen yogurt chain with several flavors and fresh toppings and is the greatest thing in the world in my opinion. I can't wait to go back!

My ReKINDLEd Romance with Reading

Ok, I am really hard at work on my summer to-do list! I'm marking more things off by the day! Last week, I enrolled Branner in the Shrimps swim class at the Y I have been talking about. This week, I have found my summer signature nail color (Essie--E-nuff is E-nuff) and am working on trying to figure out what I want to take up as a new hobby. I am thinking about signing up for tennis lessons at the moment. I have been updating my recipe blog more frequently, and I think this weekend would be a great time to make some homemade ice cream!



As you know, one thing on the list is to read more. I've been reading every spare minute I get. So far, I have finished The 19th Wife. I then started on All We Ever Wanted Was Everything. However, Barry had a little surprise planned for me. Yesterday afternoon, an amazon.com box showed up on my doorstep. Inside was something I've been wanting for months--a Kindle! Anyone who loves to read knows what an awesome surprise this was! So, he downloaded me Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea. last night. I finished it tonight. I dove into it while he had the boys over for poker night since there isn't anything good on tv right now. It's hilarious. I plan to read Chelsea Handler's other two books this summer as well. I just downloaded The Help. Is my passion for reading obvious yet?

Here is my summer reading list so far:



All We Ever Wanted Was Everything by Janelle Brown
Are You There Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea. by Chelsea Handler
My Horizontal Life by Chelsea Handler
Chelsea, Chelsea Bang, Bang by Chelsea Handler
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Little Earthquakes by Jennifer Weiner
Summer Sisters by Judy Blume (my all-time favorite book--I read it every year)
Kings Of The Earth by Jon Clinch
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
Heart of the Matter by Emily Giffin (one of my favorite authors)
The Carrie Diaries by Candace Bushnell (SATC remains my all time favorite TV show and movie-enough said)
Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
All Sookie Stackhouse Novels by Charlaine Harris (I'm a huge True Blood fan)

Father's Day

On Saturday afternoon, after Barry put in some time on the wave runner at the lake, we packed our bags for an overnight trip to Asheboro. Barry, Branner, Bailey and I drove to Asheboro so we could be with my family to celebrate Father's Day. We made it just in time for a cookout at my parent's house Saturday night. Charlie, Mary Alice and the Wilhoits were there and it was a great time!

On Sunday, we celebrated by opening presents and enjoying some delicious Lexington barbeque. YUM! Branner and I are so incredibly lucky! We both have the best daddies in the world who would do anything for us! Barry works hard to afford us a nice life that allows me to stay at home with our precious and is such a natural at the whole daddy thing. We are so blessed to have him in our lives. My dad is such a great "Big Papa" to Branner and has always supported me and been there any time I needed him. We love Barry and Big Papa so much! Thank you for all you do for us!

5 Months Old!

As of yesterday at 3:12 p.m., I am officially the mommy of a 5 month old. I can't believe my precious baby has been in our lives for 5 months. I cannot imagine my life without him, and I don't want to. Barry and I have loved every minute of his life so far. He has brought so much joy, happiness and even more love into our home. I have never experienced such pure bliss in my life. Branner makes everything better, more pronounced. The sun has shone a little brighter and everything has seemed a little warmer since his arrival.

Loves: BAILEY (he is currently enamored with his "brother"--he likes to watch him, pet him and feed him treats--he finds Bailey hilarious and laughs at him all the time), his puppy lovie, bathtime, storytime, looking at himself in the mirror, stuffed animals and small toys, his Jumperoo, going to the pool, Moms on the Move class, trips to the Farmer's Market, doing lunch, rolling over, trying to crawl and trying to sit up on his own.

Food: Formula for most feedings, rice cereal twice a day (mixed with bananas, apples or peaches of course). I am about to add squash and carrots in the evening.

Sleeping: He has taken to sleeping for 12 hours at night, waking up for one feeding. He usually sleeps from 7:30p-7:30a. He also takes 2 naps--a 1 hour nap in the morning around 9:30 and a 3 hour nap in the afternoon around 1:30.

As you can see, he is a pretty easy baby! I left him for the first time yesterday at Childwatch at the Y, and he was an angel. It was harder on me to leave him than it was for him! He seemed content when I went back to pick him up. I will be utilizing that service again in the future for sure. We also signed up for a baby swim class in July! We are really enjoying our summer so far!

A Big "To-Do"

Enjoying the swing at Sardis!

Daddy loves playing with me!


First time at the Farmer's Market

Homemade Peach and Blackberry Cobbler

What a great weekend! This whole to-do list thing is so fun! I dove in head-first to marking fun things off of my list. So far, what has been accomplished:

*Branner went to the pool 3 times last week. We are going again today.

*Exercise--Branner and I did our greenway loop on Saturday and Sunday, making my grand total of workouts last week 5.

*Reading--I picked up 2 new books from Costco yesterday: The 19th Wife and All We Ever Wanted Was Everything. I am currently engrossed in The 19th Wife. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good summer read. I should also note that I find polygamy morbidly fascinating, hence why I chose this book.

*Farmer's Market--We took Branner to the King's Drive market on Saturday afternoon and loaded up on fresh fruits and veggies. I really love the Farmer's Market!

*Homemade Peach Cobbler--I baked my first cobbler last night. It was delish, and I think this is going to become a weekly activity at my house! I plan to experiment with different types.

*Bailey went on a walk on Sunday morning.

I have already made a few additions, which you can see below.

Summer To-Do List--Volume 2

*Nap when Branner naps as much as possible. I feel like summer time is a time to indulge yourself, and what better indulgence is there than a nap?

*Go to the pool and have fun with Branner splashing around in the water and swinging him in the swings.

*Make several trips to Holden/Beech Mountain. I love summertime in both places, such truly different yet perfectly wonderful experiences.

*Find a signature cocktail for the summer to enjoy outside at dusk. Make it often. I'm thinking this will involve champagne. Yummy.

*Exercise often. I'm already doing this, but need to continue. I exercised 6 times last week and 3 this week so far. Yay, me!

*Follow the 5 Factor Diet for 5 weeks as closely as possible.

*Be bikini-ready by time for the annual Cox/Derrick beach trip in August.

*Reward myself for getting bikini-ready with a fabulous new bikini and a(nother) pair of designer sunglasses.

*Try new, healthy recipes and update my Fab Eats blog regularly with them.

*Read more. This is one hobby I have had to slow down on lately, but I am definitely eager to get back to!!!

*Go to POPs. Bring wine and yummy treats to enjoy. Listen to the symphony.

*Have a luncheon just because for my friends and do all of the cooking myself.

*Go to the Farmer's Market often.

*Make a peach cobbler with fresh Farmer's Market peaches.

*Take Bailey on more walks.

*Enroll Branner in a baby swim class.

*Make homemade ice cream.

*Go to a local museum. In my many years here, I have visited very few of the museums. I will change that this summer!

*Find a new hobby to release creative energy.

*Go to AA5. Just once will be enough, but I want to go to make myself feel like a young, hip mommy.

*Find a signature summer nail polish.

*Redecorate the guest room.

*Go to an outdoor showing of a movie.

Sweet Summertime

"In summer, the song sings itself." --William Carlos Williams

I found this quote in one of my Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants books, and I love it! Yes, I have read the whole series, and yes I know that it is dorky. But, I digress. I love, love, love the summer! It has always been my favorite time of year. This summer is extra special. I get to experience all of the wonderful things about my favorite season through Branner's eyes. I can't wait!

One thing I love to do now is to read mommy blogs. Two of my favorites are: http://www.dooce.com/ and http://www.kellehampton.com/ (Enjoying the small things). Dooce is hilarious and perfect to read for a laugh. Enjoying the small things is simply AMAZING. It is the most beautifully put-together blog I have ever seen. The author is a photographer, so there are fabulous pictures to go along with the absolutely lovely entries. This blog has changed my life, I swear. I cry almost everytime I read it. If you visit it and read the background info, you will understand. It has inspired me to make a "summer to-do" list like Kelle, the author's. Those of you who know me well know I take great pleasure in marking things off a to-do list, so this is the perfect project for me! Here goes...



Summer To-Do List--Volume 1


*Nap when Branner naps as much as possible. I feel like summer time is a time to indulge yourself, and what better indulgence is there than a nap?


*Go to the pool and have fun with Branner splashing around in the water and swinging him in the swings.

*Make several trips to Holden/Beech Mountain. I love summertime in both places, such truly different yet perfectly wonderful experiences.

*Find a signature cocktail for the summer to enjoy outside at dusk. Make it often. I'm thinking this will involve champagne. Yummy.

*Exercise often. I'm already doing this, but need to continue. I exercised 6 times last week and 3 this week so far. Yay, me!

*Follow the 5 Factor Diet for 5 weeks as closely as possible.

*Be bikini-ready by time for the annual Cox/Derrick beachtrip in August.


*Reward myself for getting bikini-ready with a fabulous new bikini and a(nother) pair of designer sunglasses.

*Try new, healthy recipes and update my Fab Eats blog regularly with them.

*Read more. This is one hobby I have had to slow down on lately, but I am definitely eager to get back to!!!


*Go to POPs. Bring wine and yummy treats to enjoy. Listen to the symphony.

*Have a luncheon just because for my friends and do all of the cooking myself.

*Go to the Farmer's Market often.

*Make a peach cobbler with fresh Farmer's Market peaches.

*Take Bailey on more walks.

*Enroll Branner in a baby swim class.




I'm sure I will add on to this, but for now, I am satisfied. Off to get a head start on #1 and take an afternoon nap since Branner is sleeping. Happy Weekend!

Pool Time

Playing in the pool with Daddy

After putting in 4 miles on the greenway this morning, Branner and I were hot and sticky. So, when Barry's friend, Robbie, called and invited us to his uncle's house for a pool party, we were all for it! I packed up all of Branner's things (he had his own pool bag), made some bottles, threw on a suit (one piece for now), and we hit the road to Statesville ready for some fun!

Branner had a blast! He loves his fish float! He happily sat in it and seemed to really enjoy being in the water. Looks like he will enjoy the Shrimp/Kippers swim class we are doing in July. We had a great time with Robbie and his family and appreciate them inviting us. Branner and I will be spending some quality time at our pool this week, I do believe!

Mommy's Morning Off!

Per the picture, when mommy is happy, everyone is happy!

Today was a big day for both Branner and I. It was his first day with his new summer babysitter (and my lifesaver), Lauren. Don't get me wrong. I looooooooooove Branner more than anything, and I am truly enjoying staying at home with him. But 5 months is a long time to go with few breaks. When your family doesn't live in town, babysitters are hard to come by...especially for infants.

After months of doing my mommy job literally 24/7, imagine my excitement for 4 hours off once a week and a few hours on the weekends. Heaven on earth, I tell you! I got to go to the mall and not have to drag out a stroller and 17 pound baby in addition to a diaper bag. I didn't have to pack anything or plan ahead. I got to walk out the door with my purse and nothing else. And, it felt good. Another thing that felt good: getting my OOC eyebrows waxed. Wow. My regular waxer either quit or got fired before my last appointment, and I couldn't seem to find time to reschedule. I feel like a new person with my time off and my perfectly shaped eyebrows!

Things went so well today, that Barry and I have booked Lauren again for tomorrow night. I know, right? What kind of lucky girl am I to get a sitter two days in a row? Barry is the best, that's all I can say!

19 Weeks

Branner is officially 19 weeks (and, at this point, 5 days) old! He is growing up so fast. I feel like I am going to blink and we will be at his first birthday party. His personality is really shining through at this point. He is a happy, easy-going baby who LOVES to laugh. He loves rolling around on his playmat, playing with (and chewing on) small toys, "working out" with me at MOMs and he is really starting to get into books and being read to before bedtime. Last night as we were reading "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" and "Where the Wild Things Are," he kept looking up and me as I read, smiling and laughing. He also kept grabbing at the pictures. I think we have a little bookworm on our hands. He gets that from his mommy! We are going to try a new storytime program next week since Peapods has switched days to Tuesday--which is a workout day--and mommy can't be missing that if she wants to have any hope of getting into a bikini this summer! Happy Wednesday, everyone!