My car....!

Let me start by saying Eddie and I are both SO at fault here that our faults pretty much cancel each other out, so we can't blame anyone but ourselves....hahahah

Okay, so we came home from the YOTA banquet on a total high over Cal's award. We stopped and grabbed food on the way home and pulled in around 9. I took the kids up to bed and Eddie was going to let Bruce out and lock up the house. He did that, then met us upstairs and we tucked the kids into bed.

I started gathering baseball gear for the morning and Ed was going to go down and "watch the news and check the doors." This is funny because I make fun of him for this every night-- he is an over checker. He checks and then he re-checks. Which makes it even WILDER that he didn't realize the left the door open.

We were up early on Saturday to get to Cal's game. The boys went into the garage to get on their cleats, and I leashed up Bruce and walked him out to pee. I stopped in the garage and said "where's my car?" to the boys and they just stared at me. So I walked into the driveway thinking maybe Eddie moved it, but it wasn't there either. Ed was still upstairs and Bruce was still smelling grass, so I called Eddie and asked him where my car was.

Long story short, someone was prowling the neighborhood and happened upon our never-ever-left-open garage door, and got in my car, I am sure looking for money. Lucky for this person, not only did they find cash, they found my purse and my keys. Because I keep them in the car in the garage (enter palm face smack). Yes, I know I should not have left my keys in the car (technically, Eddie was driving the car, so HE left the keys in there, but there's no blame here). Yes, I know I should not have left my purse in the car. I am still beating myself up over it all.

So the police were called, Eddie and Cal and Andy went to the game and I stayed home and started the process of cancelling the cards.

We had a long day at the baseball fields and we pretty much sat in shock of the whole thing. As soon as we got home, I poured a FAT glass of wine:

 And then we decided to find some funny in the day. The whole neighborhood was super upset, understandably so, and on high alert. So I sent out this picture and said "great news! we remembered to shut the garage door tonight...." made me laugh... we so funny. And so so so dumb.

Meanwhile, Eddie is ready to be all:

 And then at 9:30, the police called me saying they found my car. Seriously. It was in a parking lot in Durham (about 15 mins from our house). My purse was still there, as was my wallet, but it was totally emptied-- like even my Harris Teeter VIC card is gone. But nothing else, really... my parents and Eddie went to meet the police at the car. The officer felt like the guy was coming back for it- he left things in there, etc. My credit cards were used a various gas stations for about $30 each time. They smoked a lot of cigarettes in the car, as it reeks.

But all in all, the car is fine. I took it to get a big fat bath to remove all of the "them" from it and put dryer sheets throughout to try and knock out some of the smell.

Catching the punks: okay so I realize it's Durham and there are MUCH bigger fish to fry in the world. So I am not hopeful they will catch these guys, BUT a neighbor across the street got video footage of the person- so they have an idea. And another neighbor has video of my car leaving the neighborhood, with an additional car with it, so we know there were two cars. My cards were used and we have exact amounts and the time stamp on them, so they should be able to access videos from the stores. Those are not accessible on weekends, so they had to wait until Monday to view (seriously, wtf?).

So there you have it! Just thrown in to make the weekend extra exciting.......wowzas.



 

YOTA award night

WHAT a weekend....! We had the YOTA awards banquet Friday night, my car was stolen from my garage, Cal got asked to play in a kid pitch game, making our baseball game total THREE for the weekend, and we had the Just tRYAN it triathalon, that was made a duathalon because the pool was too chilly, followed by a golf match!

The other parts up there need their own post, so I am just going to do the YOTA banquet now.

A few weeks ago, Cal's coach sent me this email:

Hi Carrie,
I just wanted to let you know that the Chapel Hill coaching staff has selected Cal as one of the YOTA Award recipients at the Awards Banquet in a few weeks. This award is presented to two athletes in each group who exemplify the YMCA Core Values, are great teammates, and work extremely hard.

I know that the banquet is a little ways away from Chapel Hill in Apex, but if you guys can make it that would be great! Here is the info for the event again if you need it:

________

Wow...! Keeping it a secret was hard! So so thankful the coach sent that because we definitely weren't planning on attending the banquet.... It was not a great location and the timing was hard, etc... but the night was so worth it!

We arrived and the place was suuuuuper packed. All the swimmers got their "crystal" awards, which   is just the trophy for participating. 

 I thought they were so nice!

And then the speeches started and then Cal was called up on stage. Oh my word! I about cried. I was so proud of him-- this was not an award for his athletic ability... which is also great, but this award was based on his character... and that means so much more to me. 

 Two kids from each "group" win the award, and we could not be more proud that Cal got it. He is not the fastest swimmer, but as his coach mentioned in his speech, Cal will say thank you every single practice... and at that, I did tear up.

 He was beaming when he sat back down.

 On the way home, he held that plaque oh so tight. He was proud! And so were his parents!

As we drove home, I started thinking how lucky and blessed I felt to have kids who are healthy enough to be able to play sports-- and be asked to play UP on a team, and who are also kind to their coaches, etc.

Karma wasn't having me thinking that way though. Because that night, my car was taken! ahhhhhhh! 



 

Checking in with the Williamsons

It has been almost a month since my last post. WHAT?!?!?! No excuses. We are busy and finding the time to sit and upload pictures takes a real long time. But still. Get with it, Carrie!

Here is a look at what's happening in our family currently!

CalBoy:

Cal is doing great in 2nd grade. He is learning a ton and is currently researching Babe Ruth for the 2nd grade wax museum. He is still loving swim and is excited for summer swim to start up. Baseball is a big love of his currently. I love watching him play, and he loves thinking about how it all works while he plays. He is really getting it, which has been awesome to witness.  Golf has been a challenge for him because, well, he knows best....with everything! He and his father tend to butt heads pretty hard out there. Eddie will say "you just use your putter and put it in here." and Cal will reply "nah, I am going to chip it." Then he chips it right into the bunker. It is hard knowing it all. Our favorite tv show to watch as a family is Jeopardy. We record it every night and watch it together. I adore this time. Cal has found a computer game Jeopardy and likes to play that too. Cal is BUSY and active and caring and funny and great!

Nuggie:

 Someone asked this week where we got that nickname. I am not sure I ever wrote it on here...? When he was a baby, I held him and said "he just looks like a little nugget!" and it sort of stuck. Well, it really stuck. His teacher texted me last week and called him Nug in the text. For real. That's sticking. He started swimming year round with Cal, and this week won "Swimmer of the week" for his whole group. He was so so proud. His coach told me today that he can really see it clicking for Andy-- and I saw it today too. He was struggling to keep up when he started, but today, he was passing a little boy who is 9. He was pumped. Andy's baseball team is not as put together as Cal's team. There are several players who have never played before and will actually duck when the ball is thrown at them. At our game last week, Andy was playing the outfield, but ended up coming in and covering second base- just because that kiddo wasn't anywhere to be seen. Andy loves golf. Loves it. He is super coach-able and will listen to whatever Eddie tells him to do out there. He has yet to break par, so he is still playing from 25 yards, but we are hoping it happens soon! I need to do a big update on his stomach situation, but I will save that for another post. In brief, we started him on some new meds, which are adult dose meds, and the first day, he went like crazy, and then went about every other day/every third day, and now, in week two, he is currently on day 5 of not going. So.... big fat shoulder shrug there. Andy thinks his teacher is the greatest human alive, Bruce is the greatest dog alive, and Christmas time should be year round.

Bruce:

Bruce had a vet appointment last week and got the devastating news that he is grossly overweight. He took it well, but his momma's heart was sad for him. So we are both dieting. It's not going well. I want frozen yogurt.  Bruce continues to be the most laid back, sleepy headed dog. He pulls like a lunatic when we walk, and then crashes and sleeps the rest of the day. He sends himself to his crate often and isn't seen for hours on end. I am obsessed with him and can not smooch his squishy face enough.

Eddie:

Eddie has been busy lately and traveling quite a bit! He has taken up tennis, at my pressuring, and really likes it! He's had all of two lessons, but he's pretty sure he's the next big star at Wimbleton. His biggest news is he has bought a new boat. And he's pumped about it. We are all excited to spend a lot of time on it this summer, making memories! He put a LOT of effort into finding this boat, so we are even more thrilled the hunt is over!

Carrie :)

I have been busy busy doing all the things.... but what? Still teaching preschool twice a week and signed on to do it again next year. Am I crazy?? Probably! I am still playing tennis and my team is having a lot of fun together. We will not be progressing to States any time soon, but the new players who have never played before are getting a lot of experience, so that is important! I am a parent rep for swim team again, and the pre work has already started! Swim is a LOT of fun, and I learned last year that a LOT of work goes into it! I can't wait for the season to kick off! I have been in a clean out tear and am currently working on the attic. Every time I sit down to work on a blog post, I actually go clean out another closet/drawer/cabinet. It has really been quite nice to get stuff organized!

So that's a look at what's going on over here! I am going to try a day in the life post soon...maybe Friday. 

 

Bruce.

I love this dog. He sheds a ton and is hyper. But holy cow, is he the sweetest thing ever. He walks to the bus stop and back and is totally spent for the rest of the day. He's exhausted.

Tucking me in at night. He does this every single night. 

Riding in the car- mornings are too hard to take sometimes. No selfies before he's caffeinated, please. 

This is a new thing for Bru. Sleeping upside down. Now, majority of the time, this is how you will find him. 

I mentioned in a previous post about the baby shower- well, the bassinet came before the shower and Bruce was fascinated by it. I mean, OBSESSED. He wouldn't leave its side. It was cute...and a little odd. 

All times of day, this is where he would be.

 I still miss Hank every single day. He was truly the greatest dog. Bruce sure is doing a good job filling that void though. I can't say enough how thankful I am that we have Bruce. He is my shadow and attached to his momma....and I don't mind one bit!

 

Baby Shower

Eddie's youngest sister is pregnant with her first baby and it's a girl! I had way too much fun showering her this past weekend.


I had a vision for this shower before we knew she was pregnant- haha. I had a boy plan and a girl plan. The girl plan came together nicely! I made this tutu skirt and loved it. It was a labor of love, for sure. We had a "momosa" bar, where people could make their own mimosas. 

They are naming the baby Hallie, and picked out the pick wooden sign for their nursery. I ordered it and hung it as part of the decorations. The bassinet was my boys', but my mom turned it pink for them. We found the cutest tutus at Target for the mantle decor too. 

 She is a glowing mom to be!!!

She got loads of super cute gifts.... I love watching a mom to be open baby gifts. Just listening to the ohhhhs and ahhhhhs get me. 

The favors were these little mini champagne bottles with the tag. Love it. 

 She had quite the loot to sift through!

 All the hostesses with the mom to be!

 The proud dad to be stopped by after the shower to help collect the goodies. There were plenty to collect!

I must say, I sure did enjoy all the pick frilly stuff. Who knew? When the shower was all packed up and put away, there wasn't much pink left in this all boy house!


 

BOOK REPORT: March

So much for doing a book report each month! Totally forgot to do it in February. Whoops! Here is a super sized one because it includes February as well as the books I read while in Grand Cayman plus anything else covered in March.

I read this first one in February- some neighbors and I are doing a little book club and this was the first book picked. Oh, how I loved it. It wasn't easy to read- and I often had to shut it and walk away from it for a bit... but it was wonderful. There are three main characters and they all are from different views during WWII (one prisoner in a concentration camp, one doctor during the war and one living in NYC). And through their individual stories, we get one beautiful story as they are woven together. Each chapter is from a different girl and they are often ended with a MEGA cliff hanger. Like you want to skip the nest few chapters to get back to reading about the girl you are left hanging about. SUCH a well-written book!

Lilac Girls

I have mentioned this next author a bunch on here, and even said in the last book report that I was going to take a little break from her, just because.... well there was grieving in some of her books and it was feeling a little....like I needed to take a break! But I decided to read this one- and I am so glad I did! I loved it! It was a happy, chick lit, but there was also a lot more to it. I laughed several times and I didn't want to put it down. The characters are great and lovable too, which helps!

Now That You Mention It

The next book our book club decided to read is the next one. Oprah liked it, so you know... it MUST be great ;). I liked it.....okayyyyy.... The book takes place in present day and there are some aspects of race that are addressed, but it is not a central theme of the book. We discussed it and I found myself liking it more once we hashed it out a bit. I will say this: I am very glad I read it.... but I am not sure I would recommend it to you to read.

American Marriage


After that heavy one, I needed a light read, and this one was just it! I can't quit this author, I guess! ha! Plus, you put a golden on the cover and I am sold. This was a sweet book- total chick lit- and I flew through it. Loved the characters, laughed a lot, and really enjoyed this book! If you need a light beach read, this was great!

The Best Man

Just like I am currently on a Kristan Higgins kick currently, not too long ago, I was on a Colleen Hoover kick. I haven't read anything by her in a while, so I read this one while on vacation. It was good! Her characters are just enough screwed up that you feel for them and you want to read more about them. This was also a quick read for me!Loved reading about this pieced together family and how they function....and how they don't. Put them all in a church-turned-home together and there were definitely some interesting parts!

Without Merit


And finally this month:

The Light We Lost

Apparently Reese Witherspoon makes book recommendations...? #whoknew?! And this was one of them. Not sure if you can see in the picture of the book above, but she has a little emblem on the books she recommends....! whaaaaat?
Any way, I can see why she thought this was a good one. It was sooooo good. It's not a tear jerker book, but it kept me reading and wondering what would happen to this character. I loved the format of the story- and it wasn't clear how it was being told (this makes more sense when you read it....)- so I loved figuring out WHY it was being told like that. Add this to your must read list this summer. It was that good. You will finish it in no time.


Remember when I was in a rut for books? I am SO not in a rut any more. This little book club has opened my eyes to so many more books. I have an on-going list of books to read. I am hoping to make a dent in the list over spring break.

Are any of y'all on Good Reads? I created an account, but I don't do anything with it. Maybe I should. i have a friend who swears by it and uses it religiously to track her books (read and want to read).