*The Williamson Way*

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Mother's Day 2014

Wishing each and every single mom, mom-to-be, mom-wanting-to-be, grandmother and caregiver out there a very happy Mother's Day!!!

We had a really nice day!

I told Eddie that I wanted to sleep through the night the night before Mother's Day and the night of Mother's Day! Ha! It's the little things in life, right?? The boys have both been getting up multiple times a night (sigh) so a night of sleep sounded like heaven. Eddie did it so I woke up a happy momma on momma's day!

There were some adorable beaded bracelets I saw that came in a pack of three. I took a pic of them and told Eddie three bracelets for the three "sons" in my life- hahaha. He got them for me in pretty blue colors and I love them!!

The other bracelet is from my in laws-- how amazing are they?? Loooove my new cuff from them with my initials on it.

We decided to head out for a brunch with the fam. It is Carolina's graduation this weekend on top of Mother's Day so we knew it would be hard to find a spot. We ended up eating at this little place Eddie had been wanting to try in carrboro. It was yummy- and we got to sit outside which felt so good!

After riding around a bit enjoying the nice weather, we came home and cleaned out the garage. This sounds so lame, I know, but it needed to be done and it was SUCH a beautiful day. We really enjoyed being outside all together.

For whatever reason, the second we got home, the boys stripped down to undies, added boots and were good to go! Who knows...??

Cal shot hoops while Andy rode his bike.

I mean... This kid...

After cleaning the garage and watching Eddie bathe hank, we came in for some rest time. The boys rested and I went on a walk. It was such a beautiful day!!

We went to dinner at a new place which will now be a favorite and just had a great day!!!

I feel incredibly lucky to get to be a mom. I realize this is an honor and a privilege that I have and I really want to try to do it right every day. Of course that isn't possible but it's a good goal.

And to my own mom...

Thank you for loving me unconditionally so that I know how to love my children unconditionally. I can only hope and pray to be half the mom you are. You are truly the best. I love you!

Sally's Spectacular Celebration!

My dear, sweet friend Sally had a birthday last week and to celebrate, we all went out to dinner Friday night.

But what fun would it be to drive to dinner and park in the parking lot?? Sally's hubby rented a stretch escalade for us! We had THE most fun night ever!!

The limo made stops at everyone's house and we were the last to get on- we took a quick pic while we waited for the "lemon" to arrive (as Andy called it).

The boys walked out to see what it was all about... Surprisingly, Cal was super timid of the thing while Andy was ready to join the party!

Each stop the limo made during the pick ups, the kids of the mom got in the picture with them. Andy was thrilled to get to be in in too!

After a round of drinks at our house, we headed to Cary for dinner at An.

All the ladies: me, virginia, susan, sall, meredith, sheila, kristie and laurie

We had a little private room and had such a fabulous meal!!

I love fun nights with fun friends!!

After dinner, the limo took us each to our houses. It was such a fun night celebrating such a fabulous friend!!

Sall- love you to pieces! Soooo grateful to get to call you a friend!

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

A Derby Gathering

We decided (very) last minute to have some friends over for the Kentucky Derby this past weekend. We had so much fun having some friends-and their kids over! The Conners came with Brad and Jane and the Grosses came with Owen and Emma.

Eddie cooked a big pork shoulder and everyone brought sides. We made mint julups and had a great time hanging out with friends!

The kids loved having friends over...

After dinner, the crew went on the back porch for some ice cream sandwiches. The kids all sat in a row. It was too cute not to take a picture! (of course Hank had to be right there with everyone)

The kids played outside and got filthy so we decided to throw them all in the tub! They had a great time all taking a bath together--haha!

The Grosses weren't ready to go home, so they put the kids to sleep at our house so we could keep hanging out! We were going to put Owen on Cal's floor and Emma on Andy's floor, but Owen and Emma like to share a room at home so they wanted to be together on Cal's floor and Andy didn't want to be left out, so he went in there too!

Everyone fell asleep...but Andy. At 11:15 he was still in the room talking to the walls and hollering down to us. Eddie went upstairs to lay with him...and never came back down...! ha!

Sweet Owen fell asleep hard....

Cal was in his bed, then Owen, then Eddie, then Andy, then Emma! A worn out crew!

It was a fun night with super fun friends. Eddie and I feel so blessed and lucky to have such great friends in our lives. Good people, good fun!

#carriedaway: week 14

Week 14:

Day 113: Sophie was having none of Andy's antics.

Day 114: added a homie.

Day 115: I'm in DC!!! I have a little stomach bug, but I'm in DC!!!

Day 116: the Carries do DC

Day 117: I missed them more.

Day 118: one brother woke up cranky. The other broher offered to hold him until he felt a little better.

Day 119: because grocery shopping alone would oh so boring.

Monday, May 5, 2014

Nap Time

This is a judgement-free zone. Okay?

Nap time everyday for Andy was a battle. A straight up battle. I figured maybe it was time to drop it altogether, but when he wouldn't nap, I would pay the price right around 5:00. Things got ugly.

But I was so sick of fighting that daily battle!

And then one day I let him watch a movie on the couch. And within 3 minutes he was out cold. And then the next day, he asked to have rest time. ASKED to rest. He curled up on the couch and was out almost instantly.

I am sure pediatricians around the world are cringing. I am sure I am doing some form of lasting damage.

But you know what? The kid takes a great nap on the couch! He loves it! When he was in his bed, it was taking me at least an hour to get him down and then we had the struggle to get him to sleep at night again. It was exhausting and I didn't want to spend an hour of my day fighting with my sweet guy. Clearly, he still needs the nap since he is back to taking one almost daily. In the past 7 days, he has napped 6 of those. And on the day he didn't nap, he rested upstairs in the playroom on the couch with Cal.

See how sweet he is when he sleeps on the couch...??

Why am I overly obsessed with taking pictures of this kid sleeping?? I think he just looks so peaceful and sweet!!!

Soccer

Things around here feel so busy lately and I feel so slack about blog postings. I am currently an arts and crafts freak making stuff for Andy's 3rd birthday party (how can he be three? Honestly.)

One thing keeping us busy during the week is soccer! We have practice every Tuesday and Thursday with games on Saturday. Many of these have been rained out this spring, which is fine by me! I am usually worn out come 5:00!

Andy started the season off "playing" for the Ducks with Cal, but he soon decided he wasn't quite ready to play. He is still young and doesn't meet the age requirements yet anyway-- we are just friends with the coaches and they let him play.

Cal still loves soccer. He eats it up. He loves running around the field as hard as he can. He loves games too-- he asks every single time we have practice if today is going to be a game or not.

Picture day was last week... my brother challenged me to get a picture of Catherine. He didn't think I could do it. Boom.

The (huge) team of DUCKS! They were missing quite a few this day still...

and, while I was taking a picture of the little players, I turned around and saw Andy doing this.

Just taking care of business!

Soccer season is almost over...only a few more weeks! Then we move on to....swim team...!?!?! (maybe...we are still a little unsure of this one!)