Life Lately

It's half way through the week! Woohoo!!! Life lately has been all about soccer, it feels.  With Cal practicing on Mondays and Wednesdays and Andy on Tuesdays and Thursdays and games on Saturdays, it feels like a whoooole lotta ball kicking going on around here.

Here are some pictures documenting life lately...

Andy does NOT like the time after he gets out of school until Cal gets home from school.  He gets so bored.  And he doesn't like to play with me.  I would love nothing more than to have a play date every afternoon for him from 1-3:30.  But I am finding not every kid loves big dogs- much less TWO of them! When we do have playdates, I spend all of my time keeping Bruce locked in a room where he is freaking out because it is his JOB to greet everyone that comes in this house...! So.  Andy has become buddies with our neighbor, Dick.  He thinks of him as one of his best buddies.  And bless Dick's heart- if he's outside, and Andy spots him, Andy sprints full speed over to see what he's working on.  They dig, plant, weed, etc etc etc and then Andy will say, "wanna come over and play catch??" And this sweet man does.  Bless him.  

Last week was Andy's week to be child of the week.  On Friday, he asked if he could bring in some special items (kids are allowed to bring in a special toy/item if they would like). Andy brought in two of his trophies and he was so proud to show them off.  

I LOVE his smile in the picture below-- 

And then, when you are child of the week, you can have a special person come in a read to the class.  Many kids have a parent or a nanny or a grandparent come in to read.  Andy asked if Cal could come in-- he said he didn't have to read, but he wanted him to come in on the special day.  Cal said he would love to read.  And he did.

Cue the momma tears... I couldn't help it! He did SUCH a great job! He read with feeling and showed all of this pictures and read loudly enough-- it was nothing short of amazing.  

I mean, for a kindergartner, new at the whole reading thing, to get up in front of a class of 18 kids and read a book....? I was blown away.  My heart sort of wanted to explode. 

Not to mention the fact that Andy even wanted Cal to be there--  that right there got me.  These two fight so much.  SO much.  But holy cow, they love each other so much.  And as proud as I was, I am pretty sure the little brother was even more proud. 

Thankfully, my parents and Eddie were all able to be there for the reading.  And thankfully, Andy's teacher assistant took this picture (and then I took a picture of the picture...!). Love this crew so much!

 And, the professional pictures were released from the fashion show Friday night.  Dear Gracious: who let me up on stage?!?! Honestly.  What am I doing? Clearly I was excited.  Or scared??? Maybe a ghost ran up and startled me? Maybe I was trying to hit some Carrie Underwood high notes?

Either way, here is an article about the event, along with the total amount of money raised....! Thanks for your kind words and emails!

Like I said, life lately has been all about soccer...and yet, I have no pictures or soccer playing- ha! The rest of this week will fly by too, I am sure! It is feeling like summer here with hot temps... I am pumped! Looking forward to pool days and beach trips!


 

Habitat Fashion Show

Are you sick of hearing about this yet? I will let it go after this, I promise! But I have to document this! Be prepared for picture overload....!

All different women in the community were asked to model in this fashion show, and mom and I were both honored to be included!

 I was to be in hair and makeup at 3:30 on Friday.  Ummm, that's when Cal gets out of school...after some creative planning, I made it there only slightly late.  We had the services provided by Aveda Institute, which is a school-- everyone there was a student, learning how to do hair and make up.  The girl who did my hair was a young thing-- fresh out of high school...! But she was sweet as could be and I thought she did a nice job! She took before pictures so she could do a before/after for her portfolio.

I washed my hair and dried it...and didn't do anything to it.  It looks AWFUL! It is crazy long right now-- I need a trim...or a cut... it grows really fast. 

and turned that into this:

 I showed her a picture of my dress and she went for a "messy beach bun" look.  She did all kinds of fishtails and braids all over.  Kind of fun, right?

Once I got out of hair and make up, my mom showed up- we did a little before shot together:

I am so glad I got to do this with my mom! We had a blast together!

There was a pre-party before the show that we went to for a bit before we had to get back stage...

 We were supposed to be back stage, but a bunch of my sweeeet friends were meeting up at a restaurant near by so I popped in to say hi to them-- I just love these ladies to pieces!

Walking down to the prep area-- one last look at the stage... the drinks were totally easing my nerves, to be honest- haha

Then it was time to get the dresses ON!

The boys were in it too-- remember them?? I packed their iPads and they were content playing them under the table in the kids store while they waited.  Eddie was in charge of them (and he was thrilled, can't you imagine?!).  I love their sweet smiles... and that bowtie that's for sale....hmmmm...wonder how much that is.... because it's cuuuuute.  Along with everything else in this store....!

Back in the store, we were all dressed and ready for them to line us up.   I loved this dress... oh, how I loved it.  It flowed and it was super comfortable.  I loved the slit in the side and the one shoulder.  Almost everyone asked if I got to keep the dress.  The answer is no...and then people asked me if I was going to buy the dress... once I told them the price of the dress, they understood why the answer was no. And why I didn't eat or drink anything once in said dress.  And took it off immediately following the show...

Cal was in line right behind my mom, so I got out of line to wait with him while she walked.  I love love love his sweet face in this picture-- taking it all in.  

 My mom worked that run way-- she strutted and turned and strutted some more.  I mean, look at her face! She was loving it, right?? So much fun!

 Oh yes, she took off that jacket and owned it. 

 How cute is she??!!?!

Then it was Cal's turn.  He told me later he was very surprised how many people there were there-- hahaha He looked like deer in the headlights the whole time.  He walked straight to the end and then turned around and came straight back- no pausing, no posing. Just hustle.  

 There aren't many pictures of Cal because he high tailed it down and back so quickly.  haha Eddie commented that Cal looked miserable- but when we did the finale, with all the models walking together, he said it was really fun and wanted to walk solo again-- I think he cracked a smile for that run...

The bathing suit he wore was too cute-- it looks like a blur here, but we are buying it this week so you will see it in pics this summer!

Several people later, it was my turn to go!

Now, I need to stop here and mention my amazing friends.  They TURNED OUT for this show-- I couldn't believe they all came.  I wanted to cry. They all sat together and made a night out of it and whooped and clapped and cheered and just made me feel so special.  Granted, they were there to support a wonderful cause, but they were also there to support me, and it meant the world to me.  More than the world-- it was so special to see their faces and hear their voices.  I love you, sweet friends!!

There I go-- love that dress, really. My friends were cheering and I broke into the biggest grin and there was no wiping it off. 

Staring right at my people-- hahahaha

 The hem was fun- so flowy.

 Almost to the end....!

 The back of the dress (and my horrible posture...)

 And then I was done!

Andy was right after me with super cute Sophie.  I was able to stand at the top of the stage in the curtain to help them get out there-- oh yeah, and Andy missed the top step going up and fell off the side of the stairs-- why am I just now remembering this as I type this?!?!? Omg.... guess he's okay.....

They decided to hold hands on the way down.  Not sure what they were told, but they took this very seriously!

They stood at the front of the runway for a long time- just standing holding hands...

then they walked...

 and I stood on the side with tears in my eyes.... because this was big for a 4 year old! Part of me really thought the day of he was say "nahhhh, I'm good, no thanks..." but he did it! And he actually loved it- go figure!

After standing at the end of the runway for what felt like 30 minutes, but was only like a minute, they walked back, side by side- Andy kept his hands behind his back... can't hold hands too long.  Gotta let the ladies know he's still single!

 Then the rest of the "models" walked through and the finale was everyone walking all at once- I asked Andy if he wanted to walk with me and he did-- this was when Cal wanted to go solo and strut by himself. 

Once we got back to the store, I changed out of the dress as quickly as I could and got back into my $45 number and picked up some champagne...! We were done! And we didn't fall! And our kids made it to the end...and back!!! With no meltdowns! woohooooo!

After, we all headed back to the first restaurant where the girls met to grab a cocktail and chat-- such a fun night!

 Lucky I am to have people like this in my life.  Soooo thankful!

I wish I got a picture with everyone of my friends who was there that night-- the night flew by and my time to see people was limited.  So, for those (2) people who read this who were there: THANK YOU. Thank you for supporting your clumsy friend walking up there trying not to be road kill, a la Carrie Bradshaw, but also for supporting Habitat.  

Which brings me to this, and then I will be done: The money raised Friday night is going to a home for a single mom and her daughter-- both were in attendance.  I sat next to the mom while getting my hair done and she was just SO touched by the whole thing.  And beyond appreciative.  She was so happy-- and she deserves to be happy! Her life long dream is to help people and to give back.  I mean. Bless her heart! And bless their new house! I am thrilled beyond words that I got to be a part of such a great cause.  

Phew! Are y'all over it? My 2 minutes in the spotlight is over....can't wait to go next year and hopefully support one of my friends up there strutting her stuff!

 

Weekend Update

We had a BUSY weekend! So busy (and so picture filled), that I am having to split this post into two because it would be WAY too long otherwise.

Friday night, there was the Habitat for Humanity Fashion Show that I got to walk in.  Y'all- it was so much fun.  I loved my dress and had a blast getting my hair and makeup all done up.  This was fun:

...but it was so great having the boys in it too....! They wore clothing from Glee Kids and this was a picture the store posted to their instagram page.... I mean.... so stinking cute. 

 I have 800 pictures from the night that all my sweet friends sent me, so I am going to go through those and edit it wayyyyy down and will do a post on the show tomorrow (if I can get my act together). 

So, Friday night was a big night.  Saturday morning came around and hit me. Hard.  My head wasn't feeling too great.  Eddie left at 5:30 for the beach and I never fell back asleep after he left.  Cal came in and got in my bed with me and was playing with my phone then said "smile!" and took this.  Thisis death warmed over with a head ache. 

But it was a beautiful day, and we don't have time for headaches and hangovers in this house.  Andy had a soccer game at 10 and he was pumped!

I grabbed this picture with Lee during a water break- love their goofy selves.  

Soon after Andy's game, it was Cal's turn! It was seriously such a gorgeous day- bright blue sky!

 Cal had a great game-- his team is so much fun to watch.  They are all really "clicking" and passing to each other and communicating well while playing.  Sounds cheesy, but they really are getting it. 

After the game I got a picture of these cuties-- love them so much!

 Andy had to get in the picture too-- heaven forbid he miss a camera opportunity. 

We all walked back to the cars together and caught this moment... Sally and I are lucky ladies.  

Saturday was UNC's spring football game.  We decided to go (I forgot to mention Eddie took Bruce with him to the beach-- I wouldn't have been able to do all of this stuff if I had Bruce at home!).  We ran home after lunch and I told the boys to put on Carolina gear.  Cal came out in a UNC tshirt, a football jersey on top and a basketball jersey on top of that.  I pointed out that he didn't have to wear ALL of the UNC stuff that he owned (and that he might be hot...) so he removed the top jersey.
Then Andy came out.

Homie loves his basketball shorts.  And jersey.  And insisted on bringing the helmet.  I tried talking him out of it.  But then I thought, "what do I care what this child wears?!?! If it makes him happy, WHO CARES???" so we left.  

We walked right in and found some seats-- several people complimented Andy on his shorts right off the bat.  He walked around like he owned the place while Cal watched the game.  

Andy spotted these guys and made a bee line for them.  He was hugging him before I could get near for a picture.  

Then Cal went in for a little hug...

Go Tarheels!

And as we were taking a picture, we spotted Brad-- so I quickly threw him in the picture too, despite the line that was forming up the aisle.... love these little tarheels!

They had music playing the entire time.  And everyone was enjoying it.  Especially Andy.  

Then the music just really moved him.  (I am praying this video loads onto this darn blog so I can always have it....it makes me laugh so hard).  As my friend Katherine put it: "he is sooo your child...." #canigetanamen??

 Sweet Jane wore the helmet with her cheerleading outfit and I am not sure there's ever been a cuter sight.

My cute momma with the boys.  We are so glad she came with us...or we went with her...? Either way, we were glad to be together!

Such a gorgeous day for some outside fun!

And then the most amazing thing happened.  My mom took the boys home after the football game and I had the whole house to myself.  I didn't know what to do.  Actually, I did.  I cranked up pandora, thong song station and ROCKED OUT while getting showered and dressed.  I was singing and dancing and totally enjoying myself.  Hank was passed out on the floor next to me and I think he was thrilled to have no one biting his ear or attempting to ride him.

I went to a friend's housewarming and then went downtown for another friends birthday dinners.  I was home by 10:30-- to my empty, quiet house.... and then..... I SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT. And it was glorious.  I was snoozing hard when Eddie called me at 7:40.  Should have moved my phone...or turned it off.  Or given it away.

It was seriously lovely though.  I got up and went to pick up the boys, but decided a trip to dunkin was necessary first.  Hank wanted to ride along, so he hung out in the backseat and was beyond thrilled when he got a munchkin.  

I went to pick up the boys and my dad asked me if I would like his apple watch..... (!!!!!).  He wasn't a fan and decided it wasn't something he wanted... and I was just saying I would love one....! So I got me a new watch! Can't wait to wear it for a few days and see how I like it.  So far, it is good! I am anxious to wear it to a popup class to see how accurate the calorie burn is.  My polar has the heart rate monitor around my chest, so that feels more accurate to me... we will see!

When we got home, the chores started.  I had a long list of stuff to do!

Andy helped me change my tail light. Such a big helper.  

 And I cleaned out my car-- big time.  Vacuumed it all out, scrubbed dirt, the whole she-bang.  The boys got in it to "play" and both kept saying they couldn't believe how clean it was and they wanted to play in there for a while.  Whatever floats your boats, kiddos!

It was way too pretty of a day, so I got my 12th load of laundry going and we set out for a bike ride/Hank walk around the hood.  We were stopped in this picture, that's why Andy's helmet is off (just in case Dr. K reads this....and hi, Dr. K!). 

We played outside some more, I cleaned out the garage and did a little reorganizing...which will last about 5 minutes, and then Cal had some homework to finish. 

We went to dinner at firehouse (of course we did) where Cal ate a kids meal and a big bag of chips and declared that he was still hungry.  So he ate another whole sub.  Next time we won't order a kids meal... I think it's time he gets the full one.  And, wow.

Bed time for Andy couldn't come soon enough Sunday night.  He needed to go to bed around 6.  Because OHMYWORD he was being hard.  wow. wow. wow.  But, hey! Tomorrow is a new day!

The amount of pictures I took from Friday morning through Sunday is in sane.  I might have a problem.  Oh well. 

Happy Monday!