Peaches and Pearls: June 2016

Friday, June 24, 2016

Friday Favorites || At 11:59 pm

Nothing like Friday Favorites at 11:59 pm! That's kind of been the theme of this week. You get things done, but just by the hair of your chinny chin chin. Not for lack of planning, because the good Lord knows this girl has to plan things out to accomplish a n y t h i n g, but for lack of minutes in the day!

This time tomorrow my little family will be complete again!:) Not just that (which is enough to make me the happiest), but we will be sailing away on a big boat. Far away from the craziness that is life with a little time to just "be" & enjoy each other. Man, that sounds good after the blur of the past couple of weeks!

I want to apologize for the lack of posting here lately. I'm still trying to find my way through being a mommy of two (while daddy is hundreds of miles away). Our life has been the craziest it's ever been right now with much uncertainty- so bear with me. I promise I will figure things out & be more consistent in posting:) I haven't forgotten my ole' P & P corner of the web!

What are some of the highlights of the past few weeks? Hmmmmm...
1. Downtown Wilmington. For some reason, I can't get this cute little place off of my mind. When I think back to my time there, I feel like I was kind of sent back in time to a Nicholas Sparks movie. Either that, or like I was walking the neighborhood of Hocus Pocus (then again, we did go on a ghost walk). If you go there, you m u s t check out the Children's Museum & Java Dog! (If you have kids & a dog that is...) If you don't, go to Betsy's Crepes. You're welcome.

As on the departure of a n y w h e r e we go, tears.

While at the Children's Museum of Wilmington, Cam was a dentist, puppet, astronaut, scientist, pirate, railroad engineer, sailor, marine life observer, shopper, checker outer, driver, and most importantly...a weatherman!

Betsy's Crepes

2. Bible School...Check! It's a week that I look forward to, but also like to see come to an end. I co-taught the nursery again this year, ages 0-3. Cam enjoyed it soooo much. I think this has been the first year that he really understands what's going on. He counted down the hours each day & cried tonight at commencement because we didn't get to go to class after the opening assembly. S u r e, some nights I could have confused him with a rabid wild animal, but all the same, we are making it day by day through the threenager phase.

3. Packing for Four. Well, sort of. Well...come to think of it, absolutely!
I've been packing not only for the cruise, but for our house as well. I learned last week that renters (potential buyers) will be moving into our home July 1. In the same week. The same week as Bible School, too! What (and how???) do(es) I my husband get me ~~myself~~ into these type of situations?

4. Working at the Nursing Home again. I'll say going back to this population definitely reminded me that I am still called to serve the kid population, but gave me a giggle or two! One of my client's roommates cussed me out for turning the light on during breakfast & another told me I had lost weight & was skinny as a rail (she'd only seen me one other time 2 days before).

Scratch that, can I work here everyday?? ;)

And I can't forget to mention one of my dementia clients told me he was talking on the phone to Shirley Temple and whispered that he & I were running away together to the nurse & to never tell a n y o n e what had happened #neveradullmoment

5. Old Navy Boy Clothes. Spot on boy moms. If you are looking for some cute summer duds at a good price look no further. And oh the sales! I stocked up before packing for the cruise last week.

On a random note, did you guys know it was national selfie day this week? I really hate selfies.

And that's a wrap! I hope you all had a great week! Here's to hoping for some free wifi (dreaming, right?) to check in from the wide open seas;) Have a fun weekend!

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Wednesday Rambles

Just this past week, as I was browsing Hobby Lobby for Bible School supplies a lady came up to me as Conley was starting to get fussy & Cam was making a dive to hang off of my neck as we pulled into the check out line & said, "Enjoy them mama, they grow fast. I have four boys. And my youngest is 22." I kinda get the feeling this lady (oh, I don't know) seen my black circle eyes, messy freshly frizzed hair d/t a three year old giving me knuckle sandwiches down every isle, slobbery shoulder, & probably smelt at least a trace of a poopy diaper & sensed I needed to hear those words.

It's a great constant reminder. I worry myself to death about all that's going on. (Including when I don't get to blog for longer than a week-yeah, silly huh?). You've got to go here, do this, be there, make sure this person & that person are happy. My intentions are always to get everything done & do everything that is expected, but the longer I'm in the role of mommy, the more that all doesn't matter to me. Perfection anyway.

And let's be honest. The making everybody happy thing? You can try till the day you die & will still have people that aren't happy with everything you do. Is it really worth it? I've finally came to the place in my life where I can say no.

I may not make it to everything planned, or if I do, I definitely won't be on time! I will always forget something & I will always have coffee poured on some part of my body (espy c i a l l y when I wear white). The harder I try to make everything perfect, the worse things are, actually! But I try.

I do refuse to put "doing" in place of my kids. Because in over "doing," I become the worst version of myself. Somedays, I just don't like plans. Plans mean getting everyone dressed, to somewhere & back, all while I most certainly will be dragging Cam away crying wishing he could stay just "a little bit longer." That doesn't happen when we take it easy. Every now & then, I crave that refreshing time. The boys do too. Just a day to be. Don't we all need that sometimes? Especially in this season of life? And in taking time for days like that, I like to think I am actually getting to do just what the lady said, "Enjoying them."

I say all this after June has been probably the most hectic, chaotic, crazy time of my life. I have learned "many a lesson" in June 2016. On to the next;)

Thursday, June 9, 2016

if you give a threenager a pomp tree

he's p r o b a b l y going to want his 98 cent goggles hundreds of miles away & your breakfast. All of it. Maybe this will make sense later...

It's official. Summer is h e r e & we've begun our sunshine bucket list. First up, a trip to see my sister in Wilmington & my Uncle's beach wedding.

We left after I worked a bit Tuesday morning. I have to brag. The boys have been absolutely a m a z i n g on this road trip. Well, Cam may have sobbed for two hours over leaving his new pair of 98 cent goggles, as well as the fact that the iPad battery was dead for the beginning of the trip-but what else can you expect from a threenager? Right?

We arrived yesterday evening & got to see a little bit of Wilmington before dark. It really is a beautiful, quaint place. And my sister has the most adorable little town house e v e r (see above). Jealous...just the view of the hydrangeas make me drool. I'm all about history & old, cute, unique towns. Throw in "pomp trees" (what Cam calls palm trees) & the salty beachy air smell & call it love. It doesn't hurt that you can't find a crumb of bad food here, either...

Today, I'm pretty sure we made Cam's three year old life. But first. Naturally, to begin the day, he ate eggs & apples before leaving the house to go e a t breakfast. Refused to eat breakfast at the diner. That is until the food came & he seen my plate. Proceeded to practically eat e v e r y o n e ' s food & knock over my ice water all over the booth. #lifeofathreenager

After leaving breakfast, he seen a green truck & flipped out thinking it was a "Hulk truck." Turns out, it DID have the Hulk inside & the driver heard him call it the Hulk truck & let him blow the horn. #lifemade #totallydidn'tdeservethatbecauseheatemybreakfast

We went to the North Carolina Aquarium where we seen nothing but snakes, alligators, sharks...& dinosaurs. I've attempted to persuade this boy for months over his future bedroom. I so want him to choose super heroes, but he is determined to have a shark room. So today, it became even more concrete. Sharks rule, mom. And they are all weighing in at "48 - 9 lbs big," if you're wondering...at least that's what Cam says.

Dinosaurs, too. Just when I thought things c o u l d n ' t get better- we found a garden full of dinosaurs. We had to go through it not once, but twice. We pretty much seen every dinosaur imaginable on the little stroll. I think his favorite had to be the T-Rex. He stood there waving at the scariest, most ferocious dino of them all & said, "I think he likes me, Mom!" Yea buddy, that "cute" smile says it all.

After the aquarium, we went to Kure beach. Who forgot their beach friendly shoes? This girl. And oh, did I pay the price. Ouch! Cam decided he didn't want to wear his flip-flops until mid treck where he screamed bloody murder & I ended up carrying Conley & threenager on my own bare feet to a shade to put his flip flops back on. I think this was the 354,445th "I told you so" on the trip, but. Whose counting?

These kiddos were not about the beach to begin with. They both were crying the second we were splashed by a wave. Thirty minutes in & I think we were able to convince them it wasn't so bad. Before we left, Conley was trying to shovel sand in by the mouthfuls & Cam was jumping waves with me.

Before I let you go, I have to talk about the Ghost Walk. Why we decided this was a good idea I will never know. Yolo, I guess? Yolo ain't for people with kids, y'all. Cam hung on to every word the tour guide said (just what you'd want a three year old to do, right?) & was begging to not see a ghost the first minute into the first story (direct quote: "This is creepy!"), and Conley? Well, he decided it was a perfect time to work on his vocal range & intensity + loosen the ole' bowels. You can imagine how it turned out:P

People can have more fun than anybody, can't they?

Monday, June 6, 2016

Weekend Tales + FP Giveaway Winner

I hope you all had a beautiful sunny weekend! Here? It rained & rained. Then rained some more. In fact, Cam declared Sunday a stay at home day because it was too stormy to go out. I really didn't mind it myself, because the past week was full throttle at work. We are about to leave town for a week so I really needed a day to rest & catch up on our never ending supply of laundry + admire a rainbow:) Enough about my boring self.

What you really want to know is who WON the free Freshly Picked Moccasins!! Am I right?? We are so excited to announce the lucky winner as Fallon Menard! Congratulations, Fallon! I hope you & baby enjoy FP moccs as much as we do around here. A big thank you to all who took the time to enter this giveaway & who continue to read my blog four years into the rambles:)

Not much to tell about this weekend, except...oh, let's just talk threenagers. My Cam. The iPad connoisseur is BACK. He'd completely forgot about it for months...and now it's back with a vengeance And this momma has the work cut out for her in weaning him from it!

It all starts out with...let me check the weather, mom. Let me take a picture, Mom. And then the next thing I know, like in .5 seconds, he's MAD because the iPad takes too long to load a video OR begins trying to convince me that the one time he picked up toys "last year" is good enough to buy $500+ worth of Puzzingo games.
Duh, Mom. What do you know??

pictures c/o Cam

Not to mention this little one got t w o. Not ONE. But Two spankings at church yesterday. One for the morning service & another for the evening. Each time, I had told him at least 34,833 times to stop a behavior & at that point- my threats were as good as a joke. As I took him out, he was shouting (in a quiet church mind you)...

"I am sorry mom! Don't give me a spankin' mom! We can just talk mom right? I'm sorry, mom! I'm sorry."

Yep, it rips my heart in shreds, but I'm afraid we've had one to many "talks." Any others out there know what I mean? Aye Aye Aye. Got to love the threes. And this is just one of a million reasons as to why I'd love to have my husband home. A man to assist with discipline would be nice. Mommy isn't very scary when she says STOP apparently...

Happy Monday, you guys!

May we each be as profitable this week as Cam thinks HE is when he picks up his toys for a day...

Friday, June 3, 2016

High Five 4 Friday || Hello June

If we're all honest, some weeks just take the life out of us & we're left with a headache that a nap & simple dose of ibuprofen just won't touch. But life keeps going & two little boys search for the smile they know means everything is okay in the world. And I give them that smile every chance I get (even when we have an off week) because I know who is in control of our life at the end of the day. I also know that my little tough spots are trivial to the world's problems in general. Right?:) Here are my reasons to smile about this week...

1. Memorial Day Fun: I may have worked on the actual holiday, but I enjoyed a nice weekend with dinosaur pancakes, super hero disguises, & a side of family & friends. We soaked up the sun by the campfire & on the lake in our "baby suits" (as Cam calls them). It was a beautiful weekend that God blessed us with!

2. Double Duty (or BOOTY) Bathtime: Bathtime just got easier for this momma. Conley started taking baths with Cam this week & they are both in what we Southerner's call "hog heaven." Conley is a l l about splashing & Cam is all about washing Conley's hair. Because, he is NOT about washing his own...#brotherlylove

3. Preschool Graduation: I felt so blessed to watch the kids I have had the pleasure of loving the past couple of months walk across the stage to graduate from preschool & celebrate their transition into Kindergarten. They made me smile each & every day. When I left my own babies at home, I kind of felt like I was coming to see my others at work:) It was a crazy hectic day (as it has been week). The highlights of this craziness was picking up the beautiful carnations for their parents & letting my boys play in my office as I printed programs. I also got a wake up call...I can't b e l i e v e my Cam is almost ready for Pre-K himself!

4. Drinks are the highlight of my existence. Want to make me happy? Send me a tea, coffee, or ice water:) I get cracked up at how happy I find myself when I get a nice cold beverage...I've never been more thirsty in my life! #allthedrinks

5. Preschool registration: This just means a fresh start & more kids to meet & love. (And hopefully a chance to make a difference in some of their little lives). This speech therapist says bring on the 2016-17 school year. But let's do summer first!;)