Two more Kendallisms

Two more things I don't want to forget when Kendall is all grown up:

- She calls her bathing suit "bathing soup".  Which always brings to mind the fact that she is obsessed with soup.  When I ask her what she wants for dinner, it's either soup or rice.  She loves hot and sour soup even though it burns the fire out of her mouth.  Crazy youngin.

- She calls boogers "Cookie Monsters".  This is because her Papa once told her that he saw Cookie Monster up her nose.  Last night at the pool, I apparently needed to blow my nose because right in the middle of a song, she said "Mommy - you got Cookie Monster in your nose."

Since when does she call me Mom?

I distinctly remember being around 6 or 7 and calling my Mama "Mom" while eating dinner over at a family friend's house (Mama - if you are reading this, it was at Milton and Janet's and I think we were eating fish...don't know why I remember this, but I do).  Anyway - she said "since when do you call me Mom".  Today - as Kendall has called me Mom for the 75th time, I'm wondering the same thing.  I actually refuse to answer to it - I'm Mommy or I'm nothing.

I thought now would be a good time to go over some other Kendall quirks so I'll have a record of them in 5 years when calling me Mom is the least of my worries:

- The child LOVES the grocery store.  Literally every day when we go past Kroger, she wants to stop.  If we run out of anything at home, she says "buy some at the grocery store".  There are 1 of 3 scenarios for grocery shopping.  #1 - She rides on the little bar in front of the cart and "helps" me push the cart.  (Yes I know this probably isn't the safest of options...call social services).  #2 - She insists that I push her in one of those space ship grocery carts that are insanely hard to turn.  #3 - She pushes her own little cart. 

- She is obsessed with Barney on Netflix.  It doesn't matter how many other options I present, she always chooses Barney.  Much to the dismay of everyone that I repeat this story to.

- She wants me to stay in the bathroom with her when she pottys if and only if it's a number 1.  For number 2's, she says "Mommy go way" and I have to step outside while she does her business.  Unfortunately she does not afford me the same luxury.

- The other day I asked her what she does at church.  She said "I want go!  I learn Bible".  I asked her what the Bible teaches us and she said "I love you, Jesus."  My heart melted.  I don't claim to go to a church that does everything right...no church does.  But dag on it - we've got the children's ministry covered.

- She loves to go to the pool.  Thank you to the puddle jumper floatie thing that makes this so much more enjoyable for the whole family.

- She asks at least once a week for a baby sister.

- She still says "koy" for "toy", "in in" for "in there", "fa on" for "come on".  I love it and will not be happy with you if you try to teach her the correct way to say these things.

- She thinks it's really funny when someone passes gas and always blames it on Daddy.  I taught her that and yes I know I'm immature.

I love being her Mommy.  Or Mom.  Whatever.

Surprise Getaway = WIN!

lI'm not really given to grand romantic displays.  James and I definitely have a spark, but we're that goofy couple that giggles our way through most moments (romantic ones included).  So when I got the wild hair to plan a surprise getaway for my love, I surprised even myself.  It ended up being FABULOUS!  I highly, highly, highly recommend Fiddler's Roost cabins in Galax, VA to any couple that wants to get away for some one on one time. 

We got there Sunday after church and checked in and relaxed and then dinner was delivered  by the owners that evening...they set up the table in our cabin with fresh flowers and candles and delivered a delicious meal.  We slept like babies with the windows opened listening to the rain and enjoying 60 degree breezes.  We woke up to homemade breakfast (again delivered by the owners).  It was just all around fabulous.  James was very surprised and I'm still walking around smiling like a newlywed.  We will definitely be going back.

Reasons I love James Edward Mason, Jr.

Since we're not technically celebrating our 6 year anniversary (been together 8, however) until tomorrow, I have a little time to list some reasons why James is God's perfect man for me...in case next week he totally ticks me off and I need a reminder.

1.  He is sincere - he says what he means and means what he says.  He's not given to exaggeration and I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that if he says it will happen - it will happen.  If he says he's feeling a certain way, that's exactly how he feels.  This quality is not one that I realized was necessary in a husband until I met James. 

2.  He is a much better daddy than I am mommy.  And I'm okay with it.  He's fun and funny and quick on his feet and knows just when to throw out something random to occupy Kendall when she's about to freak out.  He's always at doctor's appointments, he gets her to eat her vegetables, he doesn't complain when he comes home late from work and she's fallen asleep in our bed.  Seeing them together absolutely melts my heart and I love him 100 times more now that I've seen him as a daddy than I did before Kendall was born.

3.  He deals with my chaos.  Let's face it - I'm a busy woman.  I'm a wife, mother, employee, student, active church member...we are always on the go and he never, ever complains.  Even when he's worked a 12 hour shift at work and I tell him at the last minute that he's also signed up to do something for the church.  Or when I'm sitting in the middle of every piece of clothing in our closet because I've decided that right-this-very-minute would be the most appropriate time to organize it.  Or when I have a complete meltdown because I've had a bad day at work.

4.  He lets me have girlfriends.  Now, this may seem like a given.  And I think it should be.  But, the relationship (aka train wreck) that I was in before I met James didn't allow for girlfriends.  Or any other type of relationship, come to think of it, but that's beside the point.  James not only encourages me to spend time with my besties, but he downright loves them too. 

5.  He loves my family.  It's not every day that you see a family that is as tight as ours...I'm like BFFs with my mom, dad and Meg.  And James joins right on in. 

6.  He came with the best inlaws on the planet.  I love them with my whole heart.

7.  He tolerates me when I worry about what our biracial family "status" might mean for whatever arbitrary thing I'm focused on.  Like, lately it's that I'm worried that if we move to Morrisville, there won't be enough minority children around Kendall and she'll think she's weird.  Or if we ever need to go to say, the back woods of Alabama, will we get run out of the town?  He always patiently listens to these incoherant ramblings and then changes the subject.

8.  He is insanely funny...if you don't know him well, you probably don't realize it because he is a little shy when it comes to letting loose around folks.  But he makes me laugh until I cry at least once a week.

9.  He lets me run a ceiling fan even though he is 100% convinced that it makes his nose stuffy.

10.  He gets me flowers at appropriate occasions like anniversaries and he never forgets to get Kendall a little flower of her own.  Today it was beautiful Lilys for me and an itty-bitty orchid for Kendall.

I could list 5,389,299 more reasons why this man gives me butterflies, but my fingers are tired.  All I know is that the past 8 years that we've been together have been fabulous and I can't wait for the next 108.

Time to face the music

So I have these heart palpitations and while having them checked out fully, I was referred to a cardiologist.  I went back to him today for a follow up and while my heart is fine, he lit into me about my weight.  First let me say that he was a super funny guy and he and I really hit it off, so while what he said sounds harsh, it wasn't mean spirited at all.  Basically he said I'm fat.  Which I already know...no shocker there.  But he also said that while I am in good health now, he doesn't want to see me in 30 years for a bypass operation because I didn't take his advice and do something about what is an obvious weight problem.  Point taken, Dr. Buchanan.  I've got to get my head on straight to make some changes in my overall lifestyle that will result in my being a healthier me.  I don't know that I will necessisarily do some sort of "organized" diet, but I am going to make changes that I can hopefully keep.  Pray for me - 30 years of bad eating habits won't be easy to fix.

In more lighthearted news, James and I celebrate 6 years this weekend and I've got a little something up my sleeve :-)

I think it's Facebook's fault...

...that I don't post on my blog more often.  It's so easy to just write a little blurb that tells everyone what's going on and I just forget to write on here.

Let's see - since I last wrote:

•  we had an fabulous vacation in Wilminton with James' parents.  It was my first trip there, but definitely won't be the last.  Such a nice area.  We watched the most amazing fireworks show I've ever seen from our balcony, ate lots of ice cream and took naps every day.  James was there for the whole trip, which made me super happy.

• Kendall is potty trained.  Sounds crazy to me to have a potty trained child, but she's been (day time) accident free for days and days.  She still wears a pull up to bed, but most mornings it's dry.  Now what to spend that diaper money on??  Lots of people would say "it's time for another baby" and I would agree.  We're going to start trying for Mason 2.0 very soon.  If you ask my husband, he'll tell you I've been the hold up all along - I think he was ready over a year ago.

There really hasn't been a whole lot else going on.  Church is good.  Work drove me crazy last week, but it's mostly good.  School is good.  Life is good :-)

Summer Fun

We've been having so much fun enjoying summer that I've forgotten to blog anything about it! 

Let's see - there has been a beach trip, which was fabulous.  We went down with my parents and ended up spending time with not only family, but some of our best friends, too.  Kendall love, love, LOVED the beach.  The water, the sand, the critters, the shells - all of it.  And I was very proud of myself that I didn't get sunburned!  Well, okay - there were two strips on my shoulders that I neglected the first day, but that's really good for me!

It was a bittersweet trip because Ronnie wrapped up his beach ministry for a while, at least.  Last year at this time, I really thought they were going to move there permanently, but I think God had other plans for them.  Isn't He cool like that? 

I've also turned the big 3-0 since my last post and I must say I still feel a solid 24.  Age ain't nothin but a number, right?

We've enjoyed lots of time outside - blowing bubbles, taking walks, going to the pool.  I was even blessed with the special experience of finding a tick on myself for the first time in those aforementioned 30 years.  Those that know me well know that I FREAK OUT about pretty much everything and this was no exception.  Ticks have ALWAYS wigged me out, combined with the fact that someone in James' extended family actually died from a tick bite and you have one insanely freaked out mama.

Looks like Kendall will be taking some dance classes this summer.  We checked out a recital of a dance school in Raleigh on Friday night and I was way impressed with the whole thing - it was all very classy and age appropriate as far as the costumes and the dances - really a breath of fresh air compared to some of the other dance school performances I've seen in recent years.  You probably don't know this about me - but I danced for years and years and years growing up - competed and the whole nine, so of course I would LOVE it if Kendall took to dancing.  We'll see - I will not be that mom that forces my kid to do something she doesn't enjoy, but Kendall was mesmerized for the entire 3 hour show and she loved Little Gym (and this is half the price of Little Gym which makes me really happy) so we'll give it a whirl.

I think that's about all for now.  How is your summer going?