The Jennings Family

I've Moved!

2011-03-09T04:55:00.000-08:00

to www.chasingbaylor.com

Be warned: the new blog is a mix of family stuff, favorite things and political rants. Because I can't control myself.

Is there a support group for this?

2010-05-05T08:47:00.000-07:00

Because I am totally hooked on Mad Men (HBO series).

...one of several explanations for my lack of productivity.

Future "Caniac"?

2010-04-28T06:22:00.000-07:00

Sign the Petition!

2010-04-26T04:51:00.000-07:00

www.remembernovember.com

Highly Recommended

2010-04-20T04:05:00.000-07:00

About a week ago I started a new Bible study by Vicki Courtney called The Virtuous Woman: Shattering the Superwoman Myth.....amazing! She goes through each of the qualities listed in Prov. 31 and breaks them down into a week long study (for example: one week on fearing the Lord, wisdom, being a woman of purpose, etc.) and discusses what that means in today's world. It's perfect for moms because it addresses the situations and feelings that we go through every day.

This week the focus was understanding our worth in God's eyes rather than trying to be what the world tells us to be--such a tough but much needed lesson!

Anyway, I thought I'd share because I always have a hard time finding the next Bible study that will really relate to my life and help me grow. You can order it from lifeway.com

Easter Weekend

2010-04-13T17:47:00.000-07:00

We kicked off Easter weekend by going to the big Raleigh Easter egg hunt downtown. There were A TON of kids there, a band, a few inflatables...and maybe 1 easter egg for every 10 kids. uncool. I thought we may have a disaster on our hands after he didn't get any eggs; but once he got inside an inflatable, we were good to go.

I think Easter baskets may be his love language...

We may have been 15 minutes late to church; but I did get the picture I wanted!

...this one on the other hand...ugggh! Is it too much to ask for him to smile sweetly when I get in the picture? All of the pictures of us together are like this! I think he knows it makes me crazy.

After church we ran home and iced the bunny cake.

Pez dispensers are his other love language...

Then we headed over to my parent's house and met up with them, John, Ashley, and Leah who is now a walker--she was toddling all over the place...isn't she a cutie?

Then Baylor got to re-do the easter egg hunt thing. This time he found all the eggs :)

...which made him a happy boy!

If you plant jellybeans...

2010-04-13T17:36:00.000-07:00

Lollipops grow!

Don't make fun...I'm clearly in need of activities to keep this little one busy. Any and all suggestions are welcome, particularly those that come from former nannies, preschool teachers, etc. (got that....Jenn, Lorren, Candace, Brittainy?)

Latest Obsessions

2010-03-28T13:02:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick rundown of a few favorites around our house:

We're listening to this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j82FBbgpUy4 Ethan got me listening to them and now I'm just as obsessed.

Craving this--the only cheesecake I ever get from Cheesecake Factory, Chocolate Tuxedo Creme...Ridiculous!

We're watching Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. Okay, I'm watching Jamie Oliver...Ethan's not as big a fan. In fact, he refuses to listen to sentences that begin with "Jamie Oliver says..."

Needing this:

...but what mom doesn't? I'm pretty sure a Mexican vacation isn't in my future.

Pulling for this guy! http://www.marcorubio.com/repeal-it/

Cleaning with these: http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/microfiber-multi-cleaning-cloths/

Cooking with this: Veggie steamer from Bed Bath and Beyond
Dreaming of these: (Also not in my immediate future)

..and most importantly, kissing this:

Yum!

2010-03-24T18:06:00.000-07:00

I picked up a copy of Paula Deen's Quick & Easy Meals magazine the other day and was blown away by all of the creative and kid friendly recipes! The magazine is divided into cooking for kids; casual gatherings; little bites; 5 ingredients or less; and simple suppers--perfect for moms.

Here's my favorite:

Pork and Pepper Calzones

1 (1lb) pkg. Italian sausage

1 (1lb) pkg. frozen pepper stir-fry mix (I used fajita mix)

2 (11 oz) cans refrigerated thin pizza crust dough

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

In a large skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until it's brown and crumbly. Add stir-fry mix and cook for 4-5 minutes until peppers are tender; drain well. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. On a clean, flat surface, unroll pizza dough. Cut each in half crosswise. Divide sausage mixture evenly over 1 side of each dough rectangle, leaving 1/2 inch border on 3 sides. Top each evenly with 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese and 2 tablespoons of the feta. Fold dough over to completely enclose filling, pinching the edges to seal. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. So good!

I love this recipe because the fillings can be changed up in so many ways and because the calzones can be frozen and reheated.

SORRY!!!

2010-03-16T04:21:00.001-07:00

I know it's been FOREVER since I posted--sorry! It's been pretty busy around here and since I can't remember all that has gone on in the last few months, I'll just catch ya'll up to the last few weeks. Baylor's doing great--he's a total mess; but a really fun mess :) He's into computer games now, a new show on Disney called Chugginton, going to the park, trying to find bugs in our yard for his critter keeper, mazes, helping me cook, rhyme time at the library, matchbox cars, and getting presents (that's his favorite. He asks for a present pretty much every day..haha.) We have some great kids museums in Raleigh.

Here are some photos from our latest trip to the Museum of Natural Sciences:

Here are some pictures from Marbles:

...and my personal favorites:

We'll have to hang on to these in case he becomes an OB some day..haha

We got a lot of snow in February and it was the icey type that's perfect for sledding--Baylor was in Heaven. Ethan, on the other hand, tried to "snowboard" down our driveway using a sled and busted his knee.

In January I drove out to Fort Bragg to get my copy of Going Rogue signed by Sarah Palin. It was cold, rainy, and I waited in line 3 hours and didn't get it signed; but I did get to shake her hand before she got back on the bus and I LOVE the book. It's incredible.

Ethan's been really busy with school and fixing up our house. Right now our bathroom looks like somebody lit a stick of dynamite and walked out--there is drywall everywhere and one huge hole surrounding the bathtub where he cut out ceramic tile from the previous owners. Not a fun (or clean) job. Ethan's a trooper though.

I've been staying busy with Baylor, working out with friends, painting a few rooms in our house, enjoying the warmer weather, and reading. Some of my favorites this winter were Game Change, Staying True (Jenny Sanford's book) and Beth Moore's David study. Next on the list is Andre Agassi's book--I heard it's really interesting. I've also been excited to find great websites for moms that are loaded with motivation and helpful tips.

Here are some of my favorites:

www.passionatehomemaking.com I love her idea about a family binder. She's got all kinds of helpful tips for moms and I definitely admire her dedication to nutrition and natural living. That being said I'm really more of the convenience foods, plastic water bottle, non-recycling type and I don't see that changing any time soon; but I still love the blog.
http://picky-palate.com thanks Lorren!
http://prayerofhannah.blogspot.com
www.girltalkhome.com One of the ladies who writes this blog also wrote a book called Feminine Appeal that I read this winter. It was really good.
http://milemarkers.runnersworld.com Kristin Armstrong (Lance's wife). She's a writer, runner and mom of three. Love her.
www.thepioneerwoman.com I love the photography on this site.
www.raisinggodlytomatoes.com Written by a mother of 10. wow.
www.dailybeast.com Combination of pop culture and political articles.
www.redstate.com I think this is one of the best blogs for Republicans to visit to stay up to date on the issues.

New Blog!

2009-10-14T17:43:00.000-07:00

In a concerted effort to spare Ethan my daily rants regarding current events, politics, pop culture, Jon & Kate, etc, I've decided to start a new blog with my good friend and favorite Texan, Angela Perry--www.newsshecanuse.com . The site is really geared toward busy women who are looking for a quick way to view a list of the day's top headlines, op-eds, pop culture news, etc.

We're in the middle of the first week and are still working out some of the kinks; but feel free to check it out and let me know what you think. There's an area in each section to leave comments--I'd love to hear from ya'll! What do you like? What don't you like? What would make it more relevant to your life?

Hope you like it!

Baylor is 3!

2009-10-05T06:00:00.001-07:00

Yay!!!

I still can't believe it's been 3 years since our adoption agency in Orlando called us and said they had a sweet baby boy waiting for us at a hospital in Kissimmee--definitely the biggest surprise of my life! Ethan and I both remember the first time we saw his face so vividly. The nurse was holding him and he was swaddled in one of those hospital blankets with a soothie in his mouth and his eyes were so wide--I couldn't believe how alert he looked. It was horrible having to leave the hospital that night without him, although it was absolutely necessary since I had a closet full of baby girl clothes and not one thing for a boy--haha! (our original adoption plan was w/ a woman who was having a girl). When we left the hospital, I tore through the baby section at Target indiscriminately throwing outfits (some cute, some not so cute) into my cart and ran home to do some major laundry...it was the happiest and craziest 48 hours!

As a toddler, Baylor is a little wildcat--full of energy and spunk. He loves games, puzzles, jumping off furniture (we're working on that one), chasing our cat, dressing up in costumes, eating marshmallows, following Ethan everywhere he goes, playing with trucks, singing Itsy Bitsy Spider, playgrounds, parachute time at soccer, sticker books, and hiding. He's not such a fan of dogs, sitting still, brushing his teeth, coloring, sharing, veggies, puppets, or bedtime.

We're so grateful that the Lord entrusted this precious little life to us and we can't wait to see what the next several years hold!

Love this Book!

2009-09-16T04:33:00.000-07:00

This guys story is incredible! You can get it on amazon. Almost as entertaining as www.peopleofwalmart.com

<3 DATE NIGHT! <3

2009-09-03T09:26:00.000-07:00

It may have only lasted a few hours; but I had forgotten how nice it is to sit with your husband and have dinner without having to entertain / punish / encourage to eat "just one more bite" etc. The coolest part of our night though was that an old Ridgecrest friend of ours, Walker, was playing in Wake Forest that night. We had such a great time catching up and hearing him perform. His music is incredible--most of it he'd written; but he played a few covers too. You can check out his music (and get some free mp3's) at http://www.walkerhayes.com/

The next morning I struggled through a 5k (Run for Life) in Cary. 3.1 miles isn't nearly as easy as it used to be--especially on just a few hours of sleep! The organization who was hosting the 5k is also organizing volunteers in our area for 40 days for life. Here's their website: http://www.40daysforlife.com/

Meanwhile...Baylor spent the night at my Mom and Dad's house (that we call "Camp Mimi") and they made little puppets. Baylor was obsessed with this little bluebird puppet until his beak fell off and Baylor decided that all of his other parts need to come off too.

Other than that, I've just been trying to break my addiction to Brother's & Sisters reruns. Blockbuster has each season and I've just made it through season 1 and am planning on renting the second DVD for season 2 tonight since Ethan has school. It's actually gotten a little embarassing because, for some reason, I always get the same check-out guy at Blockbuster and he always feels compelled to make a smart comment about my obsession with the show. Maybe I need to look into getting a disguise!

Table Topics

2009-08-19T18:41:00.000-07:00

My newest personal obsession (which gets a lot of eye-rolling from Ethan) is

***TABLE TOPICS***

SO COOL! I got my first set (table topics original) a few weeks ago at The Cotton Company in downtown Wake Forest and I can't wait to get more. There are so many little things that I didn't know about Ethan until I got this...for example: def. didn't know he would rather travel to the countryside than the city for a vacation; that he would accept an offer to travel to outer space; and that he would not stop eating junk food even if it meant he could live an extra 5 years, and Ethan's favorite question from two nights ago: "how would our society be different if it were matriarchal instead of patriarchal?"

There is a table topics edition for every occassion you can think of: girls nights (ex: what was your strangest date ever?), college, family gathering (ex: favorite family tradition?), gourmet, couples, bachelorette parties, travel, book club, etc.

So this is the latest form of torture going on at our house each night at dinner time...to order a set go to http://www.tabletopics.com/

What's Not to Love About FL?

2009-08-10T15:54:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we took off for Florida to visit family and friends. Our first stop was Jacksonville to see Shannon & Clay's family.

Layton, Hayden, and Lawson taught Baylor how to ride a hop ball. Here's the website to order if you have a toddler or older child http://www.jumpballs.com/. They have all different sizes and colors--so fun!

The next morning we headed to Ft. Pierce to visit Ethan's grandmother, Aunt Lee and Uncle Larry. Ethan's grandmother (who we call Gigi) lives right on the ocean and has such a beautiful view. The front of her house is all pretty much glass...I caught a sunrise the second morning we were there that was amazing. The hill going down to the water is really steep, so to get down to the water you have to tie a rope to a palm tree and walk down really carefully. Here are Ethan and Baylor on there way back up.

They've also got horses and polish chickens on their property. Here are Baylor and Ethan saying hi to one of the horses and Baylor and I checking out a chicken.

The next morning we hit the beach. This was Baylor's first trip and he loved it!

Baylor with his sweet Gigi

Setting up little farm animals with Mimaw

Playing the slots..ha. Whenever he hit the jackpot, he'd go "Great job, Baylor!"

The next morning we made it back to First Baptist Orlando, our old church, in time for the service. The highlight of our time in Orlando, though, was getting to hang out with our old "gang" (minus Jay & Beth who have moved to Alabama...but we'll be seeing them soon once Bella is born) and reminiscing about all of the fun (and hard...but mostly fun) times we had.

When we were driving back Ethan and I tried to remember all of the moments that really cemented those friendships and it was amazing to think of everything that we had been through together--Jay's brain surgery in Miami, jobs coming and going, a failed adoption, menacing ice breakers at Sunday School--"what sin do you feel most convicted about?"haha, cheering for our favorite assistant Coach at TFA games, Brittainy's pregnancy, Beth's pregnancy, the unexpected loss of a mutual friend, getting gelato at Lake Eola, going dancing, the break up of our class, Birthdays celebrated together, Baylor's adoption, the summer of 3 hurricanes, trips to watch the Heels play, New Year's parties, dinners at Josies, Ryan's jokes, our class motto, Devin dressing up like Pam Anderson, shaving Jay's head, Devin teaching me the milkshake technique to control Baylor's colic, suppers for 6 debacles, digital scavenger hunts, trips to the mall, cheesecake factory, Bible studies at Starbucks, painting the Millsaps house, lunch @ Millenia, late night trips to Target to get matching journals, Brit & Allie winning the Halloween costume contest as 80's Miss USA's, Florida football games, Deloris' guest house, husbands consistently cheating at game night, peanut butter and jelly pie, Tim Tebow facts, etc. There are a million more I'm sure that I can't remember...I know that regardless of where we all live, we'll be lifelong friends because we had the chance to share in each other's happiness and hurt at one time or another and I couldn't ask for a sweeter group of friends.

Love you guys!

The guys...big surprise, Ryan's acting crazy!

Girlfriends...and btw...could somebody please tell me that I look 10 feet tall in those wedges next time...whoops

Sweet Addie who was such a good sport despite her bug bites.

Baylor putting the moves on Addie :)

Worn out from a fun trip!

A Great Blog to Visit

2009-08-06T05:09:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love Randy Alcorn's blog http://www.randyalcorn.blogspot.com/. He has such a talent for writing and addresses some of the biggest challenges that Christians face in todays world (with some personal entries about his life and his grandchildren who are total cuties). I especially liked his post for last Friday about the Federal Healthcare Reform Bill and how, as it now stands, it has the potential to lead to taxpayer funded abortions. It's estimated that abortions would increase 33% with this bill's passage even though 71% of Americans oppose taxpayer funded abortions.

It truly makes me sick to think that part of the money that Ethan works so hard to earn for our family would go to funding abortions. I think we all know that once a "service" like this becomes free to certain segments of our society, it rarely if ever goes away. Government entitlements are almost impossible to reverse, and beyond that, it makes me sad not just for the young lives that would be taken as a result of this legislation; but also for the lives of the women who will never be able to take back what they've done.

He points out that we all need to call our house reps (http://www.house.gov/) and senators (http://www.senate.gov/) and ask that language be added to the bill to explicitly exclude abortions so that they don't become federally mandated.

...because it's not a family "get together" if I don't embarass myself...

2009-07-31T14:30:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was my cousin, Dan's, wedding in Atlanta. We had such a great time! We got to hang out and celebrate with family and meet two especially cute new members of the family, Clay and Linc, my cousin Ben and his wife Candace's new twins--they're PRECIOUS!

Here are Layton, Hayden and Baylor wrestling after the rehearsal dinner...for some reason when I was taking this I didn't realize that Baylor was basically standing on his head with his butt in the air...I usually watch more carefully, I promise.

The first of Baylor's 4 carousel rides at Mall of GA...you'd think it got old after maybe 2 rides, but no. He liked picking the right horse as much as riding.

Ethan took Baylor for a quick swim Saturday afternoon

Baylor riding over to the wedding

Baylor and his crazy momma :)

Here are the 4 boys looking clean and free of chocolate or grass stains ;)

And this is where I pretty much lost control...after the wedding we went out in front of the courthouse and there was a big open field that Baylor could run (and roll around in). This is where we added grass stains and sweat to the chocolate stains...I was so happy to get him in the tub that night!

trying to figure out how to get into those bubbles and loving that he's getting to stay up late.

The next morning (after staying up till 5am talking to mom and Shannon...not sure why we do this to ourselves) at 7am we were up and throwing stuff in suitcases so we could get to the aquarium by 9. Here are Ethan and Baylor with their 2nd load...I didn't really regain consciousness until we made a starbucks run on the way.

Here's Leah, watching the morning craziness unfold. She was so good the whole weekend and cracked me up during the rehearsal dinner when she started jumping along in my lap to the slideshow music!

This picture is from the aquarium. I have to say something about Layton--seriously, could he be any sweeter? The whole weekend he helped me watch Baylor and even encouraged Baylor to behave so he didn't get a spanking when we went out to eat...haha...he's adorable!

Baylor wasn't sure what to think of a lifesized Nemo that kept trying to hug him...maybe a little freaked out..

Hayden, Ethan, and Baylor at the aquarium

As always, I found a way to make a complete dork of myself by accidentally knocking over the wedding cake (which was put back together almost magically by the wedding coordinator really quickly and without many people noticing). The good news is that the bride and groom are in St. Lucia as I type this, so they may not know anything about that (they weren't right there when it happend)...the bad news is that this sort of news tends to travel quickly (my brother, Clay was on his blackberry texting the whole thing to people right after I did it..haha).

Aside from that debacle, we had a great time and LOVE our sweet family and any chance to get together with them!

Trips, Watermelon, Movie Nights & Museums

2009-07-15T20:17:00.000-07:00

A couple weekends ago we got to go visit Ethan's parents in Black Mountain. We had a great time eating, playing tennis, visiting camp, getting ice cream, and just hanging out. Here's are some pictures from the weekend:

Mimaw showing Baylor how to hit the gong in the front yard. By the end of the weekend, he was hitting everything but the gong--cars, the window, etc.

Does this look like someone you can trust with a mallet?

Playing trucks with Pa Pa

The next weekend Baylor and I decided to check out the natural sciences museum in Raleigh. Had I known that it was 4 floors and that we'd be there most of the day, I may have gone with a more fun activity like swimming...but that's okay, he loved it! There is a ton for little kids to do there. They have a special hands-on room with a toddler corner full of books, puzzles and games about wildlife. Baylor's favorite part of the museum was definitely my least favorite, the snakes. They had all kinds of live snakes behind glass--just thinking about it makes my skin crawl. But to a 2 year old, I guess that kind of thing is pretty fascinating. He could've stood there all day watching them. My favorite part was the rainforest area where they had tons of butterflies, a sloth, and turtles. He also really liked all of the dinosaur stuff as well as getting on and off the escalators like a "big boy" (it's the little things, right?).

Trying to figure out how to get in there with the dinosaur!

One of Baylor's favorite things to do on a rainy afternoon is curl up with some popcorn and juice (okay usually a root beer...I'm pretty slack about that) and watch a movie.

Here is Baylor with his new favorite toy of the moment--a watermelon. I brought this in the other day and he couldn't get enough of it..haha...That thing got rolled all over our house, sat on, hugged, and jumped on. He kept saying "I squish it". I definitely didn't realize how many minutes of entertainment it would provide, and he was actually a little sad the night I sliced it.

Lately I've been a big dorky fan of...

2009-07-01T10:37:00.001-07:00

Tuxedo creme cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory
Totally Toddler--nursery stain remover
Morning Joe on MSNBC
www.blissfullydomestic.com
OAR, The Fray
Bump-its--yay!!!! Further evidence that I should go to bed earlier, because I saw these advertised on one of those late night infomercials and almost bought one and didn't. Now they sell them in Target, so if I've got major "Texas mall hair" next time you see me, pull me aside and let me know I went overboard :)
Kristin Armstrong: http://milemarkers.runnersworld.com/
Mark Steyn: Love his articles on National Review. Hopefully he makes up for the brain cells I've killed with my evening tv shows--Real Housewives, Jon & Kate, Southern Belles of Louisville, etc.
Kickboxing at the Y--our instructor is in INSANE shape (after 3 kids too), so I try to keep my jealousy under control.
Bolthouse smoothies-yum
Eileen Goudge & Emily Giffin books
Hulu
Color wonder markers
www.drudgereport.com
Marbles kids museum--we could probably play there for 3 days straight. So fun!
the new Anthropologie at Southpoint that has a HUGE sale room
Paula Deen & Giada de Laurentiis
www.girltalkhome.com
Duncan Donuts coffee. I can't wait for the new one in Wakefield to open :)
Cotton Company--my favorite place in WF to buy gifts (and a little something for myself...not gonna lie)
Randy Alcorn books--particularly Heaven
Redbox

Baylor & Ethan's hair gel...not a good combo

2009-06-28T13:05:00.000-07:00

Last week during "nap time" Baylor got into Ethan's hair gel. I wish I had taken a picture of his face when I swung the door open--hysterical! He knew he was caught. Ethan said he used about as much as Ethan typically uses in a month, so needless to say, it was IMPOSSIBLE to get out. We tried everything--baby shampoo, regular shampoo...I even put goggles on him and tried using dish soap to get it out and that didn't work. Finally after about 4 days, who knows how many shampooings, and 2 swimming lessons, his shiney blonde hair was back!

We went on vacation a few weeks ago and had a great time; but of course I forgot my camera (so sad) this year. Ethan also finished one of his two summer classes, finance, and will start accounting tomorrow. Other than that we've basically been swimming, hanging out with friends, going to movies (Baylor loved Up and Night at the Museum), going to the Y, etc.

...sorry...had to include a picture of him on the naughty stool or as Ethan likes to call it, "Baylor's office" haha..because he's spent so much time there lately usually for jumping off of furniture (couch, barstools, ottoman).

One Week Until VACATION!!!

2009-05-24T11:50:00.001-07:00

As you can see, Baylor's been hard at work and is ready for his vacation too :)

Love this Company!

2009-05-16T12:52:00.001-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTr9jERSrqk

Naptime "Issues"

2009-05-16T12:12:00.000-07:00

So this is Baylor in his sleeping bag during his one "nap" during the day--wide eyed and refusing to fall asleep. I've tried to put him down for a nap in pretty much every room in our house--his bed, our bed, the couch, sleeping bag, etc., but he never falls asleep. The good part is that he goes down around 7 if he hasn't taken a nap during the day and by then he's so exhausted that he just lays right down and says "thank you mommy...bye bye"

One Lucky Momma

2009-05-11T17:02:00.001-07:00

Here's my sweet boy and I on Mother's Day morning. I am so grateful to get to be a mother at all, but especially blessed to get to raise Baylor and see him grow and change each day.

Diaper Dash

2009-05-09T14:09:00.001-07:00

This weekend was the Capital City 10k which is so much fun. Baylor even got to run this time in the 100 meter Diaper Dash--hysterical. A lot of the kids knew run straight for the finish as fast as they could; but Baylor was so thrilled that so many people were cheering (just for him, he thought) that he took his sweet time and gave them all a big "cheese"..haha...we were dying! The 10k just about killed Ethan and I. 6.2 miles is a whole lot harder than it used to be; but we had a great time and Baylor rode in the stroller the whole way eating snacks and throwing his sippy cup overboard.

notice the race director off of Baylor's left shoulder giving him the "go straight" signal...ha

Fun times in Raleigh

2009-05-06T11:33:00.000-07:00

In an effort to avoid swine flu, I kept Baylor out of the nursery on Sunday and we went to Pullen Park instead. Now he has a cough...go figure. Here are some pictures of our day!

GO ETHAN!

2009-04-30T20:16:00.000-07:00

2 semesters down, 4 more + 2 summers to go!

Bed Head

2009-04-29T05:13:00.001-07:00

...total Russell Brand hair....yikes!

Easter

2009-04-28T18:42:00.001-07:00

We Haven't Fallen off the Face of the Earth...I Promise!

2009-04-08T20:01:00.001-07:00

So it's been about 5 months since my last post...embarassing! So much has happend since Thanksgiving, I just haven't been good about sitting down and typing it all out, so here goes. This Christmas was the first one that Baylor really understood (at least the unwrapping toys part--loved it). Here are some pictures:

Baylor also became the proud cousin of Leah Noelle Perry...isn't she a cutie pie?

We also had a fun visit with my brother, Clay's family. Here are two of his three boys, Layton and Hayden--such sweet boys!

In February we celebrated my parent's anniversary and mom's birthday!

We got a couple of good snows in February and Baylor played until his little fingers turned pink! I had to wrap his feet and hands in 2 pairs of gloves / socks with plastic bags in between. He only stayed outside for 30-45 minutes at a time and then I'd make him come in so I could put all his clothes in the drier, and we'd do it again. We definitely learned that we live in the perfect neighborhood for sledding and 4 wheeling through the snow--fun and exhausting all at once!

And this month we went to the Franklin County Easter Egg Hunt over at the library which was so fun. Baylor found a few eggs, got his face painted, and played with a little plane the balloon artist made for him (which popped in less than 2 minutes...a little traumatic). He kept Dad and myself on our toes, running all over the place with his little soccer ball bag :)

Thanksgiving

2008-12-07T13:29:00.001-08:00

We had such a great time at my cousin, Cheryl's house in Wilmington this Thanksgiving. There were 6 boys running around and their ages range from 2-12 so there was plenty of football playing, ripsticking, and just running around in general going on :) It was so nice to catch up with my cousins, Leigh Anne & Cheryl and their families as well as my Aunt Linda and Uncle John. Hopefully we can all get together again soon...I'm sure we can find an excuse :) Here are some pictures.

I thought I had a great group picture of all the boys until I realized that I only had a part of Bradley's leg and Hunter had escaped...I may have to photoshop those two in :)

Here's Will about to go down the slide.

Will is showing Baylor how it's done.

Love this idea! Leigh Anne made all of the boys little turkey cupcakes with nutter butters, fruit roll ups, and icing--so cute!

I love this picture of Mom & Uncle John in front of the tree!

Baylor riding Thomas

Here's Hunter! As soon as I pulled out my camera, he gave me a big "cheese!"

The big boys took a break from playing football so I could take their picture.

Hunter & Baylor on their way down the steps

Too Funny

2008-12-03T08:56:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hc0mVGqE1gk&eurl=http://www.girltalk.blogs.com/

Playing with his Food

2008-11-28T08:37:00.000-08:00

If any experienced moms out there know of some good tricks to get your toddler to actually eat his food instead of playing with it, give me a call. This particular day Baylor was making a cheese and cracker eye patch--too funny :)

Snow!

2008-11-28T08:26:00.000-08:00

We woke up the other night and this is how it looked outside:

It melted pretty quickly; but Baylor had a great time playing in it and trying to put as much as he could into a bucket.

80's Night at the Melting Pot

2008-11-21T05:11:00.001-08:00

Last night I enjoyed a much needed girl's night. We had such a fun time, and most importantly, we were all the proud recepients of slap bracelets and chocolate fondue for dressing up 80's style. As usual I look like the biggest dork; but I couldn't resist wearing the 80's prom dress that I found while I was "working" in Danville :)

Reading the Daily Tarheel

2008-11-18T16:00:00.000-08:00

Usually I don't have my camera handy when these funny little moments happen, so I was happy that I actually captured this one on our way back from Chapel Hill.

Millions of Leaves!!!

2008-11-18T15:50:00.000-08:00

The other day Baylor and I were playing out in the yard and I grabbed a rake and started raking some of the leaves into a big pile so he could jump in and he loved it. He must have jumped into the pile twenty or so times

Toward the end, he grabbed the camera so that he could take the pictures; but he had it pointed at himself...haha

Marshmallow Blow Gun

2008-11-04T10:19:00.000-08:00

I picked up a marshmallow gun for Baylor at the craft fair last weekend and I thought he might be too little to use it right away, so I put it up thinking that I could put it in his little stocking at Christmas. Well, he found not only the marshmallow gun but also a bunch of other toys that I'd been hiding for him and now I can't keep him out of that closet. I guess I'm not as sneaky as I thoguht.

Anyway, he loves the marshmallow gun. He played with it for a while Sunday afternoon. He had a little bit of trouble trying to figure out how to load it at first; but once he got the hang of it, he was shooting colored mini-marshmallows all over our yard and then running them down so he could eat them....yuck...I had to put a stop to that :)

Trick or Treating

2008-11-04T10:12:00.001-08:00

Born Alive Infant Protection Act

2008-10-31T08:39:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to encourage the 2-3 of you who read my blog regularly (haha) to please please please take a look at the following article. It doesn't make any difference at all where you stand on abortion--I think all of us can agree that babies who are born alive deserve protection. Regardless of what Barack Obama has said regarding this issue (that he opposed it because of wording, etc.--one of many excuses) the fact is, that he stopped his committee from adding the federal wording.

I think that Alan Keyes explains his position best: "We are talking about a situation in which, in the course of an abortion procedure, a child has been born alive--is out of the womb, breathing and living on its own--and he cast a vote against the idea that we should not stand by and let that child die!"

Please take the time to research this issue before you vote. None of the smooth speeches that he delivers can erase such a despicable record.

http://www.citizenlink.org/content/A000007034.cfm

Mccain / Palin 08!

2008-10-30T18:46:00.000-07:00

I've Been Tagged!

2008-10-21T20:51:00.000-07:00

Okay...I tag--Lorren & Jenn!
1. What time did you get up this morning? 7:30ish
2. Diamonds or pearls? I guess diamonds; but I'm really into chunky jewelry at the moment
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Kung Fu Panda...the longest two hours of my life
4. What is your favorite TV show? Friday Night Lights, Desperate Housewives, John & Kate, Paula Deen, Brothers & Sisters, Nancy Grace
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? Something different every day it seems like. This morning I shared a pop tart with Baylor and he threw his up all over me :(
6. What is your middle name? pre marriage: Irene, post marriage: Perry
7. What food do you dislike? eggs, anything that is supposed to be savory but tastes sweet--example: when sugar is added to spaghetti sauce or chili...makes my stomach turn just thinking about that.
8. What is your favorite CD at moment? I haven't bought a CD in forever; but a few of my favorite ITune downloads are: the new Darius Rucker song--I think it's called Don't Think, Carolina by Eric Church, anything James Otto, Sweet & Wild by Dierks Bentley, and, I admit it, the new Britney song is fast and makes exercising easier.
9. What kind of car do you drive? Honda Accord
10. Favorite Sandwich? Cuban (but not the authentic way...I like it just with regular ham)
11. What characteristic do you despise? bad manners--example: nodding when someone says "hi" to you or just staring back blankly...has that become the cool thing to do?
12. Favorite item of clothing? wide leg pants or jeans
13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? I'd probably stay in the country and go somewhere fun to ski--Colorado, Utah
14. Favorite brand of clothing? JCrew
15. Where would you retire to? Not sure...somewhere fun though where we can play tennis, join a Bunco group and lay out in the sun and work on our wrinkles :)
16. What was your most recent memorable birthday? 25th--first Birthday as a momma
17. Favorite sport to watch? Tennis, Running--loved the Olympics
18. When is your birthday? This weekend :) 10/25
19. Are you a morning person or night? It really depends on what's going on. I'm going to try to be more of a morning person though
20. What is your shoe size? 8 1/2
21. Pets? 1 cat--Angel
22. Any new and exciting news you would like to share with us??? hmmm...not really
23. What did you want to be when you were little? The President
24. How are you today? Feeling a little sick; but glad that my little one is getting over his yucky-ness
25. What is your favorite candy? Dove dark chocolate with the little messages on the inside of the wrapper
26. What is your favorite flower? lillies
27. What is a day on your calendar you are looking forward to? When Ethan's done with school.
28. What is your full name? Allison Perry Jennings
29. What are you listening to right now? news
30. What was the last thing you ate? a pink starburst...the diet starts tomorrow
31. Do you wish on stars? No
32. If you were a crayon what color would you be? lavender
33. How is the weather right now? Beautiful fall weather
34. The first person you spoke to on the phone today? My mom, then Ethan, then Ethan while he had my mom on the other line...haha...we try our best to make him crazy.
35. Favorite soft drink? If anybody knows me, I'm a regular coke FIEND!!! I've been known to drive through Wendy's and get a Biggie. But starting tomorrow I'm switching to Sprite Zero. I bought a 12 pack today at Target and am going to let them chill in the fridge tonight so that I can successfully make the switch and save myself some calories...we'll see how it goes...I just can't do the Diet coke thing--tastes like poisen to me.
36. Favorite Restaurant? Outback, Texas Roadhouse
37. Real Hair Color? Real: medium brown, Fake: Truffle
38. What was your favorite toy as a child? Snuggle Bunny, Barbies
39. Summer or winter?Fall
40. Hugs or kisses? Kisses
41. Chocolate or vanilla? Definitely chocolate
42. Coffee or tea? Coffee with pumpkin spice creamer
43. When was the last time you cried? not sure
44. What is under your bed? Good question
45. What did you do last night? Ate dinner with Baylor, gave him a bath, put him down, watched Dancing with the Stars, voted, ironed
46. What are you afraid of? Being robbed
47. Salty or sweet? both...simultaneously. Have you ever had Monkey Munch? Yum!
48. How many keys on your key ring? 3
49. How many years at your current job? 2 years, 2 weeks
50. Favorite day of the week? Saturdays
51. How many places have you lived in? Norwhich, Seminole, Cary, Chapel Hill, Orlando, Franklinton
52. Do you make friends easy? I hope so

Baylor...Chocaholic

2008-10-15T17:50:00.001-07:00

Love the shoes (okay...and the bag)

2008-10-08T17:05:00.001-07:00

http://www.tmz.com/2008/10/08/polar-bears-wolves-and-moose-oh-my/

Remember Saddleback?

2008-10-08T11:29:00.001-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mem_xEcZHVY

Love this website!

2008-10-02T06:50:00.001-07:00

I'm not sure what Baylor would do all day if I hadn't found this website. I really don't have a creative bone in my body, so this has been tremendously helpful...she has coloring sheets, all kinds of activities, little printouts that they can use on trips to the grocery store to help you check off items, fake library cards, advice on tantrums, etc...it's a lifesaver.
http://www.toddlertoddler.com/index.htm

Election Info.

2008-09-29T20:55:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BySATfll-BQ
I have to say that I am so sick of this phrase "women's privacy and reproductive health" which is, let's be real, a euphemism for abortion on demand. This notion that the government doesn't have the right to intervene even when an abortion is botched and the baby is born alive is incredible. Obama is misrepresenting his record in regards to the Illinois Born-Alive Infants Protection Act. Please take a minute to review this link which shows the state and federal bills side by side: http://www.nrlc.org/ObamaBAIPA/WhitePaperAugust282008.html

The consequences of Roe v. Wade...48.6 million abortions since 1973. I think this number alone should be enough to get Christians fired up and out the door on election day.

Debates: Round 1

2008-09-26T21:05:00.000-07:00

I think politico says it best...http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0908/14005.html

Interesting Article

2008-09-25T21:05:00.000-07:00

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122230655620873931.html

...and even more interesting...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYZre8kEsuw

Kazoom Puppet Theater

2008-09-25T20:09:00.000-07:00

This morning Baylor and I went to a show at the Kazoom Puppet Theatre. The show today was all about teddy bears--so cute :) They had two musical numbers, a story where each child can play a part and dress up(Baylor was one of the three bears), a teddy bear march where each child can choose their own bear and march around the room, and a couple other musical numbers. It was so much fun. Those ladies are super creative and really keep the children engaged, which says a lot when you consider entertaining a room of 2-3 year olds. Next month the theme is Halloween, so Baylor will get to where his golfer costume (unless it's not here in time, in which case I'll have to squeeze him into last years puppy outfit) and they'll be doing a "monster day parade" and singing itsy-bitsy spider. I love this place because it's fun and at least somewhat educational; but it's also full of toddlers, so you don't feel embarassed when your little one screams, climbs on stage, throws a tantrum, or unloads the costume basket (yeah...it happend) They pretty much go with the flow. Here's the website: http://www.carolinapuppets.com/kazoom/index.php and some pictures from this morning.

YAYYYY for skiway 112 again next summer!!!

2008-09-23T05:55:00.000-07:00

This summer my parents rented a house in Beech Mountain (where we spent a lot of our summers as kids--so many memories...) for a week. It's ironic because it was right next door to our old house. Beech Mountain is really one of my favorite places in the world and we had such a great time swimming, playing cards, eating together, playing tennis, staying up late to talk, hanging out in the hot tub, and going to Boone so all the kids could play putt putt, see movies, ride go-karts, etc. Our whole family LOVES Ski Beech!

The house that my mom found to rent is perfect for us. Last year we had 12 people including kids, and this year we'll have at least 13 because little Leah will be here :) and maybe a couple foster kids...who knows! What I love about the house is that it sleeps way more than we'll probably ever have. There are kings, queens, doubles, bunk beds--tons of places to sleep and lots of common area for everybody to hang out--we love it!

Here's the website in case anybody else has a big family and was looking for a place to go for vacation. He also rents it out during ski season and since it's on the slope, you can just snap into your skis and go.

http://www.112skiway.com/photos.htm

On a Funnier Note...

2008-09-19T17:30:00.000-07:00

I'm definitely not a Keith Olberman fan; but this collection of political bloopers is hysterical!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2t-hdrpU3Y&feature=related

ANNOYING!

2008-09-17T13:26:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6urw_PWHYk
If I ever see another Matt Damon movie, it will be because somebody knocked me out and dragged me in there.

To suggest that Sarah Palin is unqualified for the VP position because she's "just a hockey mom" is one of the most ignorant comments to come out of Hollywood lately. How about being the only candidate on either ticket to balance a budget; how about overseeing the largest construction project in North American history; what about her 83% approval rating, all accomplished while raising 5 kids. To act as though none of that is impressive and to make light of her role as a mother is insulting to every single mother in the country--as if none of the skills that women hone as mothers are of any value. I think we should all be really proud that we live in a country that encourages mothers to participate in the political process and to take their concerns public.

If Matt Damon were honest, he'd admit that his real problem with Sarah Palin is that she represents everything that scares him to death--traditional marriage, pro life values, fewer entitlement programs, 2nd amend. rights...oh yeah, and a conservative woman in office.

So I'm trying not to veer into politics; but I had to get that one off my chest...very therapeutic!

New Favorite Blog

2008-09-02T16:16:00.000-07:00

Meghan Mccain has an awesome blog: http://www.mccainblogette.com/. It's really cool to get an insider's perspective on this campaign. She takes some great pictures of people they meet out on the road--from other politicians to country music stars to everyday citizens...very cool!

Fun Weekend

2008-08-24T17:40:00.001-07:00

We had a really fun weekend--lots going on :) Ethan and I put Baylor down at my parent's house Friday night and played tennis over at Flaherty Farms until 11 or so. I'm still not very good, but I am enjoying it! Saturday we mainly played outside until it was time to head over to Rolesville for Kate's 1st Birthday, which was wonderful. Thanks for such a fun time, Jenn--Kate was the cutest little Birthday girl ;) Afterwards we hung around and let Baylor play on the playground. Here he is:

Here we are acting stupid...

Baylor chillin' with Daddy

Baylor was pooped afterwards; but we still managed to squeeze in a trip to Over the Falls Deli for dinner...love that terrapin tower sandwich...so good!

Here's a picture of Baylor on the drive over to the WF Jr's ice cream / pool party--very excited!

2008-08-07T19:33:00.000-07:00

Will ya'll still be my friends if I order Baylor this shirt?

I love Wednesdays!

2008-08-06T12:06:00.000-07:00

Wednesday is one of my favorite days of the week because I don't have to work and typically we don't have much else going on, so today I took Baylor out to the tennis courts with me to work on my serve and show him how to hit the ball (with his girly pink Dora tennis racket...they didn't have any Diego ones, oh well). He did okay; but would rather throw the balls than hit them. Here are a couple pictures of our day:

MAPP Class Graduation

2008-08-05T05:15:00.000-07:00

Yay!!! Our Mapp classes are over and we're one step closer to becoming licensed. Last night we had our potluck dinner / panel discussion which was the last meeting. It was definitely the most interesting part of the process so far. They brought in a social worker, licensing worker, foster parent, and birth parent. The birth mother talked about the pain she felt when her three kids were removed from her home and placed into foster care. The foster mother that got two of her three kids was also there, and discussed the situation from her perspective.

So the next step is our home visit which will be Thursday night and then I think there are a few more steps in the licensure process after that...probably more paperwork.

2008-07-25T05:20:00.001-07:00

The Kids Exchange has become an official Jennings family holiday at our house--we love it! Ethan takes off work every six months and now we're even developing kids exchange traditions. For the past two sales we've gotten a map the night before and mapped out which sections we will run (not walk) to first along with our first, second, and third choices of each item in that section. For example: In the play instruments section our first choice was a trumpet (taken), second choice was a saxophone (which we got...yay!!!) and third choice were some drums (also got...whoops!) and we follow that format for most of the toys: yard toys, ride ons, costumes, shopping carts (we got to that part late so he got a wal-mart cart with really strange food in it instead of the leap frog cart that I wanted), slides, basketball hoops, etc. I bring print outs from leap frog, fischer price, and little tike's websites so I know what I'm looking for. This year we also brought mom and dad's huge recycling bin (like a garbage can on wheels except only newspapers have been in it) and ran through the building with that, indiscriminately throwing toys in.

The best part of the kids exchange is watching Ethan. He is absolutely hysterical!!! If you watch from a distance you'll see this huge grown man trying to out run a mom pushing a double stroller so he can get to the toy section first. Usually I go straight to the clothes section and Ethan will bring as many options as he can carry or fit into his cart over for me to check out and then he'll run back for more stuff. It's funny because he hates shopping; but because the kids exchange is more of an athletic event for him than a shopping trip, I think it's a little more appealing. This year we shopped for over 5 hours and if it wasn't so crowded I could've gone another 2 or 3--there's that much stuff.

The other fun part is figuring out how in the world to get everything home. Last year we drove back on the beltline with one of those huge spring horses strapped to the top of Ethan's car, and luckily, it stayed on.

Anyway, we had a blast and can't wait for January's sale--hopefully Ethan won't pull a muscle trying to out maneuver the other moms :)

2008-07-18T11:09:00.000-07:00

Here are Ethan's contributions to the blog. Be sure to pause the music at the bottom of the blog so you can here the music from the video.

Dancing

At this rate we're never getting out of Iraq...

2008-07-04T13:47:00.001-07:00

I've been tagged, so here goes...

10 years ago I was: Moving from Seminole, Fl to Cary, NC for my dad's job. I was about to be a Sophomore in high school and was going to attend public school for the first time, which I was thrilled about :)

5 years ago I was: Engaged, working at Ridgecrest--about to start my last semester at UNC.

1 year ago I was: So excited and proud that Ethan was able to fix up our first house! By this time last year, I think all of the floors, painting, and decorating were pretty much complete.

5 things on my to do list today: It's the 4th of July, so I don't have a huge "to-do" list today; but here goes...1. Dress Baylor up in something cute & patriotic 2. Finish the mac & cheese for Kendall's cookout 3. Clean up the mess of legos, dinosaurs, pop-up books, rubber snakes, blocks, alphabet cards, and puzzle pieces that have covered our bonus room floor. 4. Fireworks

5 snacks I enjoy: I'm not a huge snacker; but I do have a serious caffeine problem. My favorites are: coke, coke zero, java chip iced coffees from The Well, Campfire mochas from Carribou coffee, or just regular iced mochas from Starbucks.

If I were a billionaire I would: Hire like 10 cleaning ladies and have them follow Baylor everywhere he went.

5 places I have lived: 1. Norwich, NY 2. Seminole, FL 3. Cary, NC 4. Chapel Hill, NC 5. Orlando, FL

Ethan's THE MAN!!!

2008-07-01T19:07:00.001-07:00

Last weekend Baylor stuck a piece of pool noodle waaaay up his nose. Ethan saw him do it out of the corner of his eye; but couldn't get to him quick enough. We left it alone the rest of the weekend thinking that he would sneeze it out at some point, which he didn't.

So on Monday night Ethan decided to perform surgery and get what we thought was a tiny little piece of foam out of Baylor's left nostril with tweezers. I was freaking out of course because of how far up his nose Ethan would have to go to get it, and considering how much Baylor was wiggling. But Ethan being the most laid back person I know assured all of us that he had it under control.

So my Dad held Baylor's legs and the flashlight and I held his sad little head still while Ethan dug around up there. After a couple of tries, Ethan pulled out the most disgusting little shriveled up piece of orange foam I have ever seen--not to mention that it was HUGE!!! I am SO EXCITED that my baby no longer has a foreign object crammed up his sweet little nose :) He was pretty happy too (not as happy as Mimi though).

T.M.I. I'm sure

Fun Times at the Hardy-Davis Wedding

2008-06-18T12:10:00.001-07:00

Ethan, Baylor, and I went to Winston-Salem this past weekend for Robert Hardy and Chrissy Davis' wedding, which was beautiful and such a good time!

The only slight hitch in our weekend came on Saturday afternoon. I was supposed to have checked out of the hotel by noon; but couldn't get Baylor and myself dressed in time, so I called the front desk to see if we could push it back to 3 or so. They charged us a little extra and said that would be fine. Baylor hadn't slept well the night before and had refused to take a nap that afternoon, which you'd think would make him sleepier and more compliant; but it actually makes him unbelieveably hyper. So I'm literally chasing him all over this hotel room and trying to put on one article of clothing at a time--khakis, undershirt, dress shirt, belt, tie, and shoes...it took FOREVER because he was doing everything that he could to get away from me--climbing up on the AC unit, shutting himself in the closet, etc.

So by 3:15 I had him all dressed and was getting ready to run some clothes and bags down to our car, when a hotel employee knocked on our door and said that we had to be out in 15 minutes or we'd be charged for another full day. I didn't think that would be a problem since we were both dressed and ready to go...until I spotted Baylor out of the corner of my eye--sitting fully clothed in the toilet splashing around!!! AHHH!!! This made me go into full blown freakout mode...I called the front desk and explained that I had a semi-emergency on my hands since the wedding was starting soon and I had this soaking wet child coming with me--basically begging them to let me use one of their clothes dryers downstairs which they didn't...ugghhh!!! So at 3:45 I was standing in the bathroom blow drying Baylor's pants and the bottom half of his shirt, knowing I was going to get to the church late.

Since I wasn't making much progress, I just threw the clothes back on him, hauled our stuff out of the room and went to the front desk to check out, literally dripping sweat and wearing heels I could hardly walk in, much less roll luggage and balance a baby in...and of course, I run into friends that I hadn't seen in forever and can hardly carry on a conversation because I'm so stressed out and hot...not a good combo.

Luckily, things actually went better at the wedding. We had a great time and were so excited to catch up with everybody. We can't wait to see all of our Ridgecrest friends again in July for the reunion.

SO-O-O-O EXCITED!!!

2008-05-30T17:53:00.000-07:00

Ethan and I just found out yesterday that we made it into the Wake county MAPP classes and we are THRILLED! For those of you didn't know, we've been trying to adopt another baby / child / siblings and this time we're going to try to go though the state. The first step in getting licensed to adopt in NC and the US is to complete 10 weeks of MAPP classes. The problem was, though, that we live in a small, rural county and they only offer those courses once in a blue moon, and by the time they started another round of classes, Ethan's MBA classes will have started.

So we kept trying to get in touch with human services in Wake county to try and enroll in their MAPP classes, and after weeks and weeks of no returned calls, I turned the situation over to Mom (who is a Wake county citizen...for a few more months until their house is built...haha). Mom and I spoke about the situation probably mid-morning, and by mid-afternoon of the same day, Mom had the board of commissioners and head of human services involved, and received a very apologetic call explaining that they would be happy to enroll us. How cool is that?

The scheduling works out perfectly too. Our first class is next Monday--the day after we get back from vacation, and our last class ends a week or two before school starts for Ethan. Yay!!!! GO MIMI!!!! I think she wants to add to her brood of grandbabies :)

The Highlight of Ethan's Weekend

2008-05-26T17:33:00.001-07:00

We had a great Memorial Day weekend. We went to Chuck E Cheese with my family on Saturday and to Sandling Beach (which was packed...wow) on Monday. We got to lay out, play in the water, play with little sand buckets and shovels, and push Baylor around on his little boat that Mimi got him. I wish I had taken a picture of him in his swimmies--too cute :)

But here was the highlight of Ethan's weekend (actually the highlight of his 26 years on planet Earth!)

Leveling out our front yard...

Baylor got in on the action too :)
Now it's a big mud pit that we hope some day will be grassy--we'll see!

Memorial Day

2008-05-23T05:07:00.000-07:00

"Above all, we must realize that no arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women. It is a weapon our adversaries in today's world do not have." --Ronald Reagan

Bounce House

2008-05-15T17:12:00.000-07:00

Baylor loves to jump, so we got him one of those little bounce houses. We inflated it today and he went NUTS! Might be a good way to burn some energy from time to time... Hopefully he'll have as much fun jumping in it when it's in the backyard as he did in the den.

Our Yard...Out of Control

2008-05-14T16:27:00.000-07:00

Right now the outside of our house resembles a jungle more so than a yard; but we're trying to change that...baby steps I guess. I love Wednesdays because Baylor and I have time to hang out outside and make a little progress on some of the flower beds. We've been uncovering all sorts of wildlife out here (which makes me wonder when we'll see a snake. That will officially be my last day working in the yard). Last Wed. we saw this turtle in one of the flower beds.

Here he is in his natural habitat before a little 19 month old boy who will remain nameless decided to move him...
to the concrete...and roll him down our driveway like a bowling ball...

This week we had a chance to plant a few flowers like this Gerbera daisy which I love...not sure if it will survive our kitchen table though...we'll see

Here's Baylor during his lunch break, enjoying some grilled cheese and macaroni salad--his favorite!
Then Noah, his friend next door, got home and he and Baylor rode the 4-wheeler for a while...notice how nobody is steering...

Here they are going downhill. This time Noah is steering and Baylor is holding onto his sidewalk chalk for dear life!

on to the next adventure :)

Mothers Day

2008-05-14T10:33:00.000-07:00

My second Mother's Day was awesome :) We had baby dedication at our church which was really special (and large). It was great to have our little one brought before the church and prayed over and for us to commit to raising him in an environment that will encourage a strong walk with the Lord. Afterwards we had a little luncheon with several friends and their parents which was so much fun (Thanks Jenn!) After that we got to spend some time with my brother and his wife, Ashley--who are expecting their first little one in Dec!!! Yay!!! and my mom and dad. Mom served what could quite possibly be the largest mound of strawberry pie I will ever get to see--honestly I'm not sure how it balanced on top of that little pie crust...very good though :) After that we had small group, and after going by mom's to pick up Baylor and driving back to Franklinton, we were home by 11ish. Baylor and I slept until 9 or so Monday morning; but poor Ethan had to leave the house by 6:30 for work...not easy being a man, huh?

Lunch Drama

2008-05-04T12:25:00.000-07:00

So we thought today might be the day Baylor actually behaved in a restaurant. For those of you who have never had the serious misfortune of going out to eat with us before, here's a little background. Baylor usually sits still and eats a couple of chips for about 3 minutes and after that he turns into a little tazmanian devil and starts putting the cutlery in the drinks, throwing stuff off the table, screaming, dumping food everywhere, etc. But today I actually came prepared with toys and thought after about 10 minutes of calm we may have turned the corner. He was playing with a plastic saw and hammer (hammering the tostito chips, which I was totally willing to overlook if that was the worst thing he was going to do) coloring, playing with a cell phone, rolling a little race car, and even combing his hair. I whipped out my camera to document a very special day for us :) But somehow Baylor went through every toy I brought and when he was done with them all, the little wild banshei that we all know and love was back!

Here he is calmly drinking a coke...maybe not the best drink to give him when I need him to behave...lesson learned.
texting his girlfriends from the nursery...

crushing up chips with his hammer...

about to go nuts...

TANTRUM CITY!!!

2008-04-28T12:17:00.000-07:00

Baylor spent Sunday afternoon lounging around, and watching Finding Nemo, one of his favorites.

Women's Retreat

2008-04-16T05:07:00.000-07:00

This weekend was the women's retreat in Blowing Rock. The weekend started out great. Miraculously, the five of us who were riding together in my little Honda managed to squeeze our bodies and all of our luggage into the car. Our husbands would've been impressed! But when we got to a Wendy's outside of Winston Salem I realized that I had left my wallet at home in the baby bag. So after we checked in for the retreat, Cora (who was so sweet to come back with me by the way!) and I met Mom & Dad in Wilkesboro to get my wallet which was about an hour drive for us and a three hour drive for them--I felt terrible! They were so sweet to do that--I really hope that I'll be that kind of parent some day. They're incredibly patient and have always made sure I have what I needed. Maybe by the time I'm 27, I won't need as much help keeping up with stuff...we'll see.

But despite that little bump in the road, the retreat was awesome! It was all about facing our fears and bringing them to the Lord rather than trying to avoid them or handle them ourselves. I really learned a lot and am so excited to be part of this church. We also had a few hours to go shopping at the outlets, walk around Blowing Rock, and go out to dinner. It was an incredible weekend, and like most things in my life, it was a total team effort with Ethan taking such great care of Ethan, John & Ashley helping to keep Ethan sane by chasing Baylor one afternoon, and Mom & Dad driving five or six hours total to deliver the wallet. John likes to joke about "Allie's staff"...haha...it take a "village" to keep me from losing my mind :)

Quick Trip to the Beach

2008-04-11T09:32:00.001-07:00

Mom, Baylor, and I went to Wilmington on Thursday to see my Aunt Linda, Uncle John, cousin Cheryl and her boys Benjamin, Bradley, and Will. We had such a great time. We had lunch at a place right on the intercoastal called Blue Water which was perfect for Baylor since he never sits in a high chair for more than five minutes, so we got to stroll up and down the dock looking at all of the boats. We had such a fun time and can't wait to go back for some of the boys baseball games or a beach day :)

Ethan's going to be one of them...

2008-04-09T07:00:00.000-07:00

Ethan got accepted to NC State's business school this morning! I'm so excited and still love him even though he's going to be part of the wolfpack ;)

Trip to Black Mountain

2008-04-09T06:30:00.001-07:00

We spent the weekend in Black Mountain hanging out with Mimaw and Papa. We did a lot of fun things; but the highlight of Baylor's weekend was definitely rolling back and forth on the block cart that Mimaw brought for him to play with. We had a couple near wipe-outs; but he managed to stay on it most of the time.

He also enjoyed trying out Papa's chair...

Playing on the playground at Lake Tomahawk

and playing with blocks in his pajamas

Sign Up for HOOPS

2008-04-02T16:11:00.000-07:00

The 13th annual Hoops for Wake Forest 3 on 3 tournament is on May 17th in downtown Wake Forest. Last year the tournament raised around $14,000 for area charities. If you'd like to register a team, go to www.hoopsforwakeforest.com. Here are the entry fees:
Adults, 19 and older: $90 per team
Youth, 13 thru 15: $20 per team
16 thru 18: $40 per team
Children, 12 and under: Free
There's also a slam dunk and 3 point shootout that is $1 if you're under 18, and $2 if you're over 18.

Fun Playing with Kate

2008-04-02T16:05:00.001-07:00

Kate came over and played with Baylor today. As you can see from the pictures, he had a great time with Kate and Kate's Mommy...he's not shy :) We kept trying to get a cute picture of them; but the wiggle worms were not very cooperative today.

Savannah's Finally Here!!!

2008-04-02T15:59:00.000-07:00

We're so excited that Savannah Caroline Varner is here! She is an absolute angel too :) She's got thick dark hair and the sweetest little face--I'm so glad that she's just right around the corner! Here's a link to her page: http://savannahcaroline.sampasite.com/savannah-caroline-varner-s-site/album-1/default.htm#IMG_7448.jpg

Curiosity Creek

2008-03-26T10:43:00.001-07:00

Baylor loves to play at Curiosity Creek at Triangle Town Center. He's just started going down the slides all by himself; but his favorite thing is going through the log tunnels.

Could I Be Any Sweeter?

2008-03-26T10:40:00.001-07:00

Love, Love, LOVE the Inflatable Obstacle Course!

2008-03-26T10:29:00.000-07:00

This is like an extra babysitter for me--I love it! It keeps Baylor busy for hours every day!

GO ETHAN!!!

2008-03-13T17:50:00.000-07:00

We're really excited today because Ethan did great on his GMAT!!! Yay!!!! I'm so proud of him and so grateful that God chose to honor all of his hard work.

Sick Again

2008-03-09T05:54:00.001-07:00

I woke up Saturday morning feeling really achey and couldn't hold any food down. I guess this is a viral thing, because our whole family has already had the flu...who knows? Luckily, Ethan and Baylor seem to be feeling fine and I'm actually feeling a little bit better this morning. I'm praying that Ethan especially doesn't get it this time since he's taking the GMAT on Thursday morning--say a prayer for him!

So Sad

2008-03-07T04:08:00.000-08:00

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/2534527/

All Over the Place!

2008-03-03T07:51:00.000-08:00

Can't WAIT to Meet Savannah!

2008-03-03T04:56:00.001-08:00

Cole and Lorren are having a baby girl at the end of the month and we are so excited for them! Jenn and I threw them a shower this weekend and had such a good time. Here are some pictures:

Cold North Carolina Days

2008-02-27T19:32:00.000-08:00

Today was one of those days when I could just tell Baylor was bored. It was pretty cold outside and he just got over an ear infection, so I really didn't want to take him to the park (also because that would require me putting on makeup and actually attempting to fix my hair...haha...), so I racked my brain for indoor activities that we could do other than destroying the kitchen. These are the little puppets we made. I thought they'd be so much fun; but Baylor was interested for about 2 seconds.

See? Doesn't he look bored?

So after several failed attempts at trying to find an activity he was interested in, lunchtime rolled around (mercifully) and naptime about a half hour later.

After naptime I tried a few more activities: coloring, v-smile, blocks, sit & spin, etc., but nothing made him happy. Then in a last ditch effort I started lining some of his dinosaurs up on the floor...BINGO! He loved it :) He spent the rest of the afternoon happily lining up his little dinosaurs and then knocking them over with anything he could find--the remote, a foam sword, his t-ball bat, and even a conch shell I brought back from my honeymoon (don't worry...when I saw that I took it away)

MUCH happier!

I'm going to TRY to stay motivated this time!

2008-02-27T18:52:00.000-08:00

So I had another blog that I was updating fairly frequently in 2007; but after breaking our laptop I lost motivation. I was trying to keep Baylor from falling off and as I lunged across the bed, my foot caught the edge of the computer and it fell right on the wood floor and hasn't been the same since. But now that Ethan showed me how to load pictures on the upstairs computer, we're back in business.

We have so many friends and family who live far away, and that we only get to see a couple times a year, so I hope this is a good way to keep everybody in the loop of what's going on in our lives.

To catch ya'll up...(since I've been MIA the last few months)

We had a GREAT Christmas. It was a blast watching Baylor open all of his presents (most of which were from both sets of grand parents). His favorite new toy is a little obstacle course that we set up in the bonus room. It has a little place you crawl through into some Chucky Cheese style balls and a slide--super fun!

After Christmas we got a little bit of snow--not enough to sled; but enough for Baylor to enjoy. This is the view from our back porch...

And here's the view from our front porch...

The day before Valentine's day Baylor, Ethan, and I all got a stomach virus, so Ethan called in sick to work and we spent the day sleeping, drinking sprite, and trying to hold down some saltines. Luckily, our sicknesses were short lived and we were able to attend the marriage conference at our church that weekend which was AWESOME! But the bad news is that we passed our virus on to mom and dad who were sick for a few days the next week.

We just went through the membership class at our church--which we love and we're starting to get more involved. Ethan's studying for his GMAT which he takes on the 12th or 14th (not sure which), so say a little prayer for him :) Baylor's growing up so fast on me :( He doesn't say many words, but the ones he does say, he absolutely wears out! "uh oh", "no no", mama, dada, and he makes a hissing sound at our cat that's hysterical! We're going to have to correct this before preschool.