Weekend in a Double-Wide

Nathan's Opa and Oma (Mark's dad and stepmom) recently sold their house in Rock Hill and (because there is still no house on their lake lot to go with the gargantuan dock and fleet of boats residing there - we call it "the marina") moved into a double-wide while they finalize the planning and building of their retirement home.

Have you ever slept in a double-wide? This was a new experience for me.

First, you should understand that Opa and Oma are classy people (I assure you none of Nathan's couth genes came from the Bumgarner side). They have classy furniture, an eclectic art collection, foodtv-worthy kitchen appliances, and fancy electronics. These are also people people with a lot of stuff. So this double-wide trailer is packed - to the brim - with things that do NOT belong in a trailer.

Some of my favorite features:
-the electric tape holding the guest room doorknob on
-the (second) fridge that doesn't - even a little bit - fit into the kitchen
-the front door that opens into the master bedroom (seriously)
-the washing machine that causes water to bubble up in the guest bath - on the other side of the trailer
-the carpet that goes up the wall of the bathtub in the master "suite" (I cannot believe I forgot to take a picture of that)
-the heating/ac vents that seem to be smack in the middle of every room
-the intercom system (in the middle of a large wall, of course) - is that really necessary in a trailer?
-the 90-lb dog (named Bubba, appropriately) that takes up all of whatever empty space would be available
-Nathan's mullet, which (as you can see) is truly "business in the front, party in the back!" and was a wonderful complement to the double-wide weekend.

I'm not gonna lie, if you told me ten years ago, when I first met Mark's dad, that he would one day be married to a southern woman (who needs explanation about the difference between thespians and lesbians) and living in a trailer, puttering around the house wearing a bucket hat and pretending to fish off a rickety dock, and loving it, I would never have believed you. But this is the wonderful, relaxed, laid-back life they have chosen, and it always make for a fun visit with lots of laughs!

And the laughter included Nathan!!!! But of course we only caught the very tail end of it on camera. We have it at the ready, though, for next time he gets the giggles.

Enjoy a video of Oma with Nathan:

For more videos (including Opa footage, and Mark's fly fishing how-to video), click here. For more pictures of the double-wide experience and our visit to Lake Wateree and Huntersville, click here.

Apple Cider Cookie-Donuts

Kelley's friend Beth mentioned going to pumkin patches as a child, and one fall favorite from a particular orchard/patch was apple cider donuts. It reminded me that I actually have a recipe for apple cider cookie-donuts, ripped out of a church cookbook by my Grandma B, a really really long time ago.

Makes 20 cookie-donuts

Ingredients:
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup apple cider
1/4 cup crisco
2 eggs
3.5 cups flour
1/2 cup buttermilk (don't use low-fat)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
dash of salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
vegetable or peanut oil, for frying
(extra cider and powdered sugar for glaze, if desired)

Directions:
Boil apple cider until it reduces by half. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat sugar and shortening together; add eggs. Mix together, then stir in cooked cider and buttermilk. Stir in dry ingredients. Move dough to a lightly floured large wooden board and spread to 1/2-inch thickness. Use 2-inch cookie cutter (or 3-inch donut cutter and save centers for donut holes) to cut donuts from dough. Add vegetable oil to deep pan (enough to cover donuts); heat to 375. Fry several donuts at a time for approximately 4 minutes, turning once, until cooked through. For glaze, mix 2 cups powdered sugar and 1/2 cup cider, adding extra cider if needed to thin.

family portrait

This picture is really nice, huh? Let me tell you how we got it:

When I went to have Nathan's 2-month pictures made (remember, when I had the free coupon?), I saw that Triangle Town Center Mall was having a weekend with all sorts of events to sponsor the Wake County SPCA. One of those events was (brace yourself) PET photo sittings a few weeks later. Well, it only took me about 4 seconds to decide that I had to have a family photo including all three of my babies. So I got an appointment, got Mark to re-arrange his work schedule to accommodate, and got excited. Didn't know I should be worried about the logistics of two dogs and in infant in a photo shoot. The potential complications of said photo shoot taking place in a shopping mall didn't occur to me at the time, either.

Well, when d-day arrived, it was drizzling. It had rained exactly 1.5 times since Nathan's birth (we're having an "exceptional" drought, according to our local news channel, who won't shut up about how we need to pee twice, flush once, etc.) and of course it rained on the one day in my entire life that I take two dogs and an infant to the mall. To have a picture made.

We got there early, waited outside Macy's for a while (in the drizzle) since we weren't sure which loading dock to pull up to (they had made it clear we were not to take the dogs in through the mall itself). Then we noticed that there were shoppers inside and there was really no reason for us to be standing outside in the rain. (We are actually both really smart, I promise.)

After some amount of confusion and several calls between cell phones, I managed to get Nathan into the studio, and Mark brought the dogs in through the back (I had him park on the complete opposite side of the mall from Picture People, by the way, so it was a long walk). Just as we're getting settled in for the shoot, I realized I had a fat roll situation on my stomach. I let go of Bowden for one second to fix my pants and she bolted. For those of you who don't know her, she's a nervous animal, to say the least. Simon paused, looked around, and then took off after her. I tried to find a place to put Nathan (and ended up deciding on the floor of the photo shoot, actually) but by the time my hands were free, they had run several circles around the store and had gone outside into the mall (remember how we weren't supposed to let them do that?)... I caught Bowden (I actually just squatted and she came right to me, the little jitterbug), and then looked up just in time to see Simon shoot past, and then Mark about 2 seconds later. I knew it should have been stressful, but it was so funny that I just laughed.

Mark caught him in no time and we got back into the shoot where Nathan (fascinated by his own fists floating in the air above him, thank goodness) was waiting patiently. And we ended up getting some nice pictures.

But I'm pretty sure Picture People was scared out of their mind for the rest of the pet event (we were the first appointment) - they looked a little dazed by the time we left. But when I went back to look at proofs, they assured me that we were by far the biggest adventure of the day (seems other people wanted pictures of JUST their pets - not the whole family, pets and babies included).

But now I have a great picture of our little family, to be proudly displayed on our staircase, and I can laugh every time I see it. I love my babies!

on seasickness

My mom has been in St Croix this weekend, to do a 5-mile ocean swim. I just heard from her and it looks like they had to pull her from the water for seasickness, so she didn't actually get to finish the race this year (y'all, if my mom says she's seasick, she's SICK... she said she had to stop every 10 strokes or so to vomit - ick). Which is kind of a bummer, but it's better not to dwell on it.

So instead, we'll talk about last year's swim, which was awesome and an awesome vacation. Partway through mom's weight loss program, I (jokingly, I thought) told her that I would do the 5-mile swim in St Croix if she would do it. So I guess - that's a challenge. Next thing you know, my sister is on board, too, then brother Brad, and mom's trainer MA and his wife as well. (Why can't mom do anything without an entourage? Seriously.)

So we had a wonderful week in St Croix. We all finished the race, we drank some tasty cocktails, I only got stung three times by jellyfish (and only once on the face!), we snorkeled in the rain (Frank, too!), MA drove across the lawn of a national monument after we got locked into a parking lot, we got very sunburned, we went to a crab racing event, and Brad liked it so much he moved there two weeks later (yes, he still lives there).

In honor of mom's swim, enjoy some pictures of last year's trip:

Mom, Ashley, and "Frank" snorkeling in the rain.

the swimmers

jellyfish stings on the (pre-Nathan) tummy


a new life for Brad

To see all the St Croix pictures, click here.

Type A: He Gets it Honest

Before Nathan was born, Mark and I took a lot of flak for the process we used to pick a name. We both had very specific criteria... Him: easy to spell, easy to pronounce, no nicknames (and therefore "nothing else to explain" on the first day of school when the teacher stops upon reading Goettsch on the class roster). Me: doesn't end in "k" sound (which is just too much with our last name), more than one syllable, not yuppie.

So we had it narrowed down to several choices, and then Mark plotted them on a graph, based on popularity over the last century. We didn't want our child to have a Grandpa name, after all, or one that is becoming a little too trendy and would make him one of four in his kindergarten class.
Know what? It turns out that most people don't use charts and graphs to choose baby names. Who knew? This realization is based on people's reactions when I tell them about our naming process, and the looks on my coworkers' faces when Mark's emailed graph came off the printer tray at work. Apparently most people just choose something they like. Is it really that simple for other people? I mean, I know it's dorky, but we found the information in our graph pretty valuable.

So after Nathan came late (SO not our child), I told myself that I would try to tone down the whole type-A thing, since it must not be his thing (is it type-A to assume that a baby's late delivery is related to his personality and potential type-A-ness?)... I promised myself I wouldn't force him into a schedule (eat every three hours, even if it means waking baby? HA!), let him be however he wants to be, eat how much he wants to eat, etc. No ounce-counting or clock-watching for us. And even though it goes against everything that is Mark-and-Erin, we have been surprisingly comfortable as non-scheduled parents. More than comfortable... it feels really good, actually. More like following my own instinct than I ever would have expected, pre-mommyhood.

And I am pleased that my relaxed attitude (well, as relaxed as I ever am... I mean, let's be real) with Nathan's sleep allowed him to prove to me that he indeed could put himself into a routine without my help. He slept "through the night" (7 hours) when he was about three weeks old, and consistently did at least 8 hours in one shot for the next month or more - now he's up to 11 hours, with no complaints. Best. Baby. Ever.

I will admit that as Mark and I were letting Nathan set his own schedule, I did get sort of anxious about what that schedule might be (all those books kept telling me I should be focusing on it, and it's taking me a long time to be truly confident in following my own instincts when they disagree with the books), so we did take some pretty detailed observations down. And put them in a chart. I mean, it's our way.

I guess some things die hard after all.

Congratulations, Amy and Drew!

In honor of their recent nuptials, here is my review of Amy and Drew's wedding last weekend (in list form in no particular order, since that's my way):

1.) the sweet tea was in my top 5 tea experiences. Ever.

2.) their ceremony program was 11 pages, and contained such pertinent information as Drew and his brother's band geek history (yay Drew!), a recounting of how Amy's ancestors were charged with "'frolican', such as fiddling and dancing" by the church in 1879 (and were forgiven, of course), a lovely poem about a violin (which the musician in me really liked, actually), a list of similarities/coincidences about the McFadyen and Hartsell families, and the scientific specifications and measurements of the tree out front. To name a few. I have never seen such a ceremony program. Everyone was so busy reading that the church was virtually silent before the ceremony started. That never happens at southern weddings. Kudos to the happy couple for providing lots of entertaining reading material! Or something.

3.) The gathering music, processional, and recessional were played on the violin, fiddle-style. It turns out I like fiddled hymns.

4.) The bagpiper played Amazing Grace before the ceremony. After I jumped out of my skin at his entrance (he was approximately 12 inches from the back of my head, and it was not a large building) and got over the sounds-like-a-funeral thing, it was really nice. I think maybe Amy's family has Scottish heritage? Ahh, yes - here it is in the program. Her ancestors come from the Isle of Islay in Scotland.

5.) Drew and his mom danced together at the reception. I was standing off to the side, and Nathan was on my shoulder, awake but relaxed. I cried when I thought about how someday it will be his wedding, and he will be taller than I am, dancing with me before he leaves to be with his bride. It made me kind of happy and sad at the same time. Which, of course, is cause for tears. It was a very touching moment. By the way, Nathan looked ridiculously cute in his suit (from Lucas, of course).

6.) During the Charge to the Couple in the wedding ceremony, the officiant read a scripture passage that contained the word "carcass" more times than Lindy, Allen and I could count. Together. There are certain words that don't belong in a wedding ceremony, and I'm pretty sure "carcass" is one of them. Come on - it's a wedding! Gimme some "love is patient, love is kind" and we'll all feel less uncomfortable. And carcassy. Awk-ward!

7.) Amy, who is always an attractive chica, was stunning. Perfect hair, classy dress, award-winning smile. Funny thing is, she's traipsing around Europe right now (and by that I mean jet-laggedly clearing customs in Rome, wearing my backpack, jeans, and a ponytail) and she probably looks just as great as she did Saturday night. She's one of those. Don't you want to hate her just a little?

8.) I am proud to say that Amy and Drew took the following suggestions, made or affirmed by Mark and me: no best man or maid of honor (too political to choose), plastic cups with their names as party favors (people will actually use those!), and the singing of The Lord's Prayer (by Malotte) by Amy's mom (beautiful, appropriate, but not so personal she couldn't get through it without crying).

9.) I think my favorite part of the whole thing was halfway through the ceremony, when Lindy noticed that she was listed in the program as a wedding director. While she did come the day earlier to help out with logistics, she did not, even a little bit, direct the actual ceremony. She was seated right next to me on the pew, as a general congregant. Nothing like going to a show and finding out halfway through that you're supposed to be in it! Typisch Lindy. :)

10.) Congrats, Amy and Drew!

odd, but true

1.) an outline of the number 482 is still sunburned onto both of my shoulders from the triathlon, three weeks ago. I guess that marker is better sunscreen than the average person (like me!) would assume.

2.) nathan has several pairs of pants with pockets and/or flies in them. Why?

3.) until last weekend, we had two kitchen tables and three sets of dining chairs in our house. And usually I eat one-handed, while feeding Nathan, on the couch.

4.) I am headed to a wedding this afternoon, which is in south carolina. the reception is in north carolina. I will be on the road for more than four hours to see Amy and Drew (pictured here with Nathan) tie the knot. They live approximately 15 feet from my house.

5.) at my postpartum checkup, my doctor referred to sex as "having relations." And he wasn't kidding.

6.) Nathan is asleep on my bathroom floor right now. His crib and swing are both perfectly available, but he's happy upstairs.

7.) Our favorite chinese restaurant, where we considered eating last night, is called Fuji China. You do the math.

8.) I am trying to plan a trip to Savannah, and every Marriott on the weekend I want is sold out. What's going on in Savannah?

9.) It would not be odd to have a nice even number of things on this list, so I am stopping at 9.

cartoon for a lazy day

I'm feeling sort of slothenly this afternoon. I was planning on doing a triathlon next weekend but the cycle training got the better of me. If I don't like it, I'm not going to do it. So I shouldn't pretend. I need to find a new event to work towards. Or I need to take it slower as I get back into the cycling thing. (I lived in the Netherlands, for pete's sake... I should be able to cylce for days without my butt hurting - I certainly could then!) At any rate, I'm not back into it yet. And this afternoon, I'm not much into anything physical.

a day in the life of simon

One of the advantages to working at home (besides the obvious - like taking care of my son and having time to blog!) is that I have lots more time with Bowden and Simon than I did before. Although they frequently drive me nuts with the barking (they are so much more vocal than I ever realized!), they have also brought countless joyful moments into my life. And being home with them all day means I am here for supreme photo ops like this one.

When I saw Simon on the couch like this, I had to wonder - what would posses him to put himself into this position? What were the events of his day that culminated in this level of exhaustion?

So, in honor of my big boy (since Nathan is the "little" boy now), here's how I imagine an average day in the life of Simon must go:

5am - dang it! that silly creature is making noise again. but wait! i can't see it! i can hear it! i can't see it! [looks around confused.] i can still hear it!..... ok, mommy's waking up. she'll take care of it. [lays head down to go back to sleep.] dang it! now bowden is jumping on my head. oh well, might as well get up and food. wait... food? oh yeah... food! FOOD! [stampedes downstairs.]

5:15am - well, she put me outside to pee before i got my food. and now there's a strange creature in the backyard! it's big! it's bushy! it's moving around slightly! better get it! BARK BARK BARK BARK! oh now mommy is saying it's a bush. i don't know what that is but sounds dangerous. better go inside and get some food so I can refuel. [promptly forgets bush.]

5:30am - time to get back in bed and sleep some more. mmm, this pillow smells nice - like daddy. [licks butt while laying on pillow.] it's nice to be able to stretch out and sleep without all those humans in my bed.

8:30am - is that creature making noise AGAIN? but wait! i can't see it! i can hear it! i can't see it! [looks around confused.] i can still hear it! ok, mommy's up. we'll go downstairs and check it out. [stretches like a cat, despite canine classification.]

9:30am - the sun is out. time to spread out in the warm dirt (mommy and daddy call it a lawn - what does that mean?) and bask in the sunshine. oh no, a strange slumpy human with an even stranger machine is coming down the road! BARK BARK BARK BARK! mommy is coming outside - must bark more to protect her from creature... she must not see it! BARK BARK! oh no! she's talking to it! i must distract her or she will get hurt! [proceeds to jump up and down around old lady and stroller.] oh, she wants me to come inside now. she must want me near her for continued protection. i think that's what "hush" means... protect mommy.

11:30am - mommy is approaching the hall closet [runs frantically, slipping on floors] - it must be time for a walk! oh, only laundry time? well, that sock looks yummy. how nice of mommy to leave it out for me. She must be very proud of my protection from earlier today. oh, she doesn't want me to have it? well, she turned around now. i'll take it to the top of the stairs. maybe if i creep quietly to the staircase and then thunder to the top, she won't know what i'm up to. dang it! she figured it out again! well the sock was good while it lasted. [wags tail sheepishly.]

1:30pm - the dangerous brown machine is in front of our house again! BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK! oh, it's not our house? well anyway BARK BARK BARK BARK. ok, good it's gone. someone took a box from the human in the machine - that must have helped chase the machine away. Good thing i alerted them. Wait, have i alerted the strange and small creature in my own house as well? he seems to be making that noise again.

3:30pm - the small creature in my house is now in mommy's arms - again. mmm, his head tastes sweet when I lick it. what's that dribbling out of his mouth? is he sharing food with me? yummy! now mommy is putting him in the noisemaker beside her desk. i remember this contraption. he moves back and forth and back and forth. but he rarely makes any noise, so I will keep an eye on him to alert him in case those humans swinging sticks at balls come through the back yard again. he needs to know, so he can make his barking and help me protect mommy.
5:30pm - bowden is running in circles. she is clearly distracted from her role as protector. i've noticed that she only barks when i bark. i should test her by barking at nothing, once. now bowden is saying BARK BARK BARK BARK and there is nothing at all to be scared of! she should stop riding my coattails to the role of top protector. but the good news is i have alerted the small creature and he is also making his barking. he is learning well from me.

5:45pm - mommy is approaching the hall closet [runs frantically, slipping on floors] - it must be time for a walk! oh, only dinner time? [tail sags temporarily] wait, dinner time? food? oh yeah... food! FOOD! [stampedes into kitchen, tail wagging frantically.]

6:15pm - it has been a long day of hard work. i should take a nap. it feels good to stretch out. wait, what's that smell? something behind me? my butt? [sniffs and licks butt.] mommy is walking by, maybe she would like to scratch me - but I can't roll over with my head towards my butt [attempts rollover anyway]. well, that was only a little scratching. i should stay like this in case she walks by again. i'm just so tired... [dozes off in awkward position.]

7:00pm - daddy's home! my favorite! he's sitting on my spot on the couch so he must want to snuggle with me. [crawls into lap.] what? he's not petting me enough. [bats head into hand.] ok, that's better. what's this warm dish of food? thank you, mommy? oh, it's only for daddy and you? ok well i'll keep an eye out the window and make sure that none of the other humans walking around, or their creatures or machines, can get your dinner then. BARK BARK BARK BARK!

9:00pm - i have been let outside to pee again. this thing mommy calls "bush" is still making dangerous noises and moving around. I should go closer to investigate. BARK BARK BARK BARK HOOOOOOWL. daddy's whistling! i know what that means! COME! i'm a good boy and i'll show daddy so! he said something about dinner. i know that one, too. dinner... food? oh yeah... food! FOOD! [stampedes up deck stairs.]

10:15pm -time for bed. i'm exhausted. But i need to wait on the stairs to make sure everyone is coming, too. mommy left the small creature downstairs. that's good. i can only share my bed with so many humans! yep, here comes mommy and daddy and bowden. i am such a good boy and after i stretch out on the part that smells like daddy, i let them sleep around me, too. not bowden. sometimes i am too tired to argue, but tonight i still have energy. she should not sleep in my bed with mommy and daddy and me. [zonks out until bowden feels safe enough to re-approach.] wha.. huh? [stretches like a cat despite canine classification.] oh, there's bowden. ok, bowden, you can snuggle with me too. i love my family.

For more pictures of Bowden and Simon, click here.

Kathleen and the fur

Mondays are hard for everyone - but especially me, especially today - which is my first full day of working from home. As you can see, I'm working very hard. (Reason #3512-B why no one from my office will ever see this blog.) I would feel bad about it, but considering I spent most of September doing WAY more work than I originally agreed to, and knowing what's coming in March-April-May-June, when I will more than make up any "slow" days from this fall, I'm just going to spend the rest of the afternoon enjoying myself while I keep an eye on my work email. No sense seeking out extra work when the clients and the boss are all happy, right? Plus, I only get paid for what I actually do. Wow, I sound guiltier than I am claiming not to feel!

So anyway.

I was telling Ryan about this clip a few weeks ago, and every time I watch it I laugh. So I am posting it here for everyone's enjoyment (and hoping no one from antm, or the people who pieced the clips together, gets mad at me - what are the rules on that, anyway?), and I am hoping it will make the beginning of the work week a little brighter. But if you are actually AT work, this might be a good time to grab those headphones - you need the sound to see the humor.




This video embodies all the reasons I love America's Next Top Model. Tyra has herself on a pedestal, thinking she's all-knowing. Girls trying to break into an industry they're clueless about. A reality show trying to make a political statement (or at least raise awareness of one), while just making itself look silly. And yes, I definitely have a crush on Nigel. (Don't we all?)