Seven Quick Takes

It has been kind of a blah week. I have been anxious and tired and and and AND but that's all boring and I am starting to pull out of it, so.

1.) Okay so I've been craving Red Lobster. Not just craving seafood, or even good seafood, but craving the particular brand of junk food trying to be classy that only Red Lobster can provide me. So Mark, because he is a good and kind and indulgent soul (who secretly likes it too) (LOOK MARKY I TOLD THE INTERNET YOUR SECRET SHAME), took me on Monday night for a date. With a babysitter and everything. To Red Lobster. And we ordered heaps of shrimp and fish and traded our plates around and both got exactly what we wanted and we aren't sorry. And it was sleety and gross outside which means we had the whole place basically to ourselves which makes it either way better or way, way worse.

2.) Speaking of the sleet, Nathan got out of school early on Monday because of winter weather (winter! weather! No, March. Just no.) so I took advantage of the free hours to take him for a haircut. (And Starbucks. Because there is no event in my life that doesn't go well with Starbucks.)

And I took this picture, which I can't stop looking at, because he looks so! grown! up! yet also exactly, exactly like he did the day he was born. That little profile. I cannot.

3.) On Tuesday there was no school at all. Total snow day. "Snow day." It was also the first day of spring tee ball. That's good math, right?

(Yes, Anneliese is doing a little tee ball this year too! She asked a thousand times when Nathan played  last year, so we are letting her try it just for a one-month session. She is very excited to be included.)

4.) Through a not-that-long-but-also-not-that-interesting turn of events, I ended up taking the kids to Dunkin Donuts on Tuesday, the last day before Lent, and this is the cup they gave me my coffee in, and I  laughed and laughed and laughed.

5.) At our Ash Wednesday worship yesterday, Nathan got suddenly nervous that the ashes would be hot, so he didn't want them on his forehead, so the pastor put them on his hand instead. This has nothing to do with anything, except it struck me as so very Nathan.

6.) My phone has been very wonky and freezy of late, so I went to Verizon to see about getting a new one or getting it reset or something. They were perfectly willing to let me get a new one (even though I am not eligible for an upgrade til May) but it turns out they aren't honoring old phone plans anymore, for anyone, period, and I guess I am the last one in America to know this because I seem to be the only one outraged. As soon as Mark or I gets a new phone (which will inevitably happen! this is not a special case! everyone needs new phones at some point! it is a part of the Natural Order of Things!) our plan will be significantly more expensive, for significantly less data usage. Y'all. I do not like paying more to get less. So here is where I am: I can't get a working phone with Verizon without our bill going waaaaaay up, but I also can't quit Verizon til May. (Oh and they have cornered the market on secondhand and hand-me-down phones by requiring people to physically trade in their old ones to get reasonable prices on new ones, so craigslist and ebay and imploring friends and family doesn't help either.) Basically my phone doesn't work and I have to live with it. Am super frustrated.

7.) I made these two sets of burp cloths last week for Merritt and Elsha, and they have both been delivered and unwrapped so I can post pics now.

These are my favorite baby gifts to give. Old-school prefold cloth diapers make the best burp cloths (I had a stack that served as my loveys when I was a toddler, I called them nannies) (my nephew Liam does this too, a holdover from what Ashley remembered from our own childhood, and I very much love it), but since everyone in the world has a stack of these white things, we loved our decorated, ribboned, colorful ones best -- easy to stick in a diaper bag for outings and the church nursery, and you know which ones are yours at a glance. We had a few with the big kids that we loved, and then Ashley gave us a big stack of tye-died ones when Charlotte was born which were (are) awesome. I love making them for new baby presents.

Get To Know Me Questions

Okay, for Am Doing My Best, here is a random non-family-update thing to blog about, and it was fun! And now I want everyone I know to do this too!

If you were on an island, who would you want to be with? Why? Mark, duh. He's my super co-vacationer. Wait I'm not on this island forever, right? I get to come home and see my kids and friends and family? So yeah, on the island, Mark and only Mark.

If you could witness any event past, present or future, what would it be? Ooooh the nativity, I think. Or the making of the Sound of Music in Austria in the 1960s. That makes me sound like a total heretic to mention those next to each other in the same answer, but yeah. There it is.

If you could learn to do anything, what would it be? I am a good musician, but I have always been sort of sad I can't play the piano. So, that. Or fly, if we are being implausible. Who wouldn't want to be able to fly?

If you had to change your first name, what would you change it to? Gretchen. I've always kinda felt like a Gretchen. Yes really.

If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do? Pay off the mortgage, pay for my family's mortgages, buy one fancy gift each for my favorite ten or so people, and then go on vacation. Maybe to that island we just talked about. (That is the first, second, third, and fourth things I would do, because I'm not a rule-follower and also I am wordy.)

If you could be any fictional character, who would you choose? Hermione.

What do you want to be when you grow up? HAHAHAHAHA

What was the last movie, TV show or book that made you cry or tear up? I cry at almost every book, and literally every movie (Mark and Another Nathan can vouch for that. I cried at Ted. TED for crying out loud. I hated that movie! Yet, I cried sappy tears) but I think the last book I cried at was Eleanor & Park, and the last movie I cried-cried in, tears-in-my-neck, snot-soaked sleeves, was Saving Mr. Banks.

What do you miss most about being a kid? Oh, this will be heavy, but I do miss my mom and dad and sister and brother all living in one house. It feels like some level of whole that is very hard to re-create as an adult, although with my own husband and kids now, it is getting there.

What story does your family always tell about you? My sister swears up and down that I told her Hitler lived in our toilet and would come out and get us when we flushed. But I did not come up with that, and I know I didn't, because I was scared of it too! (We were odd children; I can see this now.) I really thought she told me, but she's 32 now and legitimately insists she didn't, so I believe her. Maybe it was the product of someone's bad dream or something and what was one scary idea turned into a joint childhood fear. Or maybe we just watched waaaaaaaay to much of The Sound of Music. Regardless, we believed it, we became experts at the flush & run, and our family still talks about it. HITLER. IN THE TOILET.

What is your dream job? Travel writer. Pay me to take a trip, see new sights, eat new foods, meet new people, notice things to form opinions about them, and then write all about it? Yep. Sign me up.

What cause are you willing to fight for? Correct usage of apostrophes. It is my hill to die on. (Also, equal marriage rights for all people who use apostrophes correctly, regardless of sexuality.)

What was the last national park you visited? Buck Island off St. Croix, where we went snorkeling last year on my brother's wedding trip. Fun fact: it is the only national park that is completely underwater! (Also I am a traveler who is full of fun facts! You definitely want me on alllll your national park trips.)

What was the first thing you learned to cook? I made a lot of hamburger helper for my family when I was a kid, does that count? The first thing I learned to cook cook as an adult was this peasant pasta with sausage and peas I learned from watching Rachael Ray on tv in the early weeks of my marriage. I watched a lot of Rachael Ray on TV in the early weeks of my marriage. A lot.

What book can you read over and over again? A Little Princess, Where the Red Fern Grows, Harry Potter, A Son of the Circus, The Poisonwood Bible.

Did you ever work at an on campus job? Heck yeah I did, I was a happy minion in the music department office (before minions were adorable animated movie characters). I learned important things like: 1- how to make a pot of coffee that doesn't piss off the organ professor, 2- there is no problem that can't be solved by sticking a post-it note on something else, 3- most grownups a generation ahead of me are scared of computers, 4- how to lie talk to prospective students/families about opera and dance programs that didn't really exist at my school 5- to never ever under any circumstances staple a check to anything, ever, especially not a band/orchestra camp application. I can haz mad office skillz.

What was the first concert you went to see? Richard Marx! It was so so awesome. I am not even being sarcastic. I also saw Boyz II Men on Valentine's Day in eighth grade with my (gasp! tenth grade! scandalous!) boyfriend. And his parents. Which was also awesome and that is also not sarcasm.

Who is someone from your past that you are sorry you lost track of? Oh, lots of people. I am all for looking someone up when I think of them, but the ones that can't be tracked down, even online, kinda confound me. The first one that comes to mind is Hank, one of my best buds on foreign study in Germany. Weird we went through this awesome transformative thing together, bonded over our young engagements and similar book tastes, and shared snacks on night trains and laughed til we cried at the automated lady on the phone cards for calling America. We stayed close through the rest of college, and then we got married (on the same day!) and he fell off the face of the earth. Sad. He was smart and fun and lovely. Still is, I'm sure.

If you could see 24 hours into the future what would you do with this ability? Go nuts, I think. That sounds terrible and exhausting. It would send me into a panic of trying to control everything (even more than I do now!) and oh my geesh, suddenly I am very very very glad there are some things we never get to know or predict. YIKES.

If you had it to do over again what would you study in school? I majored in English (with a double major in German) (HASHTAG USEFUL), but I think if I did it over I would do something more writing-ish. Yes, more than English. Like something more about journalism or media or design/communications. That stuff fascinates me now. Actually wait I take it back, I loved my years of reading books and writing papers about them and getting a degree for it. What am I saying? That was super.

What do you know how to say in a foreign language? Lots of things! Want me to write this blog post in cluttered German? Because I can! At one point I could also say "would you please take our photo?" in fourteen langugages because I am That Traveler, and fun! facts! are not the only thing I can offer to a vacation. (Mark rolls his eyes and then feels super glad we have a the pictures, so.)

What was your first paying job? I babysat as a teenager, and then spent my adolescence as a lifeguard, but my first paying job in the "real world" was a sales job for a company that arranged non-profit travel (disaster relief, humanitarian aid, mission trips, that kind of thing). It wasn't what I thought I was looking for when we moved to Raleigh, but I loved the lady I interviewed with and I loved the company's vision (originally borne of the Mennonite church which was odd but lovely) so I took the job, and was so glad I did, because it turns out I am totally good at sales. Not in a schmoozy gross way (I know the word "sales" is a big turn-off to a lot of people) but in a listening to what people need, smart at creative logistics way. I was good at it; my clients liked me and so did my company. I don't mean to sound douchey, just saying it was a great job for me. I did it for like six years, til Anneliese was born, and I would do it again.

(Edited: I just remembered I totally had a job in the "real world" right after we got married, a sports shop in Clemson, where I was hired to something something implement bar codes something men's section buying choices blah blah blah it was retail with a crappy cranky boss and it was not my favorite, but through sale samples, Mark did start to achieve his lifetime goal of owning All The Clemson Shirts.) (Said lifetime goal has since been abandoned.)

What is the strangest food you have ever eaten? I am not a super picky eater, but I also can't think of anything truly weird I have eaten. Once when we were on foreign study in the Netherlands, Mark made me eat a whole pickled (raw? I can't remember) herring drenched in raw onions. It was... not good. (Another Nathan says this is where I should admit I ate food in China that I couldn't identify, which even if the food itself was normal, is apparently not a Normal Person thing to do. So there's also that.)

When was the first time you saw the ocean? I am guessing before I was even a year old, and suddenly I am sad for people who might have a definitive memoried answer for this. Or maybe jealous of them, for having it be a noteworthy memorable experience? I love the ocean, I love the beach, I don't recall ever not knowing what it was or what it was like. I'm a Carolinian so that's to be expected though.

What is most memorable about your high school years? Laughing a lot with my awesome band dork friends. Being completely in puppy-love (and then real love!) with Mark. Constant muscle soreness from swim practice.

What word describes you best? Emotional. I feel everything, everything, like really really feel it. It is sometimes exhausting, but most of the time it is connective and good. I think. I hope? It means I love people really hard, and I wouldn't trade that. So, good.

Chain Letters and Daniel Tiger and Other Mail Weirdness

Anneliese received three anonymously-mailed envelopes full of stickers today.

Which isn't as random as it seems, because I, like a sucker (*side eye Merritt*) jumped into what was billed as a "sticker club" but is actually a chain letter for toddlers. I know, I know. I KNOW.

But it seemed cute and it seemed easy and the way Anneliese's face lit up just from getting that chain letter kind of made me want to see her get more letters... with stickers! So, I did it. (To those of you who already know about this because you got mail from Anneliese requesting that you also join the pyramid scheme of stickers, I say I'M SORRY and also YOU'RE WELCOME.)

So we sent some stickers to our assigned child, and we forwarded on the letter to six more people, and crossed our fingers Anneliese would get some stickers in the mail. (Knowing it was okay if she didn't because, true story, she got to put the stamps on the envelopes and thought that is what "sticker club" meant, and was perfectly happy with just that. Oh, three. Sometimes you are a delightful age after all.)

Aside: You should know that my sister texted immediately after she opened the one I sent her, saying 1995 called and wants its chain letter back or I will have bad luck for ten years. Yes, my sister. Who LIVES in 1995. Who texts with T9. Who isn't mourning the loss of Google Reader with the rest of us right now because she has never used any kind of rss feeds, she doesn't even make BOOKMARKS for all the blogs she reads, she just, I guess, remembers them (?) and types them straight in the browser LIKE SOME KIND OF ANIMAL.  Okay so maybe she doesn't live in 1995 (right now Ashley of 1995 is all, what's a blog? I have middle school homework to do now kthx) but maybe 2005. Ahem. Love you, Ashley. And I'm sorry you never got any pencils back from those chain letters you sent.

Uhmmm ANYWAY I sent a chain letter and then today Anneliese got three envelopes full of stickers and that shouldn't seem weird, but there is evidence for weird. Stick with me:

1.) I forwarded those letters exactly ten days ago. Ten. So someone got it, sent it to THEIR next people, and THOSE people sent stickers to us, very very very quickly. Not one but TWO people are freaking ON IT. Like, almost impossibly so.

2.) They came in three matching envelopes -- same size, same type, same creative kiddie-return address system (from Thomas the Train, Daniel Tiger, and the Easter Bunny), but postmarked from THREE DIFFERENT CITIES (Atlanta, New York,. Indianapolis). (Basically I'm a private investigator right now, you should go ahead and hire me for all your Obvious Detail needs.)

Okay that was only two things and didn't need to be numbered. (But I'm leaving it, I have no regrets, yolo or whatever.) Kinda weird though, yes? Yet, they're stickers, so it has to be related to the chain letter sticker club right? For it to be pure coincidence seems Highly Unlikely.

So anyway, I don't know who you are or if you're reading this, somewhere out there, I need to give someone a kiss on the mouth because my daughter got mail from Daniel Tiger AND SHE THINKS IT IS REALLY FROM DANIEL TIGER.

So, thank you, whoever you are. *mouthkiss*

Catching Up: Hair, Dentist, Georgia and More

Want to know some unrelated fascinating things that have been going on over here? Of course you do.

I got my hair cut and colored a few weeks ago. After a year-ish as a brunette, I am back to blonde.

I am happy about it. (Apparently all you people are thrilled about it. Mark's reaction when I got home: awww Erin is back! #grin Then my mom had a legitimate hooray! when I texted her a pic. And one lady in my church choir spent the better part of a rehearsal literally petting my hair. Ummm really folks? Was the darker hair really so bad?)

Anyway.

Mark spent a couple days getting the pool ready for the summer, which is a lot of cleaning and skimming and  scrubbing and chem balancing and (of course) ended with pool workers (real ones, not the kids) coming over to change the sand in the pump and replace not one but two chlorinator parts.

Then he and Another Nathan spent the better part of a morning washing and waxing my car AND vacuuming/wiping the inside, and I sat on the driveway and played with the kids and drank coffee.  I didn't hate it, is what I'm saying.

We took Nathan to the dentist for his first real teeth cleaning (we took him a couple summers ago, but they didn't get far because oh man the tantrum). This time he was brave and sweet and a few tears rolled out silently but at the end he got a sticker and a dollar-bin dinosaur and really, what more could you want?

Also I started reading a book on the social and political perceptions of Jesus in each century since he died, because a sweet older lady at church sat next to me in one class long enough to decide that she wants to have coffee with me and talk about it, since she loves it and doesn't know anyone else who has read it. Which basically proves I will do anything for anyone who thinks I am smart?

Or! I just always fall prey to people who want me to read things and talk about them. Read things and talk about them! This is why I majored in English!

(If anyone else would like to read this and talk about it, the book is called Jesus Through the Centuries. But actually come to think of it, there are other things I have read that I would much rather talk to you about. So let's do that instead.) (Related: who would like to be in the book club I just now this second decided I should maybe start?)

Oh and speaking of church we did an Easter cantata this year instead of a requiem during Lent, and if you will indulge a second of liturgial nerdiness, can I just say that it was so lovely? For weeks of extra rehearsals and extra musicians and lots of logistics to put together, this year was particularly unstressful. Cheerful, even. And the worship services were all really beautiful that morning. I felt really high on it afterwards. (I needed to feel high on church. It came at a good time.)

And then I went to Georgia for a couple days! Another Nathan had some conference-planning work to do with a pastor in Macon, so I tagged along as far as Atlanta (I am excellent road trip company, everybody says it) (I probably didn't spend seven hours singing bits one bit of that aforementioned canata, at random) (he is still friends with me) and visited my college best friend David who is graduating from medical school (!!) in a few weeks.

We took barely any pictures but I did learn the proper way to fold a fitted sheet so if you still struggle with that (and who doesn't) then maybe you should go to medical school because that is apparently what you learn there.

I tried my best to teach Another Nathan to say Georgia with a southern drawl (jaaw-ja) and despite being an Iowan who is very very ept at a legit carolina accent, he couldn't quite get this one. He mostly sounded like a midwestern pirate. (Jar-ja.) (I am still friends with him.)

Also in jaaw-ja there was one moment where I was driving Another Nathan's car around downtown Atlanta with David in the passenger seat and my head almost spun off my neck and exploded my brain because worlds colliding and all that.

Oh and then I got to spend the night with Ashley on the way home (second time in just a few weeks! I did it after my haircut also) (yes I still drive to Charlotte for highlights, without shame) and we also did not take any pictures, so.

One crap thing that happened is that I had a major (MAJUH) eff-up on our Thailand trip, and we have exactly half as many miles as we needed (those things are priced each way which DUH ERIN how long did I work in the travel industry?) so despite having dates picked and tickets on hold and childcare all lined up, we were unable to actually issue said tickets, and I have been very busy over here scrambling to make the budget work and feeling heartbroken that... it won't. After ten years (ten years!) of dreaming of this big anniversary trip, I don't think it's going to happen. So now we are sitting around with a chunk of moolah that is enough for something but not enough for Thailand and even though there are lots of things we want that would feel like good anniversary presents to ourselves (a bathroom makeover, all new landscaping, a trip somewhere else, etc etc etc), none of them will be Thailand so excuse me while I go cry a few more minutes and remain spendy-immobile while we decide what to do. (Damn. It.) (Also I just re-read this and my problems sound super privileged and first-worldy and I beg forgiveness because I can hear myself and IT IS ANNOYING.)

Hm I guess that's all that's new and fascinating around here. Oh yeah there was also one delightful day where we thought it was Saturday. (It was not Saturday). Nathan was only an hour late for school. Aaaaand... scene.

Things to Smile About: Snowy Sick Week Edition

Well after Thursday's discouragement  the healthy thing to do is rack my brain and find a few things to be happy about right? (Hey, I'm nothing if not predictable.)

1.) My painful ribs are feeling better every day. Except for a few really sore hours yesterday, and some trouble getting comfortable enough to sleep, and when I change positions or cough -- okay suddenly that seems not so great -- but really my ribs are doing better. Really. (Likewise, Mark is also doing just fine after whatever he reacted to on Wednesday.)

2.) Last weekend I got to go to a baby shower for my Furman friend Katie, and our friend Betsy was also there and also pregnant, and it made me happy to hang out with sweet friends about to embark on the whole mommy thing.

(Also this is the only time in our lives that I have ever or will ever had a smaller tummy than these two, so there's that.)

3.) I dyed some burp cloths and I felt very crafty. (You know those white Gerber-type prefold cloth diapers? Those are the best burp cloths. I mean, they make others, but they suck. These old-school cloth diapers are the only way to go. I don't know any parent who doesn't love them. Not any. But since everyone uses them, they get lost or mixed up easily in places like church nurseries, so some in different colors or with different fabric or ribbon or embroidery touches make it easier to spot in a crowd whose are whose -- the stack of bright tie-dyed ones Ashley and John made for Charlotte are still awesome. Anyway it's become my go-to useful baby present.)

4.) Mark found me this coffee I had searched for everywhere online, to no avail, because apparently the company had changed names. But he found it! And I woke up to it on Valentine's Day and it was just one of those perfectly thoughtful things that keeps making me smile. (Way better than a picture of flowers, right?) (Yep, gotta mention it every year.)

5.) Nathan has been reading his Uncle Brad's favorite childhood book and loving it. So many sweet memories every time I read it with him. I do the animal noises just like my mom did, in case you were curious. Her way was and is the right way. Not negotiable. I'm just sayin'...

6.) We made valentiney sprinkle bagels. The bagel place Anneliese and I went to on Thursday in the hopes of pink bagels was out of said pink bagels. But later at home, I put some sprinkles on a regular bagel for her.

It was amusing how shocked and delighted she was that I would be so silly and naughty. (Note to self: stop being such a hardass. Your kids like it when you relax.)

7.) Yesterday it was springy and warm enough to wear shorts. Yay southern weather in February.

8.) Then today it snowed all day. Which for some reason... also makes me happy? It's pretty and didn't stick, so I kind of liked it. (Sunday morning update: it stuck! Look at our pretty snowy house!)

(The roads are still clear, so it's still a win.)

9.) Three new episodes of Daniel Tiger this week! Even Charlotte will sit and snuggle with me while we watch. Or, be distracted by self-pics on the phone. Either way, it's a happy smiley thing.

10.) I swear I will write a post about St Croix and get pictures posted soon, because what's a better mood boost than that?

2012: The Year of Crazy and Coffee

{So by the time this is posting, we are hopefully on the island of St Croix preparing for Brad's wedding weekend. I haven't been sure how to sum up 2012 in a blog post like I normally do, but we're already a month into the new year so I am going to keep it simple and just answer some of these questions that bloggity and twitter friends have posted (A'Dell, Arwen, Elsha). (Except, changing some questions where I want to. We make the rules. Don't argue.)}

What did you do in 2012 that you'd never done before? Got ulcers on my eyeballs, made a halloween costume by hand, fed formula to my child, learned more about psychiatry and mental illness than I ever cared to know, Holly Hill holy hell. And on a shallower note, I got brave enough to wear scarves even when I'm not wearing coats. One of my better fashion decisions, ever.

Did you keep last year's resolutions, and will you make more for this year? Hm. I don't think I made any real resolutions last year. My unspoken resolution was just to survive. Survive parenting three kids. Survive feeling batshit crazy all the time. Survive running a house without everything falling apart. This time last year I was barely keeping my head above water, and now I am... somewhat less of a hot mess? So, yeah. We will call that mission accomplished.

However, I would like to call attention to the resolutions I made for all you other people last year. Win: Nathan, Anneliese, Dad, Charlotte, Ashley. And not quite: Mark, Another Nathan, Bowden, Liam, Marmie. That's half accomplished! Not bad! (And this is all making me want to make some more bossy resolutions this year. Stay tuned.)

I do have a few goalsy things for 2013. I would like to be more texty with Mark, or just feel more connected with him during the workday in general. I want to send more emails. It's something I used to love doing, to write to a friend something more personal than a blog post, longer than a text or tweet, even if it's about mostly nothing. Every time I send at least one email during the kids' naptime, it makes me feel more happy and connected and relational. So yeah I will be trying to do more of that again. I'd also like to try two new recipes a month (more often than that isn't realistic; I do a lot of falling back on old staples because our evenings are chaotic). Oh and one major goal for 2013 is to go to Charleston in October and hug a whole group of internet friends who I (so far) only know online. (My 1998 self is completely appalled by this plan, in case you're curious.)

What countries states did you visit? A few trips to South Carolina. One to Virginia. But sadly nothing that doesn't border my own state. Dude! What has happened to us? *sigh* (At least we have an anniversary trip to Thailand on the calendar for this summer!!)

What would you like to have in 2013 that you lacked in 2012? A re-done master bathroom, finally. Some trees to replace the mulch mountain the front yard. A plane ticket to somewhere exotic. A year free of hospitals. Lots of sleep.

What would you like less of in 2013? Barf. Well, sickness in general. Barf, snot, poop, germs, all of it. But mostly barf.

What dates from 2012 will remain etched in your memory? January 9th. June 4th.

Whose behavior merited celebration? At the very top of the list: Mark, who supports all of us in that whole quiet loving wonderful Marky way. My choir-friend-turned-support-mentor, Martha. Another Nathan, who is the grand prize in the best friend lottery. My sister and my dad, who are always great but made me feel particularly loved this year.

Whose behavior appalled you? Um... Anneliese. Yeah I said it. Age two-three isn't my favorite. I am hopeful we will push through this stage and be smarter and better on the other side.

Who did you miss? Who? How about what? My bathtub, still happily living at our old house while I remain shower lonely over here. That whole bathroom makeover thing can't happen too soon.

Who is the best new person you met? A lovely doctor (who is not named Dr. Baxter) who makes me feel smart and competent and like a very un-crazy decent parent.

What was your biggest achievement in 2012? I... don't know. I don't know how to answer this. I never feel like I am achieving very much, although I recognize that keeping three children (relatively) happy and (relatively) healthy isn't nothing. I worked through some incredibly difficult mood and mental issues, and although it's still a work in progress, I guess I feel proud to have faced something that at the beginning felt really and truly crushingly impossible. So, yeah. That.

Your biggest failure? What's your favorite color? Probably still yellow, although I can't quit teal these days either. Or anything neon. Neon is still having a moment!

Where did most of your money go? Hospital bills, health insurance, mortgage, taxes, school tuition.

What was the best thing you bought? Several things come to mind: The playset out back, bought with Christmas money from Mark's dad. The new Holly Aiken bag I had craved for some time -- beautiful colors and patterns in the perfect sturdy size -- which has turned out to be everything I hoped and dreamed it would. And all the extra phone chargers Mark bought mean we have one in almost every room and one on each of our nightstands. A tiny thing I am hugely grateful for every day.

What was your favorite show? Mark and I love watching Parenthood together every week. (Ha we're such a cliche, I know. But it's really an excellent show about a fascinating family.) We also get excited when there is a new Mindy Project or Happy Endings in our dvr. But the biggest new show in our lives this year has to be Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, the re-imagining of Mister Rogers that comes on PBS. It is, in a word, superb. Sitting down to watch with Nathan and Anneliese is always sweet and fun. I *heart* you, Daniel Tiger.

What was your favorite book? My two favorites were John Irving's newest, In One Person, and also The Happiness Project, which I read a chapter at a time, a month at a time, over most of 2012.

What was your favorite movie? I am assuming this means in the theater, and we don't do a lot of that. But I did see Joyful Noise last January, and laughed and laughed. It's not that it was a brilliant film or anything, really, but it was sweet and easy and funny in such an otherwise dreary season that it has stuck with me. (The most truly excellent movie I saw was Argo.)

How old were you on your birthday, and what did you do? I turned 32 this year. Truthfully on the eve of my birthday I felt sort of complicated about it. For the first time in several years I wasn't surrounded by a big social circle to celebrate. Taking care of myself and trying to find a healthy life equilibrium was all consuming  for me this year, so in-real-life friendships took a back burner. And honestly I didn't even notice or care until very late in the year. Sad, huh? But all that to say, I had a lovely birthday dinner date with Marky, and then Another Nathan joined us for drinks and desserts, and I felt happy and loved, if quiet.

What political issue stirred you the most? Y'all, I cringe to get political here, this blog isn't really for that. But I can't not say it: I was crushed when NC passed a constitutional amendment this year to define marriage rights as belonging only to a man and woman. Common-law marriage, same-sex marriage, domestic partnerships -- all that is now gone. I respect that people have different religious understandings of what a marriage covenant looks like (my own faith assumes a rather broad understanding there), but regardless of what one religion might (or might not) say about it, I don't understand why all people shouldn't get equal rights under the law. I just don't.

How would you describe your personal fashion concept this year? Have you showered today? Good for you! Um totally. If "today" means "in the last 24-ish hours."

What did you get really really excited about? My college roommate Betsy's wedding last March. It was the last of my close Furman friends' weddings, and a rare time for our whole group to all be together. I looked forward to it for months, and it was very very awesome when it finally happened. Also got super excited about my week away in Williamsburg with just Mark. Which was also awesome.

What was great this year when you weren't expecting it? It's a tie between learning to read with Nathan (which could have been tedious and annoying but was instead delightful), and coffee. Oh, coffee, I freaking love you. I have long enjoyed a starbucks pick-me-up, but 2012, the year of new groggy-causing meds, was the year I learned to drink coffee, at home, every day. And I now I need it. Which is terribly lame and grownupish of me, but, there it is.

What song will always remind you of 2012? Call Me Maybe. Remember all the Olympians singing it? I should probably hate that song by now but I totally don't.

What kept you sane? "Sane." That's cute.

What valuable lesson did you learn this year? Fun happy moments and milestones keep rolling out even when you feel overwhelmed. And that's kind of a beautiful thing.

Anneliese Agrees

I don't know if you've heard, but neon is having a moment. Anneliese totally agrees.

*Thanks for letting me play with your goggles, Annie!

Sitting Charlotte

Guess who (at ten months) is finally sitting up on her own?! Exciting weekend for Charlotte!

Look, my mommy's super friend Sarah is in town! And she helped me perfect this cool new trick I've been hiding up my sleeve. SITTING!

Wait what's happening? Why are Mommy and Sarah so proud? I'm not tipping over? Whoooooa, dudes.

Wait, I think I hate it. It's scary! I think I have to flail now. I am ten months old and flailing is one of my few options. Stop gawking at me Nathan, haven't you ever seen a baby sitting and flailing before? Just let me flail!

Yeah the flailing is helping.  Maybe this isn't so bad after all. Hm. Do I like this after all?

Yeah, it's pretty cool.  I dig it.

So, that's it. I can sit.  No big.  If you need me, I'll just be here, looking casual while you tell me how talented I am. Okay then.

The Mom Crush

So, I hope it isn't weird to tell the internet this, but I totally have mom crushes. Yes, that's crushes. Plural. On other moms.  Moms who are beautiful and together and classy but not in an showy way because that's just annoying and I can't tolerate it and just HA HA NO. Anyway in my dream world I want to be like these moms and maybe be besties with them. In a non-weird mom crush kind of way.

1.) Gretchen Rubin. I know it's a cliche to have a crush on the trendy mommy writer of the moment, but I totally do. She's smart, she's funny, and she's obsessed with happiness.  Shouldn't we all be a bit more obsessed with happiness?

2.) Michelle Duggar. Say what you will about their family's procreation choices, but Michelle Duggar is kind and patient and also she waterskis and jumps out of planes when her kids suggest it for fun. I find that awesome.  (Note: I do not have a crush on her hair.)

3.) Caroline F from church. She's a single mom who I know in real life (!) (oh the crushing!) who is a talented career woman. She's a lawyer! For justice! A classy mom, fighting for the good guys? Yes please. Also she is so beautiful I get a little fidgety around her and sometimes am too aware of what I should be doing with my hands and yes it sounds like a schoolgirl crush but she is that gorgeous. (Oh and I do have a crush on her hair. Maybe in an embarrassing way. My God she has good hair.)

4.) Claire Dunphy. Yes I know she's a fictional character; just go with it. She's neurotic and has fully embraced her own specific brand of Crazy. As has her family. How could I not have a crush on that?

5.) Kelley C from Furman. Proud to call her one of my best friends. Kelley is the blend of fun and firm that I aspire to be. Mad parenting skillz, y'all.

6.) Ree Drummond. Yes, I have a mom crush on the Pioneer Woman. PW. P-Dubs. (I can totally call her that.) She cooks beautiful food, and she takes lovely photographs that her family will always thank her for. Also her shameless admiring of her husband's behind is adorable. Oh and she's Presbyterian, so there's that.

7.) Another Nathan's mom. I've never met a mom who is better with her adult children, not ever. She's hands-off enough to let her kids be brave and independent enough to settle far from home, yet she's still engaged enough to be legitimately encouraging in their everyday lives. She's who I want to be when my kids grow up.

8.) Michelle Obama. Crushing on her arms (predictable) and her teeth and her brain and her Gap/Target fashion sense. Married to power yet anything but a bland trophy wife. Also she's a stickler for bedtime.  A mommy after my own heart.

9.) Heather Armstrong. Dooce is the funniest and most honest mom on the internet. Someday I will be brave enough to be a fraction of either of those things. Someday.

10.) Maria von Trapp, the Julie Andrews version (obvs). This should really go without saying. She's pretty, she's fighty, she's a good teacher, she's motivating, she's outdoorsy, she sews and crafts, she sings beautifully, and a sexy first kiss, well she can do it up right. And dammit she has confidence in sunshine! (Except she probably wouldn't say dammit.) If that's not the whole package, I don't know what is. Huge huge huge life-changing crush.

(This post totally inspired by something Anne Kimball wrote at the Scary Mommy soceity.)

What I Learned at Furman (This Time)

Here are five things I learned at Furman.

Not when I was there as a student (I learned at least seven things then, I mean come on) but when Another Nathan and I both had (unrelated) down time in the Charlotte area and I decided instead of killing a day there, I should take him down to The Bubble and show it off.

Here's what I learned.

1.) I am damn proud of my beautiful alma mater and my time as a student there.

(And of my newfound instagramming abilities.)

2.) The PalaDen still has chicken caesar wraps and they still add extra crunchies on request.

3.) Nathan's organ geekiness gets somewhat adorable when it manifests with him sitting at Furman's new(ish) Fisk, taking tennis shoes to the pedals, staring up at the pipes while he plays. Yes?

(PS he approves of our organ.) (Go paladins.) (And FU all the time.) (This seems organ related.)

4.) The smell of roses is a Furman thing for me. Why I never made the connection until a decade after I went there, I don't know. But standing there by the lake in the rose garden, it's not just that it felt like Furman and looked like Furman, it smelled like Furman. And there's something about smells being closely tied to memories that is oh so true.

5.) We are losers who forgot to take any pictures together on campus. Sad face.

PS- Someone tell Nathan he totes should've gotten a shirt that says FU to promote his Paladin pride. Which, now that he's admired our fountains and met our brilliant professors (Dr. Oakes) and played our fancy organ, he should totally have. And also, you know, for the gym.

Betsy's Wedding: Superlative Wrapup

I've just returned from a super weekend away in Greenville for my sweet friend Betsy's wedding.  Betsy was one of my earliest friends at Furman (we were on the same freshman hall) and we were roommates our junior and senior years.  I can't even describe how sappy and wonderful everything about this weekend was. Some of the "best of" moments...

Best use of a million people in a wedding party! (Just kidding there were only twenty-six of us. Only.)

Best bride photobomb... baby Charlotte!

Best purple stripey scarf that I only suddenly just now realized I need... Merritt!

Best use of a plunger story in a bridesmaid speech which accidentally-on-purpose made the bride cry... me!

Best pairing of a patterned shirt and patterned tie (in purple, no less!)... Marky!

Best (only *ahem*) sword arch ceremony I've ever seen... the dude who slapped Betsy on the butt with his sword and said "welcome to the marine corps, ma'am!" Um, win.

Best last-love belltower pic ever (and I mean ever)... David!

Best-looking groom I've seen in a loooooong time.... Mastin! (#hott)

Best reuniting of all four roommates for the first time in a decade... J-306!

Betsy, Emily, Sarah and me... reunited and it feels so good

Best post-wedding date sonic-drive-up-in-a-minivan-with-a-baby order.... us!

(It was a blue coconut slushie and some sweet potato tater tots and a large powerade. You know you were dying to know.)

Best best wishes to Betsy and Mastin, we love you both!

For more pics of the weekend, click here for the photobucket album.

Charlotte in the Bubble

We've been in Greenville, at Furman specifically, for my college roommate Betsy's wedding.  Before the festivities, I had to do that thing (again! for the third time!) where I drag my baby out of her car seat and pose with her in front of the belltower, while pretending not to secretly hope she will be recreating a similar moment with her spouse-to-be in a couple decades.

Your daily Charlotte: the requisite belltower shot

And with that, I have officially become one of Those Moms I used to find so annoying when I was a student.

Who cares. Let 'em roll their eyes. She's precious and DANGIT THIS WAS MY COLLEGE FIRST.

Oh and go Paladins and stuff.

(PS Did you know that the Furman belltower is the most photographed spot in South Carolina?  True story.  And it wasn't even Charlotte that tipped the scale.)

(PS who puts PS's in a blog post? *sigh*)

Milk Sisters

Our friend Elisabeth (emu) came over this week so all our girls could play together.  Highlights included Annie and Anneliese acting out a live birthing scene in an infant car seat with a baby doll between the knees (oh yes they did), trying on Nathan's underpants, and running around in circles hollering as only good southern toddlers can.

Charlotte and Sally are too posh (read: immobile) for such endeavors, so they mostly rolled around on the floor looking cute. We might have taken a picture or twelve.

these two have cornered the market on huge blue eyes, yes?

Last month, Sally was generous enough to share a healthy freezer portion of her mama's milk with Charlotte, while I went through some medical issues and couldn't nurse or pump as much. We're so grateful. Seriously, you will basically feed my baby when I can't? Who has friends like that?? Um, I do, apparently. I never imagined myself in a milk-sharing situation, especially an informal, unofficial one.  But here am, humbled and honored by it.  An incredibly supportive move from a very sweet friend.

I hope these little milk sisters will be great friends someday too.

Charlotte and Whit

My good friend Merritt and I have joked about Anneliese being a good match for her son Finn (whose grandparents took them on their first "date" last year), but now it looks like we have another shot at marrying a daughter off to a Shumate:

Meet Whit.

Whit, a few weeks old, November 2011

He's about the same age as Charlotte. And is clearly her soul mate.

Charlotte, a few weeks old, August 2011

Yep.  They even have the same swing.

(And matching slacker no-longer-rookie moms who would never wake a sleeping baby, even in this position, for such tomfoolery as buckling them into the swing.  Pssssht.)

Hey Charlotte and Whit, I promise y'all can totally hang out someday!  Maybe someday soon!

Furman Girls: The Next Generation

Last week my Furman friend Kelley was coming through town with one of her daughters, so I dropped Nathan at school and took my girls to go meet up with her in Chapel Hill.  We met at emu's house, and of course her two daughters were also there, so...

Yeah that's a lot of Furman girls in one place.

Kelley, me, Liz... and our girls*

And somehow we were all wearing purple.  (Wasn't planned.  Swear.)

Anneliese- 2, Charlotte- 3m, Sienna- 3, Sally- 2m, Annie- 2

Which means I'm pretty sure some of these babies are destined to be sweet Furman friends eventually too.  (I just cringed as I wrote that. Being a mommy means thinking about college in terms of tuition dollars.  Ugggggggh.  But, um... yeah. I mean, go Paladins! #fuallthetime)

It was a great morning of catching up with great friends and a handful of great laughs. 

(And Kelley has hinted at coming out of blogging retirement for a post with outtakes and attempts at this group picture.  You heard it here first.) (Update: she did it!)

*We're actually missing one from these families of Furman girls, because Kelley's oldest daughter Kiran, the original Furman Girl: Next Generation, was back at home. Next time!

And Then I Found Five Dollars***

So.  Another Nathan and I went on a road trip to DC last weekend.  It was... something. 

It started with me forgetting the baby and having to go back to get her, and it ended with one of us (I'll never tell who) getting a speeding ticket. And in the middle:

- A Starbucks pit stop started great, then turned into a dead car battery.  A nice man named Brian who worked at a nearby Harley dealership gave me a ride in his red pickup truck. (Sketchy?) And a nice lady mechanic named Carla installed a new battery.  Lesson learned: everyone in Roanoke Rapids, NC is ridiculously nice.

- I might or might not have had to climb into the back of the van during an interstate traffic jam, to deal with a car seat poop explosion (oh yes) and nurse* the baby.

- Nathan** accidentally sent a hilariously inappropriate text message to Mark.  I laughed about it for three hours.  And by three hours I mean three days.  And by three days I mean I'm still laughing about it.

- We somehow used all of the six cupholders in the center console, at the same time. I hereby retract any previous statements about how there are definitely too many cupholders in the minivan.

- We sat in an incredibly frustrating amount of traffic in and around various DC suburbs.  Good lord the traffic. But a friend said that me cruising around there in my minivan pretty much made me Michelle Obama. So it was maybe worth it?

We feel the exact same way about DC traffic

- I had a phone conversation with a businessman named Curtis, which apparently left him convinced Nathan and I were both sketchy confused weirdos. Me!  I'm articulate! And not sketchy! What was his problem?! 

- We saw Merritt! And had dinner with her and spent the night with her in her new house. And didn't take any pictures.  So enjoy this cell phone pic of the two of us in my old house instead.

- Oh and we totally took the baby to a bar.

- I co-slept with Charlotte on an air mattress (this, despite the two empty cribs in Merritt's house).  But it was way awesomer than it sounds.  No tears! All night!

- I learned that Another Nathan, rule-follower though he may be, cannot follow GPS directions.  Not even a little. I had to hold the phone and read it and personally tell him where to go in order to have any chance at all of making the correct turns.

road trips give me good hair

- I fell (fell!) into the bottom floor of a row house building.  I have graceful entrances down to an art form.

- I had an emotional breakdown directly in front of the White House.  Know what happens when you're driving a minivan in a traffic jam and there's a baby crying and you're hungry, and you get totally overwhelmed with life and then you start crying too?  Your best friend force-feeds you crackers.  True story.

- I drove on the wrong side of the road in downtown DC.  I ran a red light in downtown DC.  Please no one let me drive in urban areas anymore, mmkay?  I'm not good at it. (And I'm still never telling which one of us got that ticket on the way home.)

- I made Nathan wear Charlotte in an infant carrier. He looks very sweet, no?

- Nathan called me a Boss Hog.  Oh yes he did. (He wasn't calling me bossy or fat though, why would you even assume that?? Bad blog reader!)  And then we ate in a restaurant of the same name. Somehow we went into the service entrance.  No one batted an eye.

- Oh and did I mention that because the van is still relatively new, we didn't know the code to restart the radio after the battery died?  So aside from Nathan singing pop songs to me (not that that wasn't awesome in its own way), our whole adventure was sans music. Seriously.

code error 5: not our favorite radio station

But you know what?  In the midst of all the sweat and tears (and I mean both of those quite literally), dang did we laugh a lot.  And I think we might be better friends than we were before we went.  So... road trip win.  For sure.

* Just kidding Marky, I probably didn't do that.

** Let the record show, that is exactly how it happened.  No matter who tells you otherwise.

*** No, seriously. I found five bucks on the ground during the dead battery fiasco.