Glowing Balloons, and Also Barbara Brown Taylor

Because our month hasn't been travel/busy enough (!) I took the kids to Charlotte last weekend, because a writer I like was speaking at a friend's church, and I think I have decided I am tired of telling myself these types of events aren't "for me" or something, and that I, a random housewife, am just as deserving/capable/interested/worthy of going to conferences and events as Real Professionals of a Certain Type, and ANYWAY, I bought a ticket to the conference, and I went, and it was awesome.

(It's Barbara Brown Taylor, by the way. She's an episcopal priest and now a college professor; a group I was in at Furman did a study of one of her books, ten eleven twelve (?) years ago, and I have liked her and been reading her stuff ever since.)

The whole event was smart and challenging and thoughtful, in all the right ways. I got to hang out with my high school friend Laura (who is the one who told me this was happening at her church) and I randomly ran into my Montreat friend Katelyn (who was lovely to hang out with and chat a lot with) and I am SO SO glad I went.

Her talks were about divine mystery, and endarkening as opposed to enlightening, and intentionally embracing the things we don't know and that we don't understand. And about how the language around darkness and light somehow implies that God is in one but not the other, and how to sort that out in ways that don't reduce people's dark seasons to an absence of the divine, which, no duh, is not true at all, because actually the dark might teach us things about God and ourselves that the light never could.

Anyway. It was a lot more than that, and a lot more nuanced than that, and it was fascinating.

And! I am doing it again! Next month I get to go see the fantastic Nadia Bolz-Weber in Minnesota (Another Nathan and I were in the middle of deciding what weekend I should come up, and then when it turned out NBW had an event in Minneapolis, suddenly picking a date to visit got super easy). Look! These events are for me too! I am fully embracing that!

So while I was being church-thinky at the conference last weekend, my kids were roaming around town with my Dad (who has a broken arm, because he fell off his bike, because he wins at retirement?) and Cathy (who is recovering from her last cancer surgery) and yes, they are awesome for it.

Dad took my kids, along with Ashley and John and their kids, to a big balloon festival which was apparently a long chaotic adventure of a day, including odd food planning and lots of preschool runs to porta-potties, but it ended with a yay! hot air balloons! at twilight!

(pic from John)

Liam and Charlotte are so great together. Cousin besties.

Also Anneliese was the only grandkid brave enough to strap in and jump on this big trampoline thing.

We fancy her the brave and outgoing one, but this pic that my dad took a few seconds before her jump might betray how she was really feeling about it. HA.

I keep looking at it. It keeps cracking me up.

So yeah, here's what we learned this weekend:
1.) My dad is a saint, and also dumb, and also not easily overwhelmed.
2.) Stop talking about the dark like it's always a bad/Godless thing.
3.) Hot air balloons are really freaking cool when they glow.

Vacation for the Kiddos

We're baaaaack.  :)  Our week away was great, our cruise was fantastic, but I'm not gonna lie, I'm still a little love-drunk so I've been dragging my feet in getting back in touch with reality.  (And by reality, I mean the internet, of course.)

But for now, a quick glimpse at what the kids were up to while we were away:

Nathan was scheduled to stay with my dad all week, but a few days before we left, Dad fell off his roof and broke a few ribs.  Wait!  Don't freak out!  You'll be glad to know the a/c unit he landed on came out unscathed.  ;-) 

No really, Dad is fine too, but when we embarked on our trip last Friday, he was still awaiting discharge from the trauma unit.  So.  In stepped our wonderful friends the Mauneys, who were willing and able to take Nathan for a few days to let my dad recuperate a tiny bit at home before being inundated with toddlerness.

 Despite a little sickness and an earlier back-to-Grandpa trip than originally anticipated, Nathan did great with the Mauneys.  They have children almost exactly the same ages as our kids. Nathan loved playing with his friend Isaac.  He even got to go to "Isaac's airport!" Here are the boys (and baby Elise too!) watching the planes take off.  Click here to read more about Nathan as a houseguest.  :)  We're so thankful for the Mauneys for loving on our baby boy for a few days!

Apparently Nathan spent the rest of the week throwing the frisbee around my dad's yard, exploring kids museums in Charlotte, and visiting with the plethora of people who came to "help" Dad after his injury (my sister, my aunt, my grandpa, etc).  And wetting his pants.  *sigh* 

He also got to have a little slumber party with Grandma (Mark's mom) later in the week.  Doesn't he look so old with his backpack and cow, ready for a night out?  

Anneliese spent a few days with my awesome friend Jenny and her daughter Katie.  Supermom Jenny got her to eat mashed up bananas and watermelons (texture! crazy!) and apparently she got a bath.  Which, um... we're not so good about. 

Then she spent a few days with my mom (also a supermom in her own right... she was recovering from a double ironman the day before!).  She was apparently quite the social butterfly, greeting everyone at the mall with hiiiiiii and a big grin.  (Anneliese.  Not mom.  That was clear, right?)

Then she finished out the week with my dad and his cracked ribs.  Honestly, he and my stepmom seemed completely unfazed by having two kids around, injury or no.  Sounds like Anneliese did great -- slept well for everyone, stayed pretty cheerful, and sucked down pretty much every bit of the 200 ounces of milk I spent the last several months stockpiling for the week!

We had so many people who were willing to take care of our children so we could have a week away.   Our family and friends are such a blessing.  Thank you all!!

Five for the Road

We're heading out of town today, en route to Florida for our cruise to the Bahamas.  Because I know you'll all miss this little corner of the blogosphere while we're gone (yes, you there hitting refresh over and over again, I'm looking at you... *cough*Ashley), here are a few things to tide you over til we return.

First, Nathan will be staying with the Mauneys for the next three days.  Keep an eye on that link and you might see some pictures of what he's up to!  Because Betsy is enough of a supermom that not only can she take care of a third child all weekend (with just 24 hours' notice), she can also liveblog the whole experience.. with pictures... no pressure, Betsy.  ;-)

Second, I'm famous(ish) today!  Rookie Moms (that's a real website!  they're big and important!) has posted a guest article by yours truly.  It's about my rookie swims with each kid.  Go read!  Enjoy!  Comment!  (Here or there, I'll take it either way.)

Third, Anneliese is stinkin' gorgeous, but notsomuch when she's pooping.  (Pretty sure she's going to kill me later for having posted this.)

Fourth, you didn't really think I was going to make you look at that horrifying (yet hilarious) picture of my gorgeous daughter all week, did you?  Here's a smile.

Fifth.... I've gotta go.  The Bahamas are waiting.  Peace out.

Grandpa B's 85th... With Some Fussing

I have been in Huntersville for the last two days, ready to celebrate my Grandpa B's 85th birthday.  Which is a huge reason to celebrate, not just because 85 (and counting!) is a major milestone, but because he's had some health troubles in the last few months from which he has now made a full recovery.  Yay! 

Grandpa is strong, opinionated (ahem), emotionally invested in his family, and has an incredible work ethic (being a Marine will do that, I guess).  He loves babies, and even at 85 years old, he's happy to get down on all fours and crawl around with Nathan or tickle Anneliese in the hopes of some baby giggles.  Seeing him grinning and laughing with my kids is such a great feeling.

So anyway I have done a lot over the last few days.  Although I have no pictures to show for it.  Seriously I didn't take my camera out of my purse -- not even once -- all weekend.  You'll just have to take my word for it when I say how things went:

1.) I worshipped with Steven and Betsy at their church yesterday afternoon.  It was so very different from my own church here in Raleigh, and I like that it shook me out of my element a little.  It was fun to make music with old friends (and our babies!) and to hear (and participate in!) such a... candid sermon.

2.) I had a mini-reunion with even older friends this morning.  Jenny and I took our kids to visit our middle school friend Jean and have a playdate with her son.  We hadn't seen her in almost fifteen years.  (I'm kind of in denial that I'm even old enough to say that.  Yikes.)  We got to visit and catch up a little, and it was nice to have a low-key morning.  Her son is precious.  You'll have to take my word for it, because... again with the no pictures.  (Nathan was kind of scared of him though... I guess he hasn't been around many crawling babies?  He asked more than once if the baby was going to eat him.  Um, no.)

3.) I listened to Anneliese fuss.  She has been fussing constantly.  When she's not with me, she's hollering about it.  I think this is our first bout with separation anxiety.  It ain't pretty.  It's making me even more stressed and nervous about leaving her next weekend when we go to Charleston.  You'd think that having a baby calm down in your arms would be a really gratifying feeling -- and on some level, it is, I guess.  But really, when you know that it's only going to happen in your arms, it's pretty much just exhausting.  (Can I blame the no picture thing on her?  I did take a couple of pics with my phone when she calmed down for a rare few minutes this afternoon though.)

4.) After all that, I celebrated my Grandpa's birthday!!  Well, kind of.  I misunderstood the time of our dinner celebration and I made some bad decisions with the kids regarding food and bedtimes.  Nathan handled it like a champ, but Anneliese... well, she fussed.  And by fussed I mean, she fussed for a while and then all-out screamed.  So I sat mostly outside with my parents and sister, to keep the cacophony away from most people's ears.  We did regroup long enough to sing happy birthday (Grandpa teared up, it was really cute), and eat some good food really quickly.  Since I didn't do too much participating in the dinner party itself, I was glad that we saw a lot of Grandpa while we all stayed together at my dad's house.  The kids got lots of snuggles (fussy snuggles, in Anneliese's case) and we got to enjoy some downtime with him there.  Again, no pictures.  I promise it happened though.

And now it's almost 10pm and both kids are finally -- finally! -- sleeping.  What a day.

UPDATE (Tuesday 6/29):

5.) While I went to get my hair cut and highlighted this morning (no more gray! for now at least), Anneliese stayed with Mark's mom and was an angel.  My dad commented yesterday that he thought her separation anxiety might be of the "out of sight, out of mind" variety, since she took the fussing up a notch when she could see or hear me.  Apparently he was right!  She giggled and grinned and snuggled with Grandma, and even took a long morning nap!  I don't have photographic evidence of this, either (not yet anyway), but I do have proof that my hair is actually cut and highlighted.  That counts, right?

6.) I had car trouble on the way home.  The car kept jerking backwards (like it does if you accidentally put it in a gear too slow for the speed you're going) so we stopped for about two hours during lunchtime and naptime to get it looked at.  While there's probably no better place to be stuck with a two-year-old boy than a car shop surrounded by vehicles and tow trucks, it's still not ideal during naptime.  Especially when you've missed lunch.  And breastfeeding apparently isn't acceptable (don't even get me started).  Neither kid was terribly thrilled to begin with, but things took a real turn south when Nathan ran smack into a glass wall and then had to deal with not only the lingering pain but the fact that everyone in the room was laughing at him.  It's the one and only time I have ever seen him mad that he made people laugh.  Poor guy.  Poor pretty glass wall now smeared with greasy toddler head.  Anyway, after all that, it turns out I burned (or leaked) through almost a whole gallon of oil, which is apparently an indication that my engine is on its last leg.  Super.

But I'm home now and despite some traffic snags due to our car shop delay, having to unload in the rain, an an ugly horrifying encounter with a ginormous roach in my kitchen, I am glad to be back.

Less than three days to regroup and get ready for the next road trip!  But first... rest.

Anneliese and Elise

We had a special treat today, to get to visit with our old (and new again) friends, the Mauneys. This year our families have rekindled a decade-old friendship, through the internet. (Yes, seriously.) There are so many parallels between us it's crazy. The most recent of these are our daughters, who are only two weeks apart (Anneliese came on Elise's due date!)... and in case you didn't notice, they have very similar names too. If you say Anneliese and Elise, it kind of sounds like you're just saying the same thing twice! :)

Well, Anneliese and Elise got to meet for the first time today. Ok, I guess technically they "met" when we went to the zoo a few months ago (click here for a picture of their baby bumps together, and please excuse the sweat -- we were eight months pregnant and it was August). I'd say the girls hit it off this morning, but I'm not even sure they noticed each other. But they both like milk, can you tell? Although our families were originally connected because Mark and I were friends with Steven in high school, now I especially love talking to his wife Betsy, and I'm glad we're getting to be friends in our own right, regardless of the husbands! It's not just that we're kind of in the same place in our lives right now, but also that Betsy is kind and funny and oh-so-smart, and who doesn't want people like that around? A wise soul who can make me laugh? Yes please.

So our daughters are two weeks apart, but also their son Isaac is only three months younger than Nathan. Which means both girls have big brothers to take care of them. ...Or sit on each other, whatever. :) Isaac and Nathan had fun playing together and talking together (as only two-year-olds can), and it was especially nice because today is Isaac's birthday! He turned two, and I was so flattered that my kids and I got to share in his celebration day. We also went out for a birthday lunch with all four children. Which was less of an adventure than it sounds -- the girls slept in their car seats pretty much the whole time we were there.For more pictures of our day with the Mauneys, click on Nathan, Isaac and Steven, below.

by mgoetts

It's-A-Girl Cheesecake!

[One week until Beanie's due date. But who needs another belly shot? I don't want to pose for it, and I promise you don't want to see it. Just take my word for it: I'm huge. So instead, I'm writing about food. Something far more pleasant than my ever-expanding abdomen.]

I wouldn't call them cravings, exactly. But I have had a hankering for several foods over the past few months. Like seafood. I kind of can't get enough.

And cheesecake.

I know this will sound absurd, but sometimes when I have heartburn (which happens fairly frequently, what with the whole baby-pushing-stomach-into-my-esophagus thing) I just really want some cheesecake. I feel like it will help. I don't know if it's the idea of something smooth and creamy to coat over the burning and churning inside me, or if it's just my pregnant body's way of getting protein in any form possible. But I really convince myself that cheesecake will do the trick. And when I have been able to get my hands on some, it really has worked.

So despite all the mocking from my friends and family, I continue to want cheesecake when I have heartburn.

This week (seeing as I'm in full-on nesting mode) I went ahead and just made one for myself. And then, even though it's just regular flavor (Mark's favorite) and not strawberry or anything fancy or fun, I dyed it pink. Why, you ask? Because 1.) I am still on a high from my new gel food coloring and will come up with pretty much any excuse to dye my food these days, and 2.) I will have a daughter soon!

It also just so happens that our old-and-new-again friends Betsy and Steven had their baby daughter today! So... Happy Birth Day, Elise!! Everyone else, enjoy a virtual slice of it's-a-girl cheesecake in her honor!

(And to cure your heartburn, if you have it.)

First Trip to the Zoo!

We took Nathan to the zoo for the first time today! I actually hadn't been to a zoo myself in many years (I think only once in my adult life, honestly) and Mark loves (loves loves) zoos, so we were all pretty excited about it. Nathan hasn't seen many animals in real life, besides a horse or cow here and there, and my mom's neighbor goat. So we were curious how he would react when he realized that all animals aren't the same size as Bowden and Simon. :)

We were also excited because we were meeting our friends Steven and Betsy at the zoo. Steven and Mark and I were friends in high school (yes, we were band geeks together, I admit it), and our families have recently reconnected through blogworld, via Facebook. It was great fun since we hadn't seen them in many years. They have a son, Isaac, who's very close to Nathan's age, and they have a daughter due four days after Beanie. So as you can imagine we were a hot (HOT! it's August in NC and we're very pregnant!) mess of toddler and belly walking through the zoo!!

We saw lots of animals! Nathan was very quick to point out the daddy and baby of every species. Even though sometimes it was a mommy and baby, or just animals of different sizes, he seemed to think they all came in daddy-baby pairs.

He liked the giraffes, the ostrich, the elephants, the antelope/impala (some kind of bok anyway), the monkeys, the chimps, and the rhinos. Oh, the rhinos. Maybe because he had his rhino t-shirt on, Nathan just had rhinos on the brain. We weren't even that close to them, but he kind of couldn't get enough. One rhino pooped -- several times -- while we were watching, and this made a big impression on Nathan. He pointed it out as it was happening, and then mentioned it several more times throughout the afternoon, and then it was the first thing he mentioned when we asked him on the way home if he remembered which animals he saw. [Sigh.]

Betsy got this great picture of Nathan enjoying a lion cub statue. He and Isaac really liked climbing all around this thing. I think Mark was holding out for the real lions, but they were napping and we only got a quick glimpse of one. Mark's not much of a conspiracy theorist, but it does seem that every time he gets excited to see a lion, they are no-shows. He's starting to question it a little. Dear God, it's me, Erin. Can you help my sweet hubby out with a lion sighting next time? I think he deserves it, don't you? Something for your consideration. You know, when you get a minute. Kthx.

The boys also liked the gorillas. I think they were half-fascinated, and half-nervous. The latter half occurring when a big one (the daddy gorilla, according to Nathan) sauntered pretty close to the viewing window. Before he got scared, though, Nathan did enjoy beating his chest and talking to them. His little voice is to sweet to be anything close to a legitimate roar, though, don't you think?


We spent almost all our time with the big animals in the Africa section of the park, but before closing we did ride the tram over to the North America section, where we saw a sleeping polar bears, some sea lions that were definitely not polar bears (ahem... Betsy), and a bald eagle making a feast out of rat entrails (update: watch Mark's video here). I won't bore you with the details, I will just say it was gross. And the guys could not have been more fascinated (including Nathan and Isaac, who watched while snacking from their strollers). If you want to see pictures of that or anything else from our day at the zoo, click on our family, below.

by mgoetts

Washington, Part 2

Time for another naptime update. :)

Last night, after an incredibly long nap by Mark and Nathan, we had a superb dinner at The Boulevard Woodgrill here in Arlington. They had patio seating, so it was a rare opportunity for Mark and me to have a nice-ish dinner with Nathan in tow, without worrying too much about him disturbing other diners. And it was really good!

After dinner we went down to Arlington Cemetery, which is just a few blocks from our hotel. We didn't really go in to the memorial grounds (they were about to close for the night anyway), since we mostly wanted to explore the Iwo Jima monument (officially called the Marine Corps Memorial) just outside the gates. My Grandpa B was a marine, and he served there in the Pacific during WWII. So the Iwo Jima monument is always especially poignant for our family. Nathan and I took a picture to send to my Grandpa so we can tell him how proud we are of his service.

Then this morning we went to the Air and Space Museum -- one
of my DC favorites. Considering Nathan spent almost an hour this morning (while Mark and I dozed as much as possible though his chatter) standing in his crib commenting on every plane that flew by (our hotel is just a few miles from Reagan Nat'l) -- it's an airplane! it's another one! where'd it go? it's right there! oooooh it's another one! it's a big one! -- we weren't sure if he would be up for even more. I mean, why go to a museum about airplanes when you can just book a hotel near an airport, right?

Well, he loved all the airplanes at the museum. Of course. He actually had a bit of trouble walking in a straight line, since he was staring up at all the airplanes suspended from the ceiling! (Speaking of which, am I the only one who gets nervous in that building?) He was looking everywhere but where he was going, and as a result he sort of spun around and circles. I think the whole effect was quite dizzying for him -- literally! We saw big airplanes and little airplanes and rocket airplanes and tractor airplanes (that's what he calld the lunar module -- how appropriate we're here on the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing!) and brown airplanes and silver airplanes and he even got to touch some airplanes. Wow!

I know I have said this before, but there are few better sights in the world than your child's face shining with joy. Even if it was brought on by airplanes instead of snuggles. I'll take the grins however I can get them. :)

After the museum we had lunch with an old friend (from elementary school!) who now lives in DC. Mark and I hadn't seen her in at least ten years (the three of us also went to high school together), so it really was a blast from the past. In a very neither-one-of-us-seems-to-have-changed-all-that-much kind of way. Our personalities still seem, in some ways, exactly like they were in second grade. Funny how those things happen. Anyway we met Terri (and her hubby! she's a newlywed) for lunch at the Old Ebbitt Grill, kind of a Washington staple and one of Mark's favorites. The food was good, the company was good, and it has been a very pleasant day so far.

Nathan, Mark, Terri and me

We're planning on a low-key evening, maybe a visit to one of the farther-flung memorials and a place to let Nathan run around a bit, since hasn't had very much roaming time today. More pics and updates still to come!

Steven Mauney is Why I Love Facebook

I'm not a Facebook addict like some of you. (Yes, Kristy, I am so talking to you.) But I do like it, and I am glad I signed up, after months of wondering if I was too old. It satisfies an itch to know what's going on with old friends, it's a fun way to see pictures and messages from current friends, and aside from the plethora of "yes we can" buttons [sigh] it's a great place to kill twenty minutes online when you have read everything in your Google reader. Twice.

Once in a while, Facebook will connect me with someone from my past who really gets me excited. Makes me wonder how we ever grew apart in the first place. (What did people do before the internet, honestly?) Steven Mauney is one of those people. He found me on Facebook last weekend and I spent hours reading his family's blog, exchanging comments with his wife online, and remembering all the reasons I ever liked and respected him.

He's a brilliant musician, he loves God, he has one of the best laughs you will ever hear, he is a great conversationalist (I would know, we spent lots of time carpooling to rehearsals together), and now he's apparently a top-notch husband and daddy as well. I actually remember the early days of Steven dating his now-wife, Betsy. I remember him telling me how awesome it was to date your best friend. Now, I know a lot of high-schoolers say stuff like that, but for Steven it was true... and I knew that because I was going through the same thing at the time.

So Mauney family, this one's for you. God works in crazy ways, huh? Three cheers for the people you may know finder! Anyone else have fun reunions of real friends thanks to Facebook?