London Day Activity

I would call this a "rainy day activity," and for you folks at home, it is. However, in our case, it is a London day activity, as many of our average days are similar to your rainy days (look out our kitchen window for example). I desperately miss my Vitamin D, and I am about 98% sure I would be a better mommy if I saw the sun more regularly. Not to mention, pasty isn't a good color for me.

Anyway, after being home for a week sick, it is safe to say Wiley was bored. And I was too.

What is that you ask? Oh, it's flour. Plain flour. On the kitchen table.

And on Wiley too.

Since he's been missing his education this week, I thought we would do some work on letters. We only got to "D" before he decided he was bored with watching Mommy write, then tracing, then doing his own.

Here he is writing his name. If I want to prove to my parents that I learned something at Wake (and am using it), this really worked well for Wiley as he is active and messy (also known as a boy). So taking that information, let's assume with Gardner's Multiple Intelligences that he will learn better in a "bodily-kinesthetic" mode. A.k.a. hands-on learning! (I also think he would learn really well through music.)

Plus, have you ever tried to teach a pre-schooler how to hold onto a pencil? Yeah, really hard. But with flour, they use their finger which is so natural and much easier to maneuver.

The finished product. "Wiley."

It put my increasingly OCD mind at peace knowing that tonight I would be vacuuming, so who cares if we get flour on the floor? Or the chair? Or the child? Or the Mom?

(Idea came from Wiley's nursery where I think I saw them do something similar, or maybe it was with paint. They always have to most creative ideas!)

First Date and Go Deacs!

This past weekend we had a wonderful trip to Wake Forest to cheer on the Deacs and visit with good friends. Wiley even had his first date with Helen--a supervised lunch date with 2 moms and an aunt...that ended up with Wiley in timeout in the car...but not for the fresh behavior exhibited below...

W and H playing on the blanket.

We sure do love Helen (and her mommy and daddy), and Wiley is so happy to have a little friend to play with...or look at for right now.

More Deacon pictures to come soon...after we try out our new space saver bags to help maximize our packing!

Kickoff Time

There is nothing quite like it.

Cooling temperatures, sunburn from early games where sunscreen was forgotten, clear blue fall skies, tailgating with friends, the anticipation of the game, a football fever overtakes all of the men in our lives (and some of the women). It is college football season in the South.

I am delighted to find that Wake Forest is on ABC, and I can watch them play Baylor from the comfort of the sofa.

But there is nothing like being at Groves Stadium/BB&T field and watching the Deacons surprise us all as they transform Wake from a basketball school to a football school. I think my like of the school turned into love at the Orange Bowl as we played Louisville. Right now, I would give a lot to be with our friends at the stadium in Winston-Salem taking it all in in the sweet, little family-friendly stadium. Next week we will be there, cheering on the Deacs.

And Baylor just scored...I must focus my cheerleading abilities on the Deacs.

As we have taught Wiley to sing "Rah, Rah Wake Forest Rah!"

nashville

while we are on the subject of cities, yet another stop on my summer travel circuit was the fabulous city of nashville to reunite with precious friends from wake. (the 2 months we had been apart was too much).

first of all, the friends were amazing and wonderful and i love it that we can just start back where we left off.

second of all, i love nashville. like maybe my 2nd favorite city in the southeast (to b'ham, obviously, and with winston in a close 3rd)



what is not to love about a city with a building that looks like batman?

so, let's run a few highlights from this eventful weekend. thanks for the pics, carrie!

we went to a beautiful park, percy warner perhaps? where we hiked, i mean walked, a nice little trail. we looked like the girls in madeline walking in two straight lines.



we saw the parthenon (exact replica, built in 1896, i believe, which blew us all away)


we went to some classy bars like: tootsie's (dance on stage, check), paradise park (mingle with bachelor party of 30 year olds, watch married man in party almost swallow wedding ring, chastise him for said action, then be asked if i am preggo, big check), and finally lonnies (watch funny karaoke, be harassed by bartender to order drinks, and watch twins try to sing rascal flatts butchering it so much that it sounded more nasally and twangy that rascal flatts themselves, ew, check again)




i'm sorry, are you as hung up on what that guy asked me as i was? let me repeat it, "what is going on down there, pointing to my stomach?" this is after i said "i've been married almost 4 years and i have a 3 year old" hoping to shock the guy just a bit.
i indignantly replied nothing and he proceeded to tell me he has a baby due in october (good for you, you should be taking care of her instead of hitting on us at a bar) which i think he was trying to recover with. i didn't let him off the hook, and proceeded to tell him that you NEVER ask a woman that. EVER.

(clause: for those saying, well if he thinks you look like you are pregnant, then maybe you need to suck it in or slim it down, i agree whole-heartedly. i don't want to appear that i don't know why he would ask that...that being said, the issue is in the process of being taken care of thanks to a lack of sweets, chips, and foods that are too many points on WW. :-). i think i will blame it on the delicious meals and desserts at MH Ranch! haha)

dear men- out- there- who- haven't- got- a- clue,

unless it is totally obvious that she is pregnant (as in she is 8 or 9 months and there is no mistaking it), she has told you she is pregnant, or you are at a function celebrating the upcoming birth of the baby she is so obviously carrying, DON'T SAY ANYTHING. if you feel you must, just go ahead and start bringing your foot up towards your mouth. we will let you know if we are pregnant by shouting it on the rooftops, but don't take it on your self to become a sleuth and determine prematurely who has a baby in their belly and who does not. it won't turn out in your favor.

sincerely,
all- women- who- are- not- pregnant- and- don't- want- to- be- told-they- look- like- they-are.

now that my rant is complete. the weekend was unseasonably cool for the south which felt so good. (70's and we are freezing in the south during the summer).

on sunday, we attended christ presbyterian church with maddie and her dad, and we heard some fabulous music and an even better sermon about worry which really hits home with me. (It was on I Peter 5:1-11 "Leading and Living Humbly on the Way to Glory" by Dr. Niel Nielson. Check out the link and you can listen or download!)
Of course, i promptly began worrying and being anxious, oh about 5 minutes after leaving that church, but thankfully, as the song, Before the Throne, says (and that maddie wrote about in her blog):

When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free.
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.

now, there is some encouragement for this worrier and despair-er. thanks be to Him for loving me despite me and thanks be to Him for the most wonderful group of girl friends. amen.

the view from here, again.

*pictures taken with phone, camera is broken. apologies for fuzziness. we are holding out for bright, shiny, high def camera*








I think we are ready. Or as ready as we will ever be. 3 rolls of packing tape later. Many free boxes (Thanks WFU Bookstore, shout out to Willie, grocery stores, and liquor stores.) Many pieces of paper to pack with (Thanks Tuesday Morning). I can't imagine ever having to pack up an actual house. I realize that I have left some gaps here in where this WakeForest Family is going, but I think I have done so because if I type it, well, it might seem real.

And I'm not so sure I'm ready for real.

Things I've learned about packing...

(in bullet list form because it is easier to think this way)

- we have a lot of stuff...that we don't need or use.

- we have old textbooks that I wish Wake had taken back. should i try to sell them on ebay?

- i have wonderful tennis clothes. wil asked what i wanted to do with them. i said keep them. nevermind that i can only fit into 1 whole outfit and 2 skirts.

- spandex-y materials do not look good on me at this point in my life.

- i won state championships in those outfits. throw them out? really? donate them? really? if i did that i think i would have to put a tag on it that said, won state championships in this skirt/shirt. you know, just so they would appreciate the magic that is in them.

- high school tennis is about the only thing (i think) that makes me get competitive. wil has been amazed by this recently when i recounted matches against vestavia and hoover.

- ah the glory days. hah.

- they will become my goal outfits. along with my seven jeans.

- bubble wrap is expensive. where do you get cheap bubble?

- i don't even want to think about going through wiley's toys.

- wiley is a patient child and has been extraordinarily good, not unpacking things, and happily playing with bungee cords (thanks holby!).

- a fine layer of dust rests on all things in this apartment.

- storage sounds scary and sometimes i get nervous that i won't be able to find my things again or they won't let me in.

- sometimes i don't know what to pack next. at those times, i sit on the sofa and look around, wander around the apartment throwing away things, see what wiley is doing, read a book with wiley, or get on the computer. this happens a lot. i'm actually doing it right now.

*if i had not already packed my tennis clothes i would show you a picture of the pile. they went in the same box as stationary so that they can be easily accessed should the need arise.

another view from here...

Rah Rah, Wake Forest Rah!

This is Wiley doing his rendition of "the Wake Forest Song"

Enjoy!

Fall is my Favorite!

The picture on the left was taken on November 6th, from our apartment porch looking towards these amazing woods! The trees just look amazing, and it has been so fun to watch as they progress. The picture on the right was taken seven days later on the 13th. I think this is why fall is my favorite...(well, along with football and Caramel Apple Cider at Starbucks).

We are so excited about Thanksgiving next week, just trying to work through this week with classes and exams! We have so many things to be thankful for, especially this year. I think that Wil and I both have grown even more fonder of Wake Forest and our amazing friends here. For me at least, it has been a transition (that's a whole other post) and last year was wonderful, but this past semester has been so re-affirming and simply incredible! I am thankful for friends here that love Wil and I as we are, and love Wiley as well. They encourage us in our walk with the Lord in addition to always offering to babysit! :-)

Praise the Lord, for brilliant red trees and beautiful friendships. Amen.