Ahhhhh....

That is the sound of a perfectly easy vacation.  Last night as we rolled on home from Florida, I was in a state of perfectly blissful relaxation.  Crazy, right?  After sharing hotel room (and sometimes bed) with a 2 year old for 4 nights, spending my days at the Magic Kingdom, Monkey Joe's, arcades, Bass Pro and the beach, and suffering through a Time Share sale?  Yes!  I'm not sure I've ever had a more relaxing vacation.

We met Matt, Erin, Tyler and Elizabeth at Disney to share some of their summer vacation, and it was fabulous.  By the time we arrived they had the whole "Disney Experience" figured out, so we just packed our lunch, slathered on the sunscreen and followed along.  We spent a little over 4 hours at the Magic Kindgom on Friday morning and rode 9 rides (10 if you count the fact that Jason and Charlie did the Teacups twice.  In a row!  Blech!), waiting in no line longer than 10 minutes per ride...and we did the cool/fun rides (well, except Small World, which as Tyler said was "kind of dumb"!)

The rest of the time the boys swam in the pool at Matt & Erin's hotel and went down the awesome water slide approximately 615 times.  We threw in a couple of fabulous dinners, and it was the perfect vacation.

Jason and I struggled a bit on our own once Matt & Erin left Saturday.  We took Charlie to a petting zoo, arriving at 3:50, only to find out the last tour had already left, even though the zoo was open until 5:30!  Then we drove all the way across town to Dave & Busters only to find out that they don't open until Monday, even though the website shows them open.

Nevertheless, we finally landed at Monkey Joe's (which just happened to be in the same mall as Bass Pro, from which we'd started our journey about 3 hours before...) for hours of bouncing and jumping and flirting and laughing, topped off with some pretty good pizza and a lego party in bed.

We headed North around 9:00 Sunday Morning, meandering through the Ponce de Leon park where we made pancakes at our very own table (oh yeah, Charlie heaven!), and took a somewhat sprinkly paddleboat ride, then we drove on up to Daytona where we cruised down the beach before enjoying a meal at the one and only "Boondocks"!  Finally, the clouds parted and the sun came out just in time for the three of us to frolic on the beach a bit before loading our sandy selves up and leaving the Sunshine State.  A Dairy Queen stop in Georgia helped us survive the long drive back to Summerville and was the "icecream" on the cake. 

Relaxing spa vacation it was not, but you really can't beat  four days straight with my two favorite boys!

On the Road!

"Just one moe time, Unc Matt!"

And the Battle Begins!

The Pink Princess!

"Have a Magical Day!"

Brothers and Cousins

Captured!

Ugghhhh...

With the Beast

Dumbo Ride

All suited up...

...for the monsoon!

Tuckered Out

First Fishing Pole Shopping!

Making Friends at Monkey Joe's

Pancakes!

Braving the Falls on the Paddle Boat

Flipping Pancakes en route to Daytona

On the Beach

Teaching Daddy the Boondocks Dance

The Beach!

Kindergarten Here We Come...

Ok, that's a bit premature, but as of today Charlie is showing signs of actually getting to go to Kindergarten when he's 5....he used the potty for the first time!

After 4 months of sitting on the potty 3 to 4 times a day with absolutely no progress, it feels like a miracle.  In fact, his afternoon teacher, Miss Chelsea, was so surprised when she read Charlie's sheet that she had to confirm with Miss Jesiray, one of his morning teachers.

The main event occurred at 10:30 this morning with no encores this afternoon, but we spent the early evening calling Daddy, Grandpa and BaBa and visiting Miss Donna, to share the exciting news with each of them, and we celebrated with Jell-O.

My plan has been to start pushing it a little harder when we get back from Virginia Beach at the end of July (who wants to deal with it on vacation?!?!)...who knows, maybe he's actually ready?

Sleepy Patriot

So far we're 0 and 3.  No matter what we do or how hard we try, Charlie may just be destined to never see fireworks on the 4th of July.

At 4 months old we were at Disney for an amazing Fireworks/Fire/Water extravaganza that left Jason and I deaf for days, but Charlie napped straight through.

[No pic, since Mom & Dad left the camera at Epcot...]

At 16 months we were on the beach at IOP with our St Louis family and Charlie peacefully napped as bombs bursted above his head.

At 28 months we floated in the middle of Charleston Harbor, rockets glaring red all around, and Charlie passed out in the nose of the boat...this year we even tried to wake him up multiple times, and nothing...

So, despite his appearance and overwhelming desire to do everything exactly the way Daddy does it, apparently he is a bit of a Mama's boy...

Thankfully, he had plenty of other chances to celebrate and even enjoy his first fireworks (well, poppers) over the holiday weekend. 

Driving to Chad & Corissa's

Bubbles with Hayden after Brennan & Grace's Wedding

"Calvin is My Buddy"

Dewees with Chad & Corrisa

1 year, 16 days...

Not exactly a standard anniversary, but I guess that's what makes it so surprising.  Charlie started daycare (aka "school") June 11 of last year -- and we've made it an entire 381 days!

That might not sound like much, but let me provide a bit of context.  Back in the pre-Charlie days I swore up and down that if God ever blessed me with a child (and for a couple of years it seemed quite unlikely), I would under no circumstances ever send my child to daycare.  In fact, I was known to ramble on and on about how I would sell everything I owned and live in a trailer if that's what it took, blah, blah, blah...

Well, fast forward past 3 1/2 years of infertility during which time Jason and I purchased a home immediately prior to the housing crash, to a surprise (best surprise in history, I might add) baby -- and we were a bit stuck. 

Immediately after finding out I was pregnant I started to worry about finances, childcare, trailers, winning the lottery, being chosen by Oprah to have my house paid off (who knows!?), etc.  Realizing that we could sell our house, live in a trailer and I would still have to work, due to the almost triple digit decrease in our home's value, I finally started researching daycares at about 12 weeks. 

Based on many phone calls, a detailed spreadsheet and basic geographic desirability, our first visit was to ToyBox daycare, just 7 minutes from the house.  I walked in fully expecting to despise everything about the people, the facility, the other kids, etc -- after all, it was daycare!  It actually came as something as a disappointment to me that I liked the two sisters that ran the facility, was impressed by the staff and enjoyed the cozy, family atmosphere.

Nonetheless, I was overjoyed when I ran into our beloved Donna in the yard later that day and upon hearing about our visit and my reluctance to stop hating daycare, she offered to watch Charlie for the first year.  It was like a dream come true. 

After some further discussion and a bit of negotiation (we finally just had to insist that she allow us to pay her or refuse to let Charlie come over!), Charlie spent months 3 through 14 immediately next door while I worked.  I was able to visit for lunch and watch him play in the yard as he got older.  It was absolutely perfect.

In late June of last year, we neared the one year mark and it became quite clear that Charlie was ready for more: more kids, more running, more activities, and most importantly, more social interaction.  Admittedly, I was too close to the situation and too anti-daycare to admit it, but loving Charlie as much as she does, Donna gently told me that it was time. 

I have to admit that I felt like throwing up for about two days.  The guilt of having a nice home and not having saved more money for the baby we didn't think we could have and even worse, for enjoying the fact that I had some adult time and purpose to my day was almost overwhelming. 

Finally though, I called ToyBox and asked to get on the waiting list for the toddler room, fully expecting to have 2 to 3 months to get used to the idea...not so much.  With it being the start of summer, they had an opening for Charlie in 11 days!  It was June 3 -- he could start June 14.  I was stunned, and I when I told Donna I think she wanted to reconsider, but we all pushed forward, and on June 14 I dressed Charlie in his navy blue keds, took pictures on the porch and shuttled him off to school.

We walked into his classroom room around 9:00, and I was back by 2:15...having spent the entire day watching the clock (my boss had been warned, though, so it was ok).  Day two he stayed a little longer, and eventually we were on a regular schedule of 8:45 to 3:30 (I would have preferred 3:00, but somebody got upset if I came during snack...shocking!)

And you know what?  It's been fabulous.  Charlie loves his teachers and friends and all of the songs and crafts and activities.  I love knowing that he is learning and growing and being adored all day long (as he so clearly deserves), and especially that  he gets to spend his days socializing with other kids.  We hope and pray that Charlie will not remain an only child forever, but unless and until God decides to give him a sibling, a childless environment is just not a good solution for our little social butterfly -- and even then, who knows? 

I've realized that my attitude towards daycare was founded on my own desire not to work, an extremely limited understanding of the daycare options and way too much Dateline.  While daycare is definitely not the right solution for all kids and not all daycares are as wonderful as ours, ToyBox is perfect for my Charlie (thanks to Jo-Jo, Amanda, Brenda, Janet, Britanny B, Brittany P, Jessiray, Nikita, Linda and Chelsea!).

So I guess the big surprise of our one year anniversary at daycare is that it was a complete non-event -- it fits so well that the big day went completely unnoticed. For that, I am extremely grateful.

Charlie's Very First "Daycare Provider"

With Miss Donna

First Day of School

At his "desk"

Weekend Redux!

So, what do you do when you've just had an absolutely amazing weekend?  Why do it all over again 5 days later, of course!

We just finished round 2 of our "all boat, all weekend" plan, but this time we added "Tom's & Abby's Mom", formerly known as Emily, to the mix!

I picked up my longest and dearest friend from the airport just in time for lunch on Friday, but we were distracted by the outlet mall and didn't end up eating until about 4:00 -- we had a ball shopping though, it felt like we were 16 again...it's crazy how sometimes nothing changes!

After a brief stop at home, we caravaned with Jason and Charlie to town for a yummy dinner at Mustard Seed then Emily and I headed off to Accent on Wine while the boys went home.  All I can say is bliss!

Post Saturday Morning Pancakes, we loaded up and headed to the boat to relax.  We copied last weekends course exactly with Capers on Saturday and the sandbar on Sunday (though we did squeeze in church this week...), and it was just as fabulous, actually even moreso, because we got to share it with a good friend.

Just like the Old Days

Zoom-zoom

Happy Birthday, "Emiwee"!

Morning Chat

Shirtless Charlie sits on the couch next to Mommy.

"What this, Mommy?"
Pause, while Mommy tries to figure out the correct terminology...Ummmmm....
"That is your booby, Buddy."
Clearly Mommy needs a complete cup of coffee to hold her own in these conversations.
Poking at his chest, "It doesn't hurt."
Laughing, "No, it really shouldn't hurt."
"This one, too? Just like Daddy's?"
"Yes, Buddy, just like Daddy's"
"Can I touch them?"
"Ummm....sure?"
"Ok."

Presents

While I like to think that Jason and I are unique in some ways, in reality I know that we're like most other people out there -- especially people who had kids a bit later in life.  Before having any kids to call our own, we had all sorts of ideas on what we absolutely would and would not do -- from discipline to family time to rewards to menus...and like most other people, once we got a taste of what parenting was really all about, a lot of it went right out the window. 

I think a lot of those absolutes come from a few misconceptions: 1 - A failure to realize that you will be running behind for the rest of your life, 2 - An underestimation of just how cute (aka manipulative) small children can be and 3 - A lack of understanding of just how much fun it is to make your child smile and how hard it is to let him cry.

Nevertheless, Jason and I have managed to maintain at least a slight hold on some of our pre-Charlie resolutions.  Among them: we eat dinner together as a family at least 90% of the time, we follow through on threats, even if it means leaving a restaurant mid-meal and we limit the amount of presents/gifts/rewards/prizes that Charlie receives.

Amazingly, the last one is probably the hardest -- it is just so much fun to see Charlie's little face light up when we give him something new and even more fun to pick out neat things that we think he'll enjoy.  What's even more amazing is that despite the fact that our various locations require them to grandparent from afar, Jason's and my parents cooperate fully with our wishes.  Obviously, Christmas and birthdays bring some serious (but well-considered) gifts, but we don't have to worry about packages arriving on a weekly basis, and figuring when/if to give them to him.

Clearly this "stinginess" (as I'm sure he'll see it when he's about 10 -- I certainly did as a child) ensures that Charlie gets a lot more use out of his current toys, but what's more, it is developing within him a huge appreciation for random presents when they do arrive.

Just yesterday, a box full of camping gear arrived from Grandma and Grandpa to accessorize the teepee Grandma made for Charlie's birthday.  From the moment I told Charlie there was a package on the porch, through the wait for Daddy to get home to open it, he was an excited mess.  Then when he and Jason got to tear into the boxes and assemble all his gear, Charlie was absolutely beside himself.  He's been cooking pancakes and coffee on his camp stove and bringing us into the powder room with his lantern ever since.

His joy and appreciation of the gifts from Grandma and Grandpa are such a blessing to us, and I definitely think that our "hard line" contributes to the excitement.  I would absolutely love for Charlie to grow up feeling truly grateful each time that he receives a gift from someone -- to value the generosity and the love that comes with it, to cherish the element of surprise and of course, to just adore the fact that he has a present to open!

How do you want your pancakes?

I did it!

Coffee?

Utterly and completely spoiled...

Sometimes life is just so good that it doesn't seem fair!  From shutting down my computer Friday evening to Louie allowing us to sleep until 7:00 this morning (!!!!!), it was a happily ever after kind of weekend.

Charlie got to spend Friday evening swinging, playing and eating Macaroni & Cheese with Bob & Donna, while Jason and I strolled through downtown Charleston, sipped a glass of wine at a rooftop bar, and enjoyed an absolutely perfect dinner at The Library at Vendue Inn -- you know it's my kind of restaurant when they bring you a glass of champagne for your birthday rather than a dessert!

The crazy thing is that that whole evening pales in comparison to the rest of the weekend -- 2 full days on the boat with my boys!  Sadly (I suppose), Jason's Saturday fishing trip was cancelled due to 3 to 4 foot waves at 4 second intervals (even the thought nauseates me a little), so I suggested that we just go out as a family.  Two hours, two dogs and one two year old later, we were motoring away from the dock. 

We eventually beached way up at the top of IOP, where Charlie enjoyed a somewhat sandy picnic on the beach, and all of the digging and splashing he could handle.  He was so excited to be at the beach that he was literally hopping!

We capped off the day with a yummy dinner at La Hacienda for Corrisa's birthday, and most importantly according to Charlie, with pink cake!

As Father's Day dawned, we fully planned to go to church then head out for a short afternoon boat ride, but being the slackers that we are, we had come up with all sorts of reasons to skip church and go straight to the boat before the cinnamon rolls were even out of the oven. 

A bit wiser than Saturday, we enjoyed our sandwiches on the boat this time, then motored over to California Dreaming where we picked up Chad, Corrisa, Michelle and Vicki, and headed up the Wappoo cut to the sandbar, where we floated and laughed and splashed and sizzled before pulling up anchor and cruising back down to the harbor for an impromptu dolphin show.

All I can say, is that being spoiled gets a bad rap...I see nothing wrong with it!

Best Naps in the World

"I plash you, Daddy!"

Dog Day Afternoon

Chocolate Chip Cookies on the boat?

Not Mom's best idea...

Ready, Aim...

Father's Day Delivery!

New Favorite Spot

Zoom-zoom!

Bliss!

The Best Laid Plans...

I have a bit of a problem...well, really more of an obsession than a problem. I LOVE birthdays...and more than just random birthdays, I absolutely ADORE my birthday.  I'm not into parties or a big hoopla, I just really like knowing it's my birthday and spending the whole day doing pretty much nothing other than enjoying the fact that it is, in fact, my birthday.

So, my plan for this year was  to do nothing more interesting/taxing than change my age in my Blogger "About Me", and bask in birthdayness until my fabulous husband and son took me out to dinner.   That all changed Sunday morning, though....

You see, our church is doing "Mission Charleston" this week, which is a week of service in the Summerville area.  Folks have been building sheds at a boys' ranch, serving breakfast at a homeless shelter, putting on a VBS at an underpriveleged apartment complex, and so much more.  Originally, I had volunteered to help for a couple hours at the boys' ranch early in the week, but found out last weekend that that event was just for men...but that there would be a group of folks going to the Connie Maxwell Children's Home in Orangeburg on Wednesday.

Well, on Sunday I discovered that rather than Wednesday, the activities in Orangeburg would be Thursday, and in fact, they needed someone to coordinate the activities for a group of 14 kids from age 4 to 16.  Absolutely nothing about this is up my alley...but something told me to offer to help, so I did, and immediately was terrified.

Today was quite likely the best birthday of my life -- and that's saying something!  I just spent the last 5 hours tie-dying t-shirts, painting pictures, dodging water balloons and talking about God's promises to  His children -- all with 14 absolutely amazing kids, my dear friend Corrisa and 17 volunteers from NC, FL and Summerville. 

I feel so blessed to have discovered that places like the Connie Maxwell house exist, and grateful for the amazing work that they are doing for children whose families have fallen on hard times.  It is wonderful to see that there are regular people among the rest of us who have chosen to dedicate their lives to making a joyful, loving, Christian home for kids who dearly need it.  It was truly an honor to play alongside them for a day, and see the blessings God rains down on those who seek Him.

So, as I sit here at 34 years of age, anxiously awaiting my dinner out with my boys, rather than bask in my birthdayness, I would rather count my many many blessings -- and while there are far too many to mention, here are a few:

• Being the child of a God who not only loves me, but knows what is best for me and offers me opportunities to grow and develop into a better person
• Being the child of two wonderful parents who raised me to laugh and work hard and love
• Being the mother of the most delightful child ever born
• Being the wife of my best friend who still sends me flowers

We Have a Winner!!!!

That's right, Charlie won the first official competition of his life.... The Ugly Bug Contest!!! 

It's bug week at school and each child was assigned with bringing in the "ugliest" bug he could find, then all the kids (or maybe teachers...I"m not really sure...) voted, and my Charlie won!

Yes, I'm inordinately proud -- especially since I'm the one who found the crazy bug climbing the screened porch.  Charlie is actually kind of ambivalent about the whole thing, but a huge fan of his prize --- CANDY!  As the winner he receieved a huge bag of sour gummy worms (yum!) and his very own bug box.

We celebrated the big win by calling Daddy and Grandma to brag then taking our candy and bug box over to Miss Donna's to show them off.

Of course, Charlie's biggest concern with the bug box is whether or not the bug can bit him through the plastic -- we're not sure how/why, but this is a recent obsession.  The risk is low now, though -- Daddy "freed" our winning specimen last night, fairly convinced that it was actually a stink-bug and would make us all miserable should it meet it's end in our house.

Today the Ugly Bug Contest, tomorrow anything's possible!

We actually submitted 2 bugs...

we didn't find the winner until we were heading out the door

Tah-Dah -- The Ugliest Bug in the Two Year Old Room!

Wearing our Winner to Miss Donna's