A Good Day

I go through periods of time when I post on Facebook once or twice a day, then go days with nothing 'Facebook worthy' to write about (whatever that means). I often find that I want to share things that are just too long for a status update, so I am attempting to blog more and just link to FB. That leads me to how my day started out. . .

Chris left for work really early this morning, and when I got up, I realized that we had nothing for breakfast. Like, nada. Well to be completely honest, we did have two bananas and a little milk, but I did not think that would fly as 'breakfast'. So I decided to be the 'cool, spontaneous' mom and take the girls out somewhere before dropping Marley off at school. It went something like this -  "Hey girls!! We are going to a restaurant for breakfast!" Lots of squealing and jumping up and down ensued, followed by me shouting, "We have ten minutes to get our teeth brushed, our clothes on and Marley's lunch packed, or we will be late for school!" Twelve minutes and about seventeen requests for Chandler to put her shoes on later, we were in the car on the way to the nearest breakfast joint - Ihop.  As we were walking in, I noticed that I had left my phone at home - no big deal, right? Well not exactly.

We ordered our food, colored on the menus for about 30 seconds, played one and a half games of Tic-Tac-toe (turns out, it is a rule that the kid goes first or the game is void), and bam - the food arrived. Our waiter, Raymond, was very attentive and brought the check shortly after we started eating.  That is when I realized that my phone was attached to my wallet. And. I. Had. No. Money.

Ok, I did not panic. Yet. Our bill was about $21, and I discovered that I was carrying exactly $13 in cash but only had my Macy's card in my purse since my credit card, debit card and drivers license were all in my phone-trapper-keeper-thingy that always seemed really slick until right about then. I said (out loud), "Uh oh, I left my money with my phone." Which completely freaked out Marley. At about that time, Raymond came by to offer me more coffee and Marley blurted out, "My mommy doesn't have any money!!" Nice. I politely explained my situation and swore that I would come back in twenty minutes and pay the remaining 8 dollars and some change. Raymond was very nice - said he understood and had been there before, but went to check with his manager. While he was gone, the lady sitting behind me said, "Excuse me, honey, I don't mean to be all up in your business, but I guess I am cause I heard you don't have enough money and I am happy to pay the difference for you." It was an interesting feeling that her kind offer gave me. I was very grateful and thanked her profusely, but promised that I would come back with the money.

Raymond returned a few minutes later and told me he chose not to speak to the manager, that he trusted me and would be there until one o'clock. I promised him again that I would be back in about 20 minutes, thanked the lady beside me again, grabbed the girls and bolted for the door - I did consider leaving the kids there as collateral, but thought better of it (just kidding!).

When I came back, Raymond thanked me several times, shared a story about his mom and a failed trip to Taco Bell, offered me another cup of coffee and then asked if he could ask me for a favor. He explained that the waitstaff are penalized if they cannot get customers to complete at least 5 surveys a week and asked if I would complete one for him. Of course!! I also tipped him ten dollars and gave thanks to God that today I was put into a situation that allowed me to witness compassion and grace. It also afforded me an opportunity to talk with the girls about the importance of helping one another when we are in need. It was a good day.

Rose-olph the Reindeer

Here's a little chuckle for you. . . Now that Marley is in kindergarten, most days we walk home from school. Well, on Monday she wore a headband decorated with reindeer antlers and on the way home she said, "Guess who I am?"
My super original guess was, "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer?"
She said, "No, Mama. I am Rose-olph, the girl reindeer." So me, the dense mom that I am, thought she was talking about the girl reindeer who has a crush on Rudolph in the movie, so I say, "Um, I don't remember her name, is it Claire?"
And then she says, "Maaammmaaa - I am Rose-olph, like Rudolph, but my nose is PINK not red, cause I'm a girl - so it's ROSE OFF!!" I am also pretty sure there was an unspoken, "Duh." at the end of that exclamation.

And then she said the funniest thing of all. "So, is Rudolph rude?" We were crossing a four lane street at this very moment, so I said, "No, hold my hand, Rudolph is not rude, why?"
And she says, "Cause his name is RUDE-off!"

Now that, people, is some funny stuff right there!

Wait, what year is it?

I think I will try to slide in at least 12 blogs between now and Christmas - just ignore the fact that they have all been squeezed in 2 months. ;)

It is hard to believe that we are halfway through October of 2012. Didn't I just have a baby? Oh yeah - Chandler turned 18 months on Thursday and our little Marley Moo will be five in four weeks. (let's not mention that I turned 35 in August - augh!)

Speaking of my age though - my thirties thus far have treated me very well. I think it is true what "they" say about your 30s being better than your 20s. I feel more settled. And happier. And appreciative. Life is good . . . even if I forget what year it is!

It's the last day of November, so . . .

. . .why do I already feel so far behind?? Well, let's see . . .
For starters, 9 out of 10 neighbors on our street decorated their houses on Thanksgiving weekend. We did not. (I mean come on, it was like 75 degrees. That just didn't feel like decorating weather!)

Secondly, I had all intentions of being the online ordering queen and taking advantage of "Cyber Monday". Yeah, I ordered 4 Christmas presents and then got overwhelmed and gave up.

And thirdly, we do not have our tree yet. Traditionally, we spend Thanksgiving weekend up in the mountains at my mom's house, and go the Saturday after Thanksgiving to a big mountainside tree farm to cut down a tree and bring it back home. But since my mom and Paul moved to Raleigh in September, we had Thanksgiving at our house, and I have not been jumping up and down to buy a tree that we didn't get to cut down. (I know, spoiled.)

BUT - on the positive side . . . We did watch Christmas Vacation on Thanksgiving. LOVE that movie!! And I have hauled most of my decorations down from the attic even if they are not officially "up" yet. We have also been visited by our "Elf on the Shelf"(Marley named him Elfie - and he's a sneaky little guy!) So tomorrow I'm going to jump into this Christmas season with both feet!! Merry Christmas, everyone!!!




Design: hurtigbredbaand.dk

A New Family Tradition

Ok - first of all, I know I am giving in to all of the EARLY holiday decorations and gifts in the stores, but it really has made me want to start shopping (and thinking about our Christmas card) about a month ahead of schedule. You win, consumerism!!!

The fun thing that I have taken from all of these IN YOUR FACE holiday products is the desire to start a new family tradition. Enter matching Christmas pajamas. Yes. I realize that to some of my "cool" friends and family, this may sound a little dorky (well, maybe a LOT dorky to a few of you - and you know who you are), but I will just throw this in the bag with Christmas Vacation (I love you Clark Griswold) and cream cheese & pepper jelly on Ritz crackers (just EAT it people).

So, if you plan to spend Christmas morning with the Windley's, you are going to be wearing a new set of Christmas pajamas. Preferably flannel. Now, I wonder how Santa will deliver the aforementioned pajamas? I'm thinking he delivers them along with the Elf on the Shelf that is going to appear sometime around Thanksgiving . . .

And just to get everyone else in the holiday mood a bit early, here are a few fun photos from last year.

 

Yes, that big red belly contains a baby!

 

 

 

 

Bailey Claus

 

Chris "engineering" Marley's Christmas gingerbread train.

Fall Farm Day

We headed out to Ganyard Farms this morning for the third year in a row to have a little fun on the farm. It was the most glorious day and we had an awesome time!

We all scream for ice cream

I am so freaking excited right now! Why? Because I have been struggling with how to celebrate Marley's upcoming 4th birthday (November 13th!), and I am finally getting over my "planner's block". The ideas are rolling in!

The only direction Marley had given me so far was "I want my friends to come to my house and play dress up". So, the "dress up party" invitations are currently in design at The Green Kangaroo and I've moved on to dessert ideas. :)

One of Marley's classmates had a birthday today and brought cupcakes to preschool. (The evidence on her face led me to the conclusion that they were of the chocolate variety.) She mentioned that she wanted cupcakes at her birthday party too; specifically "chocolate ones with chocolate syrup on top like an ice cream". Well, lo and behold - I found a recipe for cupcakes in an ice cream cone! Sweet!

I'm going to use these for inspiration:

But in Marley's world, neither cupcakes nor ice cream are complete without a rainbow of sprinkles, so I will definitely be adding those!!

"New" baby alert

Well, it's taken me 6 months to officially introduce our newest member of the family, but here she is . . . Chandler Laine Windley. And what a sweetheart she is!



Marley is proving to be a wonderful big sister - I am so proud of her. And I think I have finally adjusted to having two little princesses to care for. Chris, on the other hand, may never recover from the amount of female drama that fills our house these days! God bless him! :)

Marleyisms

Here are a couple of things Marley has said lately that has cracked us up. :)

Last week we were having dinner with Chris' mom (aka Sasa) when Marley says, "My mommy is getting smaller at Weight Watchers." And then after a brief pause, "My daddy needs to go there too." I almost fell out. She doesn't really know adjectives like "skinny" or "fat" (and I hope it's while before she does), so smaller is a pretty good description as I have lost 23 pounds since mid-June. Go Mama!

Marley started back to preschool the week of Labor Day at the Kirk of Kildaire Children's Center (Monday, Wednesday, Friday mornings) and when I pick her up I always ask her to tell me about what she did at school. The other day she responded with, "I like school, but my teacher is ALWAYS telling me what to do!" Guess she better get used to that one!

Here's a recent picture of the little rascal that I took while we were making sugar cookies. We got a little crazy with the flour!

Once in a blue blog . . .

Just shy of the 6 month mark and one baby later, I am back. I laugh every time I see our blog in print (on our Christmas cards, on my Facebook account, etc.) and how truly neglected it is. But hey - I am making progress as my previous posts were 7 months apart instead of 6!

I've been thinking about what the point of this blog should be? Is it a reflection of me? (I write it.) Is it a reflection of our family? (That's why I originally set up the blog.) Is it just a way to share photos? Is it another avenue to share cute little occurrences that are too long for Facebook? And how personal is too personal for the web?

I read other people's blogs here and there, but I am not much of a blog follower - mostly I get someone, or something, on my mind and search out their blog for a quick "update". I used to journal in a little black and white notebook (like 20 years ago), but I have never been able to stick with that either. Chronicling my activities online is one thing, but I actually sharing my FEELINGS is a whole other thing. So for now, I'm going to concentrate on updating our sad little bios and photos and see if it's worth printing our blog name on the Christmas cards gain this year. Wish me luck!

Count down to baby #2!

I am officially the WORST blogger that I know! Just realized that I have not posted since August - what??? Oh well . . . this blog is inspired by an email from an old friend - she asked for our blog address and I was EMBARRASSED when I realized how long it had been since I had written anything!!

So, we have less than 2 weeks before baby girl #2 is supposed to arrive. I have been washing baby items all day and trying to finish all of my nursery "decor". We somehow happened upon a bird/owl theme and I'm trying to keep it cute without being TOO "themey" (is that a word?).

Will post some pics as soon as I am finished. But for now here are a few new photos of Marley. She is now a ballerina! :)

 

One of those moments . . .

. . . when you know being a parent is so much more than you could ever imagine.

I was cleaning up after dinner tonight while Chris helped Marley brush her teeth, etc. and this conversation took place:

Marley: "Daddy, your hair is brown - why?"

Chris: "Because it got darker as I got older."

Marley: "If you are old, probably you will be in heaven soon."

Chris asked me if I heard her, and I said sort of, so we had a repeat, and then Marley said she didn't want us to be old and leave her because she would "be all alone".

She's 3 months shy of three years old and I wasn't prepared for this conversation just yet. So . . . I gave her a really big hug and told her that she would never be alone because she has so many people who love her. I told her that Mommy and Daddy would always be there for her (even from heaven) and then listed out all of the other people in her life that love her and help to take care of her, and she gave me the biggest smile and the biggest hug back.

I cannot ignore the irony in the fact that we are meeting with our lawyer at 11:00 in the morning to start drawing up our wills . . .

Little Miss Muffet

My mom was visiting this weekend and we were talking about nursery rhymes and whether I had tried to teach any to Marley. Apparently one of my favorite nursery rhymes as a child was "Little Miss Muffet" so we thought we would try that one out with Marley. She caught on really well - here's her version . . .

Little Miss Muffin
Sat on a tuffin
Eating her turds of whey (as she pretends to spoon it in her mouth)
Aloooooong came a spider (said in a deep voice with much emphasis on "along")
Sat beside her (insert command for YOU to be the spider)
And frighten her away!! (as she runs away squealing)

Live video coming soon!!! :)

Mouses!!

So I was taking Marley to preschool a couple of weeks ago when she says from the backseat, "Mommy, my tummy hurts." I respond, "It does?" And she says, "Yes, I need for you to put some lunch in it."

While stifling a laugh, I say into the rear view mirror, "Really? Well I just put some breakfast into it, so it shouldn't hurt too bad." She replies firmly, "No, I need a sandwhich in it!"

(Unfortunately, I had not packed a sandwhich in her lunch today and proceed to tell her what I did pack.) "Well your lunch today is yogurt raisins, cucumber, ham slices, crackers and cheese." She then says very enthusiastically, "Cheese?!? I LOVE cheese!!! You know what else likes cheese, Mommy?"

I reply, "What Marley?"

She yells, "MOUSES!!!!"

And we both crack up! I love that kid!

From the mouths of babes

So here is a brief little entry about Marley's latest comedic moment! Yesterday evening, I ran out to do a little shopping while Chris and Marley enjoyed some "father-daughter" time together.

When I came back, I asked him how she did - you know the really important questions like, "Did she pee-pee and poop on the potty okay for you?" (Marley jumped on the potty bandwagon around two weeks ago, but that's for another blog!) He told me that she did something even better. They were watching a little Sprouts on TV just before bedtime and she says, "Daddy - I have to poop! But I can do it MYSELF!" and shut the door on him when he tried to assist her.

She then comes out of the bathroom and proudly exclaims, "I DID IT!!! Look Daddy, I made a rocket ship!!" A rocket ship? Man, this kid has an imagination!! :)

Our little song writer

So I'm not 100% sure, but I think we have a Taylor Swift on our hands - I think Marley has just written the words to her first song! Here's the rundown . . . Our fourteen year old next door neighbor, Caroline, watched Marley on Sunday so that we could see Avatar (It was excellent by the way - especially at the I-Max in 3-D - but I digress . . .) We very rarely have sitters during the evening, and this was the first time Caroline had kept Marley. But apparently they got along fabulously!

Tonight, as Chris and I were putting Marley to bed she says, "I have a song" and starts singing the following:

Carolina, Carolina come to my house
Carolina, Carolina go to sleep
Carolina, Carolina play with me

As best as I could understand at least!! Guess I need to get that child a microphone!!

Pittsboro Party!

So this past weekend, we managed to do something we had been talking about for literally 7 or 8 years . . . get together with some friends of ours that Chris has known since he was a wee little sprout (heh, heh). So we drove over to Pittsboro to hang out with "the crowd" from Chris' old Chapel Hill days. It was a lot of fun - there were only slightly more adults than kids - which meant things didn't get too wild! Here are a few photos from the shin-dig (thanks to Helen and Scott for hosting!).
 

 

 

 

If you were there, check your emails for a link to all the fun photos!! Good times in the 'Boro!

Post Script to my previous blog . . .

Here's a little video to demonstrate the power of the Subtle Butt product (please read prior blog for explanation). I feel much better knowing that they really did their research!!

WHAT?

Can you say stocking stuffer?

So, I was perusing the pages of my newest Solutions.com catalog this evening, and lo and behold - I found something worth buying! Yep, I am excited to have marked something off my Christmas shopping list so early in the year! I know several members of my family (and a few friends) who are going to be thrilled with these stocking stuffers. But what really sold me on this ingenious product was the description:

Sometimes you just can’t control a gassy stomach...and what may happen as a result. But relax — the pressure’s off when you’re protected with these antimicrobial pads. Just stick to your underwear (even thongs) and go about your day. If you make a slip, don’t worry—the odor is neutralized by the activated carbon layer, and you’re spared the embarrassment. Great for travel, office or anywhere you’re in close quarters!

Know of someone who could benefit from these nifty odor neutralizing pads? Check them out! Please make sure you read the reviews - it did receive a 4.9 out of 5 stars (mostly because these do not also serve as mufflers). My sister is gonna love hers!!

Oh yes, it's ladies night . . .

. . . and the feeling's right - oh what a night!! Can you hear it? Gotta love some Kool and the Gang!!

So, several months ago a few of my friends and I had talked about getting together on a regular basis (like once a month) for "girls night". Our first little gathering consisted of only three, but the next month there were six, the following month brought a slightly different group of six, and last night, we had reached a total of nine foxy ladies! I think we are on a roll now and have officially created the monthly ritual of "Ladies Night".

Here's a run down of what we got ourselves into last night . . . First, we had a wonderful (did I say wonderful? I meant fabulous!) dinner at The Pit in downtown Raleigh. If you have not been there, you are missing out!! I highly recommend it (the fried okra was awesome) and they have some great beer on tap as well. Then we moseyed across the street to Jibarra where we enjoyed an array of fancy beverages - most of them containing tequila!

Then the real fun began! We were standing on the street trying to decide where to go next, when this lady walks by and says, "Hey are you guys looking for the Intel party?" Oddly, we all responded, "Yes!!!" So she proceeds to tell us that it's just around the corner and apologized for the fact that the "directions were confusing". So, here we go -- our first experience crashing a company party. It was in a club - with a DJ, along with free drinks. Can you say serendipitous?? At first we felt a little weird - like somebody was going to notice we were not supposed to be there, but eventually we just partied down. I kept waiting for Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson to show . . . Can't wait til next month, ladies!!