Schmoopie

There are so many things to catch up on that it's just overwhelming and the blog will have to wait until later this week, or next week, or sometime in May. 

I can't let today end without acknowledging my sweet companion's birthday.  By choice, Aaron does not take center stage on this little blog very often. He is an introvert and prefers to work behind the curtain making sure others shine. I love everything about this man, and thank God that at the immature age of 18 I was at least wise enough to recognize how much he loves me, what a wonderful man he is, and that spending forever with him would be better than everything I could've imagined possible. He is kind, smart, generous, funny, loving, forgiving, compassionate, strong, thoughtful, witty, and always grateful. That is a recipe for a perfect husband and father, and Aaron has every ingredient.  

Happy 38th birthday, My Aaron.  You are the greatest gift of my life, and I hope you know how admired and appreciated you are. 

"Hugs, Megs"

On not wanting to leave this warm and lovely place.

On our last morning here we were bid farewell by a schoolif dolphins and the most beautiful sunrise I've ever seen. 

We huddled together under blankets and watched in quiet reverence. Good morning, Sunday. Goodbye, Orange Beach. 

Orange Beach, Alabama

Yesterday, we packed up the van and hit the road for the Gulf of Mexico. We found a deal on a condo that had a last minute cancellation and decided to jump on it and I am happy we did. The drive was awesome, the condo is lovely, and when I woke up this morning, I opened my eyes to this:

Good Morning, Spring Break. 

I totally love you. 

Herbs.

This happened today. 

Sound the trumpet, there are fresh herbs in my home again! The rosemary and lemon thyme have already been added to the artisan bread dough I have rising for book club tomorrow. The houseplant in the teal pot is for Frances, and the basil in the green pot is for Laura the Great. Anyway, it felt good to get my hands dirty and pot these little guys. I'll be babying these little darlings in pots indoors for the next few weeks so they'll be a decent size by the time the garden has ready. They smell wonderful. Like springtime. 

Dressing the naked walls of this house

I've had a difficult time making up my mind deciding where to hang things in this home and result has been 6 months of barren walls. Today I took Corbin to school and said, "No more!" to the non-personalized spaces. I can always move things around if I change my mind about them later. For now, photos are going up! 

Guys, hanging pictures on a stair well is no joke. I found myself teetering precariously with hammer or drill in hand a few times and decided this task was not for the faint of heart. Our family pictures, on the other hand, are totally a joke. The last time we took portraits, Quincy was 18 months old. Soren didn't even make the "wall of shame" as my parents would call it, and the only evidence of Corbin's existence are the newborn pics I added up there. For family pictures, I'd like to be outside, ButI really love the white backdrop for the kid portraits, and need to just find a place that will take some, and throw them up there. Curse Picture People for closing their business! It was too easy while it lasted. Aside from a few minor adjustments and replacing the mattes, I like the way it turned out. And I also like that there is no longer a huge stack of frames piled up in the corner of the play room. One corner at a time...

I really need to remember to wait until nap time to do stuff like this. Soren followed me around like a little buddy and handed me all the things I wasn't holding. It was adorable until he tripped on the tile and busted his upper lip open. Blood everywhere! That poor baby. Where's his mother and why doesn't she watch him? ;) he looks extra kissable today with his fat lip. 

I also got around to dressing some shelves and hanging the growth chart I made. I thought I would love that some of my milk bottle collection is on display, but I already feel like the shelves are crowded. They'll stay like this for awhile and be thinned out as soon as I get the shelves built in the loft.

My friend Carly dropped off this cute craft the day after I miscarried and I just love it so much. Maybe I blogged about it already? It seems like I did, but I'm losing it so just in case, here it is (again). It says, "life does not have to be perfect to be wonderful." I love the message, I love the thoughtfulness behind the gift, and I love the pretty reminder to love life and all experiences it offers me.

The word "sea" also has some significance. A reminder to both Aaron and I of our coastal upbringing, a reminder to take our children to the beach and let them be messy, sand covered, and care free while they soak up our favorite place. And the pun lover in me appreciates the homophone "sea" that also reminds me to "see".  Last month we focused on gratitude and of course, had a horrible month with a broken leg, never ending winter storms, and a miscarriage to boot. My extended family also climbed a mountain of hardship last month and I really had to cling to gratitude to help me get through some awful days.  The "sea" in silver letters remind me to take a good look around and "see" the silver lining of my beautiful life. I live in a sparkling ocean of goodness and when I just remember to look, I see the shining sea of blessings and swim in waves of happiness. 

My plan is to get the children's artwork up tomorrow. It's going to require a ladder and some serious balancing, so if I actually do it, I will post a picture. 

Spring School Pictures and Personality Differences

Quincy: "Mom, check out how good I look! 

Reese: "Mom, it was so awkward. They like moved my face around and told me to smile weird like that." 

I texted the pics to my mom and regarding Reese's pic, she said, "Cute! But what is that cat she is wearing?" 

My reply: "Her agency."

Anyway, non-recognizable smiles and creepy car sweaters aside, they're still pretty darling pics of extra darling little girls, if you ask me. And girls, you don't gave to pose to be beautiful to me. 

Date Night(s) with the Willys

Rogers Little Theater presented Les Miserables and one of our friends was in the show. We got lucky and nabbed the two very last general admission seats to a sold out performance. It was incredible. Well done, Ron! I was also particularly impressed by the kids who played young Cosette and Gavroche. Wow. I've been to broadway and other big productions where the child actors were not nearly as talented. These kids were nothing short of amazing. Well done on the casting, and vocals, RLT! The entire performance was wonderfully done and a real treat for the ears. We will be seeing a Les Mis performed again this summer when we go to Ca. My sister is the musical director for the San Bentio production, and my brother in law will be playing Javert. That alone will make it a great show. Josh has the perfect voice for Javert and any musical Amy does the music for is guaranteed to be good.

 I was just talking to a friend of mine about how I don't even know the story behind a lot of musicals because there are so many I haven't actually seen, but grew up listening to the music for. Music has filled my life from the plays I was in as a young child and sitting in on my sisters' rehearsals and performances. we all spent years listening to Amy share her gifts as she taught voice lessons for hours after school in our living room, and I eventually attended many piano, voice, and violin lessons of my own. Our family was constantly on a schedule for SVCT plays when I was very little up until the Odyssey Theatre Company, GHS productions, and Chamber Choir when I was older. I definitely feel the void of theatre arts in my home now, but I'm thankful to have a few places to attend quality live theatre locally. If RLT ever does Into the Woods or any of my other all time favorites, I'll be there with bells on toes to audition ;) but it's funny how quickly a talent leaves you when you're not using it. My violin is honestly of more use holding dust bunnies, my feeble piano skills are gone, and just last week I had the opportunity to speak in front of a room full of women and I ended up reading what I had to say and avoiding eye contact on purpose. Give me a room full of four year olds, any day instead of adults, please. Or just let me write what I have to say and I will happily hide behind my pen and paper.  I do miss music though and and currently trying to get more of it into my home when my children are little. 

On Friday night, Aunt Kasey made a wonderfully grand gesture and brought pie over for pi day (3.14) and then tucked our loveys into bed so Aaron and could go on a dinner date. Did I mention she is the best friend ever? She is. But don't get any ideas, she's taken! 

We had dinner at one of our favorites, Table Mesa (new to Bville friends: have you been there, yet?) Here's what you need to order: chips and guac or hummus platter to start, along with two orders of sweet potato fries with the caramel praline sauce. For dinner, split the pork flautas. If you're a dessert person (if you're not, consider changing your ways, because you should be) go for the key lime tres leches. Killer. 

We usually have our dates on Saturday night, but since it was Friday we remembered the art museum was still open, so we headed over there to walk around sans the littles. The new exhibit was sold out but we had a good time soaking up the permanent collection and talking about our favorites in the company of just each other. 

We talked a bit about how much better the options for culture in NWA have gotten since we moved here. Our parents  did a good job exposing us to many kids of music and performing arts and as our children grow, we are grateful to have enough available locally to do the same service for them. 

Three cheers for the arts and date nights!