cyber monday

a little product endorsement time on a rainy, cold monday evening...
i know this is out of the way for any romans, but i am having a little art show in the atl next friday, december 10. keep me in mind if you need any holiday gifts. i am taking orders for small commissions and have some small pieces ready to sell. merry! merry!

thank you (falettinme be mice elf agin)

i have been meaning to write a thank you post for a while now. first of all let me say that this blog has been a real source of joy, laughter, creativity and even soul searching for us. it is very amateur, compared to other blogs that i follow, and we realize that. but we started it as a way to let our friends and family in on some of the daily goings on in our lives on 2 pear street. i never got into scrap booking and was terrible at trying to write in a journal every day so this has been a real accomplishment. it has become our version of a scrapbook or journal for wil and em, our families, and our dear friends. it is a way of telling our side of the story of life, our way of saying thanks and we love you, and our way of telling you about all of the dumb (or half-way smart) things we do. as i have said, i hope wil and em will not be embarrassed by our recounting too much. i hope one day it will all be priceless to them, just as it has been for us.

so thank you for all of your comments. thanks to the people that i see at harvest moon or at a party that randomly tell me they are reading the blog and love it. it means a lot and we want you to know it. now, war eagle!

one ivy crescent

i had an idea several months ago for our christmas card. we have been talking about different ways to execute the idea and it finally came to fruition this week. pb has a christmas special going on...and about to end...for clients to have their photos made and chirstmas cards designed by him. the ones he has created this season are very cool. (product endorsement time: if you missed out on this spectacular deal with kelly moore photography, sign up for it next year!) in the midst of all of his busyness the past few weeks, we managed to shoot our part of the photo on tuesday evening and wil and em's part yesterday morning. i should have taken a video of both shoots. i have to say this will go down in our book as one of the greatest memories of thanksgiving break.

our shoot: i love pb's studio at night. the street lights on 2nd avenue and the lights on the old walking bridge light the place up in such a great way. (product endorsement #2: stop by kelly moore photography studio, located in the hawthorne suites building on 2nd avenue, and see his gallery. his portrait wall changes each february and you might recognize some of your friends or their children on it.) it feels very urban, and other than rome-ish in there at night. he was working so i arrived around 5:30 with our clothes and props, beer and wine. we had to make this fun! he had it all set up, cranked up some jay-z for me, and we started shooting. i am not naturally a ham in front of the camera like pb or em, so it took some coaxing from behind the camera to get me into it. i like the behind the scenes role a little more...playing the role of the stylist for the shoot. a dream.
pb on the other hand was just as comfortable in front of the camera as he is behind it. he doesn't necessarily "ham it up" either, but he is relaxed. we spent about an hour shooting and looking at the images. we got excited because we could see that our idea was going to work. after we wrapped things up, we walked to harvest moon for dinner...in our christmas card get ups.

wil and em's shoot: these two have no problem getting stoked about having their pictures made. they really didn't know what we had planned for them but they knew our inspiration was the j. crew catalog. they were bouncing off the walls when we arrived at the studio. i was carrying all of the clothes and they had their respective props. pb reviewed the rules for the shoot...watch out for the cords, don't touch the lights, careful for the backdrop, etc.
em went first and loved every minute her her time in front of the camera. we had some beyonce blaring for her background music. we had to tell her it was time to stop so wil could have a turn. he was eager to pose as well. there was a lot of hair flipping and cool stares with his bass guitar in hand...he loosened up even more when he had his 2nd turn with the lacrosse stick as a prop. he requested empire state of mind for his tune. it was hilarious. pb shooting as fast as he could and me running in and out of the set pinning clothes back, tucking in half of a shirt tail for the slouchy look, straightening hair, taking away wads of gum...you know, doing what the stylist does!
when we finished with the shoot and checked out the photos, we knew we had what we wanted. they nailed it.

pb worked on the design and i have to give a shout out to gk as well. she is the master photoshop expert extraordinaire. it is all of those final tweaks that made 4 separate photos merge into one impeccable christmas card. our concept was achieved and we must say, the final product is spot on.

so this is the behind the scenes account of our 2-day photo shoot, christmas card design project. stay tuned for the unveiling of the final work of art.

mascara and bitches brew

this is going to be a random post. we got out of school on friday for thanksgiving break and have been going nonstop ever since. so here is a rundown of our last couple of days and my insights, findings and musings along the way:

saturday was cotillion so i spent the afternoon getting highlights. been waiting awhile to do full highlights so this was very exciting. i ran by walgreens on my way home to get ready and picked up a few things worth mentioning. i am a die hard of drugstore mascara. i have tried some expensive ones and always go back to the more frugal options. i used to be a l'oreal voluminous fan. last year i ventured over the the maybelline section to try the infamous pink and green tube that everyone swears by. i loved it. so on saturday, i decided to try the new falsies mascara by maybelline. i saw it in a magazine while i was sitting with a head full of foils. i am sold. it individually lengthens each lash just like false eyelashes. how does a tube and a wand create such magic? mascara might be my favorite, must-have beauty product so this was quite the treat for me. i also picked up a new lipgloss by covergirl. it is #010 and the color is shine city. love it too. it's almost a clear gloss that looks great alone or over lipstick. very glossy.

we had pre-party cocktails at our neighbor's house with a few other couples. yummy cosmos. everything looked so festive in their home. this is my friend with 5 children and the ultimate hostess at ease. the guys drank some beerzzz in the kitchen while the girls drank cosmos by the fire in her comfortable living room. at some point she and i started talking about our day and ended up arriving at the same consensus over how much we love our lives in this little town. things like the optimist pancake breakfast and the leaves falling around the clocktower on a saturday morning, then drinks with your friends before a party...so fun.

sunday afternoon we went to atlanta to do some christmas shopping. this was mainly a target, ikea, dick's run so (sorry emma frances' mom) no huge finds to report. we did make a stop by trader joe's so my little finds there are worth mentioning. more gingerbread coffee, some pumpkin bread, this amazing soap, and black bean dip that is good on anything. the pumpkin bread is super easy to make and in-credible. the black bean dip is great with tortilla chips, pita chips or on a wrap for lunch. the soap is a very clean smelling one that i buy by the bunch. i put one in the shower, one in the bathtub and stock a few in the closet. it is so inexpensive and has the best scent. very light and moisturizing. one other product i would have included in the photo is the trader joe's all natural peppermint toothpaste...like the tom's version, only better. emily loves this toothpaste. i wanted to get a tube for her stocking but they were sold out of it. the guy told me that it is one of their best sellers and they cannot keep it in stock.

last night we watched a new show, brew masters, on the discovery channel hosted by the guy that founded dogfish head brewerey. in this episode he was collaborating with sony records to create a new fusion beer in honor of the 40th anniversary of the classic miles davis album, bitches brew. pb and i were both going to download some miles davis after we watched this last night but didn't get around to it today. i am about to do that right now.

we are enjoying a fire on the patio tonight and so thankful for a week at home. looking forward to some time with our families. cheers!

bedazzled

here are a few of my favorite, sparkling things today:

first of all, so happy for prince william and kate. i cannot imagine how it must feel to have princess diana's sapphire ring on your finger. you know my affinity for all things diana...love her. i am so excited to watch the royal wedding (for a 2nd time!) and to watch it with emily. she loved the exhibit that my childhood diana loving friend and i took her to this summer, so i know she will be just as excited to see the wedding.

second for today are these bracelets. we are going to a fancy party on saturday night and i really would love to have one or both of these baubles to wear. j. crew has quite the collection of jewelry right now. i love all of the layers of bracelets that are shown with everything from t-shirts and denim to cocktail dresses. however, no time to order one or more and really can't justify the price of several of these...which is what you need to make the statement. soooo, i ventured out to our mall(?) today to see if anything caught my eye of this particular genre. this may surprise some people but our jc penney has an incredible selection of costume jewelry. my sister and i discovered this several years ago when all of the big brooches and pins were so in. i haven't been out there in awhile since we no longer have a gap :(. jc penny was my segue to the gap to avoid the mall entrance. i think that is how we originally discovered the jc penney treasure box...

third for today is a sparkly, rich nail color by essie. i have mentioned several shades by essie before that i love. i do think that they make the best polish and have some of the greatest colors. this one is called wrapped in rubies. i painted my toes with it last weekend and plan to wear it on my fingers and toes to the fancy party.

okay, one more thing for today. liz brought me a coffee from trader joe's last weekend called gingerbread. i got it all ready in the coffee maker last night and set the timer for this morning. when i woke up and walked into the kitchen, it smelled like thanksgivingchristmasholidaygoodness! i highly recommend it. and if you try it and love it, buy several because they only stock these special coffees during the holidays. i am going to get more this weekend.

tonight i am so thankful that everyone finished homework by 8:00 and all are settled and nestled in there little beds. now just stay there.

winner winner chicken dinner

i hate to repeat myself...but sitting here in bed, thinking once again how grateful i am for the crock pot! we had a perfect dinner tonight. and it was even more perfect because there was little prep, it was ready when i got home, and then little clean-up. again, a windy and chilly day, so the house smelled amazing this afternoon. the recipe doesn't have a name that i know of, so i can only give ingredients. i got the recipe from my friend that also cuts my hair. she had it in her crock pot one afternoon when i went to see her. i made it the next night. and i was able to freeze what we did not eat. it was just as good after reheating.

here is what you need and what you do:
3-4 boneless chicken breasts
1 can of mexican corn (14oz size), drained
1 packet taco seasoning
1 jar of salsa

you put all of the ingredients in the crock pot and cook on high for about 4-5 hours then turn down to low until it is ready. we cooked it about 8 hours. i added about 1 cup of water when i started and added more this afternoon. exactly how much is a guess. you don't want it to be dry but you also don't want too much liquid either. after it cooks for awhile, you should be able to shred the chicken when you stir it.

serving suggestions:
the possibilities are many. pb made guacamole and we served it on flour(for him) and corn(for me) tortillas. you can also serve it over rice or it is great all by itself. yummy!

and to go along with our south of the border themed dinner, we need to mention captain burrito, our family fish. he has not been featured in our blog yet which we noted at dinner tonight. our fish history could be another post sometime. but i will say, we have endured 4 fish deaths. 2 required burial services outside our kitchen window. our resident fish will celebrate his 2 year anniversary with us this december, right before our 2 year wedding anniversary. he was actually a gift to emily for her birthday but quickly became pb's charge...just like all of the other animals that live in and around our house. captain burrito will perform for you by swimming rapid laps around his bowl, he will bite your finger if you dangle it right above the surface and he shares his home with pumps, the cat, when he needs a drink of water.

so tonight, thankful for a deliciously easy dinner and our little survivor, captain burrito.

blame it on the rain

it is damp and yucky here today so i have a little product endorsement. it is also something i am appreciating on this dreary monday. it's my north face venture rain jacket. it was a christmas present two years ago and i have worn it to death. it comes in several cheery colors, however i opted for black...practical and goes with everything. i like it because it can literally be worn year round. you can layer it over a fleece if it is cold or throw it on over a tank in the summertime. would make a great christmas present for someone that needs a raincoat!

now, looking forward to a cozy evening at home and chili for dinner...and pb thanking me for getting milli vanilli stuck in his head now...

nobody puts baby in the corner

thursday afternoon i texted a friend and neighbor of mine to say, "miss seeing you. let's get together soon!". she texted right back saying, "i'll be home tomorrow afternoon with the kids, doing nothing. come over for wine!". friday was kind of crazy day at school and we planned to go to dinner and the football game last night. so when i got home from school, i knew i only had a short time before meeting pb for dinner after his shoot. i decided to forgo my usual afternoon walk and enjoy the afternoon with my neighbor. em and i walked over to her house around 4:30. it was such a gorgeous day. i was a little concerned that she might be bored or uneasy hanging out while we sat outside catching up. my friend has 5 children and the oldest is emily's age. there is also another friend next door with a daughter in 6th grade. emily knows these girls but not that well. they go to different schools and just haven't been around each other that much. she said that she wanted to go so i knew she would probably be just fine. when we walked up, all of the kids were outside playing. my neighbor had the wine and the glasses out on the table and ready to go. she introduced em to the girls and they said they were playing capture the flag. there was also another friend, a 7th grade girl, visiting. at emily's age, i would have been intimidated by this. i would have been reluctant to jump right in...especially with "older" girls. not em. she got right in there and started playing and before we knew it, the girls had gone inside to hang out.

when it was time to meet pb downtown for dinner, em was not really ready to go. we walked to johnny's for pizza and on the way she said she had so much fun meeting some new friends. my friend had even commented on how great she was and how amazing it was that she just got right in there with them and was so at ease. i am so thankful because i have been wanting em to have some friends to hang out with in our neighborhood.

there is something about emily. there is a confidence about her with so many things that i hope she always holds onto. she is a thinker. she gets it.

when i picked her up from school yesterday, she told me that 2 of her friends tried to get a boy in their class to "ask her out"...that cracks me up. he said "no" because she didn't have the "kind of looks" that he liked. he said a few other things that i would like to punch him for but i realize he is only 10. when she told me, i could tell that it hurt her feelings but i could also sense that on a deeper level, she knew that what he said was not the truth and not that valuable of an opinion. she asked me not to say anything about it to anyone. however, at dinner, i brought it up to pb in front of her. i wanted her to hear his opinion of her...the opinion of somebody that loves her and sees her clearly. (he wanted to punch the kid too.)

after dinner, em and i walked home by ourselves to hurry and change for the ballgame. i told her that i was not trying to betray any confidence she had in me by telling that story to pb. but i wanted her to hear the truth from someone that counts. she was really ok with the whole thing. and pb remarked later that she really does "get it". we could tell that the incident hurt her feelings, but it didn't slow her down for the rest of the afternoon. she knows with some level of maturity that is beyond me, what really matters.

so thankful for that beautiful fall afternoon yesterday. and some precious time with emily...and for pb being there for her.

the fray

i saw this pin on another blog this morning so i admittedly copied and pasted the photo. we had one of those evenings at our house last night. i went to bed mad (so no grateful post), woke up mad and then got to school and read this blog. part of my morning routine is to get to school early enough to enjoy some coffee, check emails and then read 3 blogs that i love. they usually inspire me creatively or emotionally/spiritually in some way or another. so thankful that i had time to catch this one before school started. the title of this particular post was "the blame game". the girl (funny how several of my friends read her blog and think we are all friends...we've never met her) was talking about having an a-ha moment yesterday when she heard a voice in her head say "it's not your fault." she went on to describe how completely liberating the statement was to her. she says that she has always struggled with self-esteem and blaming herself for everything...especially things that are out of her control. hello? did i secretly write this and not remember? i did get hit in the head with a frisbee pretty hard in the courtyard at school yesterday. oh my gosh, it hurt.

i can relate to the blame game. i can turn any reaction or situation into my fault in some way or another. i get told often to relax. the scenario that went down at our house last night was nothing different than what was probably going on at the neighbor's house. but somehow, i always take things to heart. and eventually i'll take false responsibility for everyone's reactions, happiness, unhappiness and blame myself for the issues at hand. we have had kind of a stressful week.

let's face it. we all screw up. we all make a mess of things at times. and for those things, we should accept responsibility and be accountable. but there is an element of grace that i need to learn to afford myself a little bit more. not everything is in my control or the result of something dumb i have said or done. and if it is, than i need to take ownership of it and accept it as a mistake, move on, and not beat myself up about it. but life happens. and most of the time, these things are just not as big of a deal as i perceive them to be. and i can't fix everything.

so tgif.

grazie!

so nice to have dinner pretty much ready with little effort tonight. love the crock pot. we really have made some of the best dinners with it. tonight was spaghetti night. yum! actually, i made this about 2 weeks ago and put several batches in the freezer. i took out one of them this morning and by the time i got home from school, it was thawed and ready to heat. after a long day, art lessons, a quick walk, picking up wil from lacrosse, emptying the dishwasher, folding some clothes, em getting home from tumbling, etc....it was so nice to have a hot dinner that was so easy and made the house smell good. i toasted some bread, boiled the pasta, added some fresh parmesan and we ate!

good enough

i woke up this morning to find a text from an old friend of mine that lives in nashville. she used to live in rome and we were the best of friends. she only lived here for a short time but we were neighbors and inseparable during that period. a family friend of hers really wanted us to meet when she moved to rome. i think she could see the writing on the wall and knew that we would be fast friends. my soon-to-be friend lived right around the corner (ironically, in the house my mom, sister and i had lived in for a few years when i was little) but we kept missing our opportunities to meet in random social situations. finally we ran into each other one evening when i was walking and she was running. i remember so clearly how it all went down...i was pushing wil in the stroller around old east rome and came around the corner on collinwood road. i saw her running towards me and in a "jinx" kind of moment, we both said "jennifer?". immediately a friendship was forged between two jennifers. we walked and talked for so many miles around that neighborhood. we went junk shopping and decorated our homes, shopped together in atlanta, shared recipes, read in-style magazine for the of the moment things we wanted, she had her first baby, we strolled together, made regular trips to sonic for frozen limeades, lamented over hormonal skin break-outs, bought our first kate spade bags together, and dreamed of having a store together one day. i can't hear the counting crows or smell coco mademoiselle without thinking of her. you know how a scent can take you back to a certain time in your life? we shared so much in those few years and i have some of my fondest memories ever from that time of our lives. she moved away and we kept in touch. both of our lives took turns that neither of us ever imagined. another bond.

we have kept in touch but less and less over the past few years. we recently connected through facebook (hate to admit that) and she remarried this past labor day weekend. we are both so busy with the different directions of our lives but every time we do get in touch, it is like time never passed. i think that is how true friendship should be.

her text this morning brought me to tears...i had not even had a cup of coffee or shower yet. i read it and as i was getting ready for school, thought about how much that season of our lives (and the one to follow) has shaped who we are now. sometimes friendships get put on the back burner so that people can grow, change, and become who they need to be. and then those friends resurface. and time and maturity makes you even more grateful for that person.

her text read, "at sarah mclachlan at the ryman. these songs were our history. love u and thinking about our young lives we had :-)." we used to listen to her all the time. we thought the lyrics were written just for us and the things we were both trying to get a grasp on in life.

pb and i are going to the ryman for new year's this year. (so excited to see old crow medicine show with liz!) i hope that we can meet for a glass of wine and catch up on life while we are in nashville. i want her to meet pb and i want to meet her husband. so grateful for the memories we share and for the ones to come.

8 is enough

so here is a brief rundown of the products, items and things we were loving this weekend when my bff from the atl was visiting:

let me preface #1 and #2 products by saying that my friend and i are equally intrigued with the entire line of fresh products. (thanks to cute blogger girl that i mentioned after fall break). she had purchased several items and brought them on saturday. i tried them and have ordered these two things.
1. fresh sugar plum lip tint with spf 15...heaven
2. fresh high noon freshface glow...a lightweight liquid bronzer that delivers a sunkissed glow to the face, loaded with anti-oxidants, soothes and calms the skin and smells incredibly refreshing. tried it saturday and loved it.
3. j. crew oil cloth utility jacket... my friend found this on sale at the store on friday. as always, with a great find, (she is the best shopper) tried to get one for me as well. no luck. when i saw hers, i flipped. we got on the phone and located one at another store. it is so great. the perfect "in between" coat and a steal at 39.99. could not find a pic of it online but the one above is very similar (but i like ours more). it looks great with everything. mine should be here tomorrow. what a find!
4. another j.crew find she had was this adorable pair of skinny pants with ankle zippers. if you are familiar with the minnie pant, that is name that is in the waistband but i could not find the exact ones online. (again, the pic above is similar.) they are a heavy knit, jodhpur style. will go with everything. perfect for school. they had my size so she bought me a pair. sale rack 19.99.
5. quickslip by paul mitchell...mentioned this a week or so ago as another recommendation from cute blogger girl. i am sold. not sure if it cuts down a whole lot on the drying time but it does make my hair smoother and more manageable. a keeper.
6. layer cake wine...my friend brought the shiraz for us to try. perfect red for a cold evening. and the label alone sells this one.
7. fels-naptha soap...we heard about this when i was visiting her several weeks ago. tried to find it at publix and they were sold out of every bar. it is a soap the hails to remove any stain. the girl that told her about it swears by it. it also removes poison ivy resin from your clothes, which can remain in them for up to a year. who knew? my mom needs this.
8. mumford and sons...a band that i have fallen for. we listened to them on saturday night while eating dinner and i downloaded more of their tunes yesterday. a british band of boys that liken themselves to a mixture of crosby, stills, nash and young and kings of leon. pb gets credit for introducing them to me.

now, after all of that...i will say i had something strike me this morning. without trying to find something to be grateful for, i realized i was thinking about how fortunate i am to have the job that i have. sure, i complain like anybody else. there are days that i don't want to go and days that i can't wait to get home. looking forward to the holidays! but i truly have a wonderful job. i work with some of the best people. as i was walking to my classroom today from the primary building, i thought about how beautiful our little campus is. and how cozy and precious the lower school is to me. my classroom is in the basement but i love it. face it, it is my home away from home for most of the hours in the day. the children i teach love to create and i feel like i have been able to stir up a love for art in them and pull some amazing things out of them. i am proud of these children and of the work they produce. i am so thankful that i have a job and even more thankful that it is this one. (i will go back and read this again on sunday night after christmas break.)

f is for

october was such an anticipated month of great times and it was so busy. but where did it go? i can't believe it is already november 7. loved the extra hour of sleep last night but not loving the early darkness. we were ready for bed by 7:00 tonight. i wish i had the energy to recap our weekend because it was a really good one. my best friend from atlanta and her husband came for the day yesterday and spent the night last night. what a fun time. pb and her husband played golf and we got to spend the day doing what we love to do...shop a little, track down the latest and greatest j. crew find that she had found (i had to have one too), talk about our kids growing up too fast, drink some wine, talk more, watch the new gwyneth video on youtube...we love her, check out more must-have items on the laptop, and just laugh the entire time. then we had an amazing dinner of steak tacos and homemade guacamole and dessert by the fire on the patio. a completely content night. embarrassingly enough, we were all 4 ready for bed by 10:00...or would that be 9:00 according to the time change? a full day so a welcome great night's sleep. we enjoyed coffee with them this morning. i want to share all of our great finds and new product must-haves, but i am about to fall asleep. will post them tomorrow.

but before i shut it down...i have decided for the month of november to post one thing every day, that i am thankful for in life. it may be something small or it may be something huge. but i will pick one thing each day. today i am thankful for my family...
for pb..for all that he does and is and means to me. i love you. for wil and em...you both fill my heart with more love than it feels capable of containing. for my parents...their constant and steady love and support for me and my family and all that we do. it means more than you know. i'm thankful for my sister....so looking forward to some time together this month. for my grandmother...not many of my friends still have a grandparent living. i need more time with you. for gk and lizzie...what an amazing family addition for wil, em and me. you are such a big part of our lives.
i am thankful for all of these family members and more. we don't say it enough but i realize how fortunate we are to have each other and these unique relationships. at the end of the day, so glad i have you all.

i got you babe

i'm starting this post at 8:10 this morning because i have a few minutes and some things fresh on my mind. i will get out what i can and then finish it later. so here goes:
i dropped wil and em off at 7:10 this morning (pb usually takes them but i was on time this morning and thought i would offer...no twisting of arms necessary). since i had some time, i stopped to grab a few things at walgreens on my way to school. i love walgreens. as i am standing there with a pack of twizzlers under my arm, a pack of gum in my hand, looking at moisturizers, my phone rings. there is only one person that calls me this early in the morning. my newly engaged bff. we talk every morning. this morning i answer, we chat for a minute, she laughs about me being at walgreens, and then asks me to be a bridesmaid in her wedding. when i say my heart is full, i'm not doing it justice. i have known her all of my life. we were childhood compadres with more stories than i can recount. we grew up loving sonny and cher, hee haw, going to the pool, going to her farm, dressing up, spending the night at each other's houses...until i would get homesick and have to go home, traveling to mississippi in the back of a grand torino station wagon, etc. and the list goes on.

we went our own ways through high school and college, but always staying in touch. we rekindled our friendship, full force, about 6 years ago. we have been there for each other through thick and thin ever since. a lot of laughter, tears, dinners, times by the pool, early morning check-ins, encouraging, etc. and this list goes on too. this morning the check-in conversation went from a tearful "thank you...i am honored", to "what moisturizer do you use?", to "it is freezing outside", to "dinner was so much fun last night", to "i have to go...i'm trying to check out and dropping my phone and the twizzlers".

when i got to school i unloaded all of my stuff. (how can i have a purse and 3 bags with me everyday???) i sat down for a minute to finish my lukewarm coffee and started thinking about how incredible it is to have a friend that has known me all of my life. our mothers are great friends. our sisters are friends. and we had a celebratory dinner last night with one of our other lifelong childhood friends. the things the three of us have experienced together are just as priceless. as we all sat there last night, jumping all over the place with our conversations, i thought, these are the days to be thankful for. it truly makes my heart full. it seems like yesterday that we were all little girls and life just happens so fast. i think back on some of the things we all fretted over (in just these past 5 years)...if we knew then what we know now. they just were not that big of a deal. oh how i wish i could let emily know that.

when i got home i sat on em's bed helping her with homework and we listened to some new taylor swift tunes. not to veer too much further into the sap...but "never grow up" is our new favorite. so sweet. so appropriate for all that i was thinking about and all that i hope em gets out of life and friendships.

on a side note, because my bff makes so much fun of my frequent trips and love of walgreens, here are some of my favorite staples to shop for:

1. twizzlers.
2. stride spearmint gum
3. pumpkin spice candles (seasonal item but the best one i have found)
4. wet 'n wild 666 lip liner
5. wet 'n wild rose gold lip gloss

i seriously think that i am the reason they restock these items regularly.

thank you j for asking me to be a part of this precious time. i am so happy for you. love you! (photo above is not the grand torino)

eastbound and down

here is a rundown of my day this past friday:

5:45- wake up, shower, get coffee
6:00- wake em up for shower
6:20- wake wil up for shower
6:40- make sure em has all of her halloween costume stuff, make sure wil has packed everything for his crew trip, grab another cup of coffee
7:00- load car, leave for upper school
7:10- meet em's friends in dining hall to have breakfast and make sure all "rockettes" have everything they need, try to not watch wil with his friends across the room : )
7:30- race to lower school, check emails, get things ready for my classes for the day
9:00- pick up pb and race back to middle school to watch the halloween parade, try to stay warm...freezing, snap some photos
10:00- head back to lower school for a day of 6 straight classes and a bunch of kids jacked up on halloween candy
2:50- leave school, hair day...
3:15- pb runs to upper school to pick up wil. this takes almost an hour. line is backed up, wil is running late, etc.
4:00- pb and wil go home to get wil's things for his overnight crew trip. he has to play at the football game with stadium band for part of the game and then the crew team loads up at 9:00 for the trek headed northeast, to oak ridge, tennessee. he doesn't want to go. pb talks to him about following through with his commitment. wil is dropped off back at school in a rather pitiful state.
5:00- meanwhile, i am having hair day with my bff, who arrived dressed as lady gaga. i know that she is going to be proposed to on saturday. she doesn't. excited and nervous for her. we smuggled a bottle of wine into the salon for tgif communion. i'm trying to relax but worried about wil and knowing that pb is right. he needs to go. he made a commitment and he loves crew. he just doesn't like going somewhere without his buds. he is the last freshman standing on the team.
6:00- get home, talk about the day with pb, then we go to harvest moon for dinner. (em is at a tumbling, dance lesson marathon til 8:00.) eat yummy cobb stack salad, pb eats burger. more lamenting (from me) over wil. i just want him to have a good time.
7:45- pick up em and friends at tumbling. take one friend home and take em and 2nd friend to football game.
9:00- crew bus has left the game. not long until wil texts pb saying "i'm alone, cold and hungry. there is no one to talk to. this is terrible." pb notes, "this from a boy that never gets cold?" now i am about to get in the car and go get baby boy. the last thing he really needs. herein lies the issue. (i will address this later.) so, i text wil back, "how's it going? you alright?" he responds, "not in the slightest. this is terrible. shouldn't have come." so now i am about to come unglued. i know i am wrong but the thought of him being on the bus, cold, and not talking to any friends makes me so sad! (also keep in mind that he is great at painting a picture of how terrible things are if he is slightly ill at ease).
9:30- go back to upper school for 3rd time today to pick up em. she is there with her friends, without us, and wants to stay. my worlds are colliding at this point. i want to get both of them home and in the bed, but the one that wants to come is on a bus headed to tennessee. he is so much like me.
10:00- home, em tucked in, we are in bed and again discussing that wil is going to be fine. he needs to get out of his comfort zone. i know this is true. i know he will be fine. hoping he is not cold or hungry though. pitiful painting...sold! i am so wrapped.

we went through our saturday and had a great day with em, trick or treating, pb cheering auburn through another win, and finally picked up wil at the boat ramp at midnight. when i got there, i waited just a few minutes before the bus pulled into the lot. i strained to see him get off the bus, making sure he looked fine. he got off and was dressed in all of his crew gear, looking grown up and cool in his toboggan. he threw his stuff in the truck and said he had to help unload boats. i thought, he must be okay if he is not dying to get out of here. when he finally got in the truck he could not stop talking. 12:30a.m. and he is beaming and chattering about how the race was one of the most "intense" things of his life and how they were like a "family" out there rowing. they got 4th out of 18 boats. he was ecstatic.

when we got home he re-told the entire thing to pb. i could not look in pb's direction because of the "i told you so" look i would have gotten. and he was right. i knew that all along. but when it is your baby boy...

so thankful for the "voice of reason". wil needed to go. he needed to be pushed out of his comfort zone, without his freshman buddies, and go out of town to row with his team. my tenderness has a place in his raising...just not in cases like this. tough love.

btw, reading this to pb for preview. his only comment? they should be waking themselves up in the morning...
love you wil.