{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.
Inspired by SouleMama
Happy Weekend Lovies!
things i'm loving these days:
white wine (i used to be strictly a red girl, who knew?!)
{note glass accompanying fajita creation in Sunday Funday post}
veggie booty
the boys love it too! they call them green puffies.
green grass and irises blooming (my favorite spring flower)
and finding other things blooming from treasures planted last fall!
and little yellow flowers on this delightful broccolini!
shellac manicures (okay so i've only had one of them, but i love it!)
weight watchers (yup, i'm in the program for the second time in my life, and loving it!) also loving jillian michaels and billy blanks. hey, i've got the will, he's got the way!
my tom's, paired with dresses. and skirts.
poached eggs!
watchin' my babies ride bikes (i have pics somewhere...promise!)
family fondue. seriously it's soooo cool!
and who says we can't have fondue on a week night?!
what a yummy life!
I know a group of kids (=20 and 30 somethings) who gather for Sunday brunch and call it "Sunday Funday" which is usually a follow up (=sober up) to "Saturday Sin-day..."
This is not that kind of Sunday Funday; it's merely a Sunday I happened to decide I wanted to document in pictures. And so it begins...
We decided bacon, eggs and toast were in order for breakfast, but were out of two of those items, so Marc needed to make what is becoming a "customary" Sunday morning trip to the store. He usually asks all the kids if anyone wants to come.
Aidan was the only taker, and this is how he dressed himself. God love him.
Alec stayed behind to talk on his banana phone while I made coffee and got things started.Now, I'll say that on Saturday, which was NOT sin-day, the stars alligned and I made two of the most beautiful and perfect poached eggs you've ever seen. No gadgets, no gizmos, just a pan and water. I attempted the same thing on Sunday, and was not successful...they got poached, and were edible, but were not pretty. And took forever because I threw out about three eggs. So there are no sweet pictures of our delightful breakfast, because everyone, self included, was so cranky and hungry by the time it was served, it was just time to eat.
Can you guess what our first outing was? Yep, Bed Bath & Beyond to look for an egg poacher! Not only did we find that, we found some adorable little boys for sale. They thought this was incredibly funny.
Next, Garden Ridge to hunt for patio furniture. And might I say, for a garden stuff filled store, they have an attrocious collection of garden gnomes? Give me Big Lots any day. Not even worth a picture. We didn't find any acceptable patio furniture, but we did find a family's worth of recliners.
Alec wanted to push the cart. And push it he did...into everything he couldn't see.
We may or may not have allegedly found the papazzan cushions and started jumping into them. But you can't prove anything...I wish I could have snapped this picture a second earlier though, because Marc did a killer cartwheel into the stack.
Next, stop by Bueno for some taco roll-ups, and off to Mod's for gelato, yeah! We LOVE Mod's for a lot of reasons, one being that they have a SELECTION (more than one) of vegan gelatos. Are we vegan? No, but Aidie is allergic to cow's milk and gets left out of all the ice cream having adventures. Except when we go to Mod's.
But someone (not naming any names...Missy) didn't take the time to figure out whether or not they're open on Sunday. I'll save you the trouble, they're not. But we still had fun romping around Boston for a few minutes! Here's Marc and Corrinne's Michael Jackson "wind" moment (yes, it was quite windy).
And the "This is It" moment.
And finishing our taco roll-ups.
And back in the truck to head home. Marc, what happened to your aviators?
Back home, the kids adopted toads (apparently named Marc and Missy),
Built them a habitat,
took real good care of them,
and we enjoyed the quiet inside.
Then Marc and Aidan made a special trip to the store for dairy free ice cream and some regular ice cream for the rest of us, while I started sizzling some fajitas!
Here's Aidan playing with his corn.
One of the many reasons he didn't get to enjoy ice cream and whipped cream with the rest of us.
And Megan, I did NOT partake of the whipped cream or ice cream. I had a small scoop of no sugar added frozen yogurt, and stayed within my points.
Add a couple of munchkin haircuts,
And you have one epic post, and an epic Sunday Funday.
Here's to wrapping up my Monday reminiscing about Sunday!
At least, I'll let myself believe that everyone's as interested in my life as I am...
So...you remember my list? #12 says, "Find a life partner that makes me insanely happy, on whom I can lavish all my silly affections."
Well, I've found him. My lobster (you know, you have to imagine two old lobsters in their tank...). He's mine and always has been. He's who I've been looking for my whole life, and at the same time, I feel like our souls have always been together. More about how insanely happy he makes me later, how about I tell you about the night I said yes to a very important question? You got it!
He's got two, I've got two, and between us we've got 4 kids, two exes, two jobs and an insane amount of laundry. We are thrilled when we have kid free evenings and weekends. Last week was a crazy week for all kinds of reasons, and before we knew it the stars aligned, we both got off work a bit early, baby daddy was able to meet me in Stroud an hour early, and baby momma wanted to keep the big kids for the evening, so Marc-alicious started planning date night! He called me at work and told me to grab something "kinda dressy" for dinner when I got home from work (I figured I'd just stay in my dress from work), and grab a change of clothes since we'd "probably be out pretty late and might want to crash somewhere."
Of course it sounds fishy. It's Marc!
We drop the littles in Stroud with their daddy, who Marc nearly mowed down pulling out of our parking spot because he was so anxious to be wherever we were going on time, and peel out headed...west.
Me: Are we going to Oklahoma City?
Marc: No.
Me: Are we going to Dallas?
Marc: No.
Me: Are we going to Kansas City?
Marc: Kansas City is five hours in the complete opposite direction.
Me: I know...just asking...how long are we going to be in the car?
Marc: *checking his phone* About an hour and fifteen minutes.
Me: I wish I would have changed clothes.
Marc: That's why I told you to bring a change of clothes.
Me: *Putting my head down, and shaking it while giggling.*
Soon he turns onto highway 177 and we are officially out in the middle of nowhere. I can't decide if he's taking me to an Amish bakery in the middle of nowhere or taking me out to the middle of nowhere to chop me up into little bitty pieces and feed me to the goats. We did see at least one sign for "show goats" now that I think of it. Did you know there were such things as show goats? I didn't. I've grown up in Oklahoma my whole life and never heard of show goats.
Anyway, fast forward, after stopping for a potty, Frappuccino, and a handful of homemade trailmix because I'm starving, we make our way to Sulphur, Oklahoma, and pass a sign that says, "Echo Canyon Spa Resort," and I think to myself, "Oooooh, self, that sounds delightful! We should go there some time!" Before I know it, we're turning off the road and Marc's on the phone telling someone we're here and punching in a code to a huge swirly iron gate...next to a sign that says Echo Canyon Spa Resort! We're THERE!
We had an AMAZING meal of steak, duck, twice baked potatoes, fresh roasted asparagus (my fave), garlic bread with homemade pesto, a signature salad with the sweetest watermelon I've ever tasted, and light and fluffy cheesecake for dessert. Oh, and their special peach drink, made from peaches from their orchard! Yum!
I'll have to fast forward through the HILARIOUS monologue from one of our waitresses about her in shop class wearing high heels, facial school where she's going to learn how to do a velvet peel that she's not real sure about but apparently it makes "old ladies" look ten years younger, and the "customary" dance of the last people in the dining rooms (they were sure to dim the lights for us).
Then we picked up a second bottle of wine and headed back to our amazing room. I went into routine and to the bathroom to start taking off my eye make up and wash my face. Marc rushed in and said, "Don't do that! It's like you're saying the night's over! Let's go out to the balcony and drink our wine." Okay, okay.
Once out on the balcony, I take a sip of wine and enjoy the cloudless sky, perfect weather with warm air and a cool breeze, and ALL the stars you can't see in the city. Then he says, "So, I've asked you before and I'll ask you again, what do you love about me?" Classic Marc. So I tell him a couple of things, blah, blah, blah. Then he says, "Well, you know I want to be with you for the rest of my life don't you?" I answer affirmatively. Then he tells me some very sweet things he loves about me. He gives me a couple sweet little kisses, which quickly become quicker and less romantic and I start to notice he's breathing a little more quickly too. And I'm thinking, "surely any minute he's going to get down on his knee..."
Then he says, "I'm going to ask you a kind of serious question, and you can answer honestly," and...gets down on his knee...and pulls out a little white box.
Yep.
And opens the box.
But before I tell you what he said next I have to say, when he opened the box there was a light. A beacon of light BEAMING from the box, the ring box. And at first I thought to myself, "he did NOT just open up a ring box with a built-in flashlight, cause that would be cheesy." Then I looked and the ring. The magnificent ring. And I remembered that it was dark outside, and I was really glad it had a light. We lovingly refer to that part of the night as the Mel Brooks moment of the evening; may the schwartz be with you.
It's gorgeous. He's gorgeous, though I couldn't see his face to look him in the eye to tell him, "Yes of course!" after I caught my breath and fought back my tears and took my hands away from my mouth so he could hear me. Then we went inside so he could put that beautiful ring on my finger (which the sneaky boy has had since JANUARY!) because I was honestly too afraid to take it out of the box outside on the balcony in case I dropped it off the rail!
My hands were shaking and I couldn't stop smiling. Our very special moment that will forever change our lives. I should have taken pictures of our meal that night, or the wine, or the road trip down, or the obligatory dance (which was very, VERY sweet)...but I must have known it was all too special to ruin with picture taking. Those will be MY moments, in my memory and heart. But I will share with you pictures from the next morning, when I woke up to sit on that sweet little balcony and admire the breathtaking thing on my hand that tells everyone,
"I'm taken!"
And here's a silly little video from my Marc.
Love you baby. What lovely memories from the perfect adventure. I can't wait to make a lifetime more of them with you.
Day 10, the last day of vacation...
One last day of lyin' around in bed in the hotel bein' lazy and takin' our time before heading off to real life. But first, back to the Picasso Cafe that we fell in love with the last time we were in OKC. We were pretty excited to be there on a Sunday morning so we could experience brunch, which we'd heard was out of this world.
Vanilla haze coffee for me (Yes, this would be considered an adult beverage. Hey, I'm on vacation!)!Next, the Artisan Cheese Plate, with three cheeses I literally don't remember the names to!
Sweet crepes, with bananas and strawberry sauce for moi. Marc got eggs benedict, and I did take the picture, just can't find it. You're probably getting tired of pictures of my food anyway!One last movie, The Fighter. Excellent!
Then pick up my little men to head home. They zonked.
The most perfectly timed, nap filled ride from OKC to Tulsa to date!
Then, to Mimi's for Christmas over there!
Then home for Christmas at Mommy's, finally!
Say cheese!
We're in love with the Pigeon books, thanks to Aunt Megan!
One for each...
So cute, Aidan was way excited about candy canes with Nick Jr. characters on them!
And the gifts from Santa: Star Wars Legos for Mr. Aidan.
And a helicopter for Mr. Alec. He's hugging it...awwweee!
And he loves his new Yo Gabba Gabba nap mat!
All in all, a very sucessful vacation and Christmas, complete with wonderful, activity filled time with the kids, and sweet, memorable moments with my Love, kid-free. I'm so very thankful for everything and every person in my life, and sweet Jesus giving us a reason for a holiday of giving and receiving.
And...on to the next adventure!
It's interesting to wake up on Christmas morning in a hotel. No tree, no kids clamouring to open their presents, just quiet. You can lie around as long as you want to and leisurely make some mediocre hotel room coffee and listen to the birds sing. We'd already planned on mimosas, so Marcalish got dressed to go track us down some OJ, and found a stocking at our door! Yay!Ho Ho Ho!
When we popped the cork, it sounded like gunfire! We were really glad we didn't shoot a hole in the ceiling. Or shoot one of our eyes out (which is doubly funny since A Christmas Story was on all day long on TBS)!
Cheers!Headed downstairs for an amazing Christmas morning brunch at the hotel cafe. Smoked ham, bacon, sun-dried tomato risotto, ommelette made to order with swiss, cheddar, spinach, tomatoes, and onions!
I think Marc got one of everything! I love his grin peeking through in this pic.
We walked over to the Harkins theatre in Bricktown for a movie. This is no small adventure. It was literally the second time we've ever gone to the movies together, just the two of us. And the last time was our first trip to OKC! Unless you count the drive in...
It was a frigid walk to be sure, but it was nice to get some exercise, and truly wasn't that far. We saw True Grit, which was really good. And no joke, there is a movie coming out about gnomes. This is really becoming a hilarious theme in our lives. I didn't get a pic, but here's the IMDb page.
On the way back to the hotel, we passed this shop I've never seen before. Looks delightful! Of course it was closed Christmsas day, but I plan to come back and check it out another time. Reminds me of Ms. Sarah and her s'moregasm cupcakes and oreo balls. She would be famous with a store like this!Stop off at the hotel for socks for me, bundle up again and off to walk to the ice skating rink behind the municipal building in OKC. Burr!
Christmas in OKC - love the lights!
After we walked on dead downtown streets, into the wind, for what seemed like an eternity, we finally found civilization, Christmas music (which was skipping), and a big hunk of ice.
Cheeeese! Insert cute pic here!
Let's just say niether of us had been skating in quite some time, and we were a little trepidatious, but we carried on like good soldiers. I honed my ballet skills.
And refused to put my arms down while skating. I was DETERMINED not to fall on the ice. Marc teased me, saying, "You're flying! You're flying!"
Marc honed his smartass skills and...well, at least he didn't fall.
We skated just long enough for our toes to go numb and our ankles to start hurting, then opted for hot chocolate and a warm cinnamon roll (complete with a big glob of melted butter on top!), before heading back to the hotel.
We spent some more time being lazy at the hotel, watched the end of Knocked Up and Grease, then got all snazzed up for our fancy dinner at Deep Fork! Look at that guy! He cleans up pretty nice!
And there's my beautiful new coat I got for Christmas!
We settled in with wine and bread, then had some great shrimp ceviche as an appetizer, and salads.
Marc got the rack of lamb, which I tasted, but wasn't super excited about it. He loved it!
I got the serloin, which was delicious; I was just so full from the bread and pre-dinner courses I couldn't come close to finishing it! But everything was so yummy and it was a great experience!
Our next plan was to pick up coffee and find some playing cards and head back to the room and play gin rummy, but we never found any cards, and our Starbucks did not keep us awake any longer! We fell asleep on the early side of things, and have no shame in it whatsoever!
It was a Christmas to remember for sure!
Tomorrow, looking forward to a Sunday Brunch, possibly one more movie, then picking up my sweet little men and finally getting Christmas with them!
Day 8 began as a slow going and lazy one. Without my kids around, we didn't get up until about 8:30 - WAHOO! Took our time with coffee, Marc and his kids had some skype action goin' on with Grandma and Grandpa in Florida, and I caught up on my blog. Finally, around lunch time we all got ourselves cleaned up and ventured out for the afternoon. Marc had some last minute shopping to do, so the kids had to go with me. Headed to Utica Square to pick up my Scentsy order from a friend who works at J. Jill, and found myself a little more than Scentsy! Uggs! I know I'm about 13 years behind on the times with these, but I'm psyched. She gave me a $50 off coupon, as well as an internet promotion discount, so that justified the purchase in my book. Merry Christmas to me! Is it wrong to purchase something for yourself off your Christmas list before Christmas?Sadly, the favorite lunch spot, Queenies, closed at noon on Christmas Eve, so we went around the corner to Peppers. Hey, they have coloring sheets and free chips!
These kids are so cute. I think Carter kinda looks like an owl here.
Corrinne asked why I didn't get a coloring sheet. I remedied that!
Next up: our little Christmas with the kids before they go to their mom's. Marc's presents are there for them, but I wanted to give them a little something, and of course we had to do our stockings!
They were psyched about the Tech Decks I found at Big Lots! (Just don't remind us of the lost miniature nut that got lost in the shag rug shortly thereafter...)
Marc got a surprise in his stocking! At first, we thought it was just a little book about gnomes,
But, Oh No! It's a real tiny gnome! They've found us again! S#%*@!!
Don't forget the ambiance...
Carter's gift - always a good feeling when they say, "This is just what I was wanting!"
Corrinne ripped through the paper so fast you can barely see her arm in the picture!
Yay!
I've had such a sweet time having a whole week with Marc's kids. We usually only have them for the weekend, and I don't always get one on one time with them. I was a little sad to see them go when we dropped them off for the night.
So, what do we do with no kids for Christmas? Get out of town! We made a stop at the liquor store before getting on the road. I can't get over this face as Marc picks something out for himself...Something for mimosas in the morning...
Something for Missy...
And something to keep in mind for the future!
Even though I still have a hard time saying the name of the convenience store out loud and don't know why anyone thought that was a good idea, thanks for the free coffee!
Don't mind if I do! My only option to get mocha was super charged with extra caffeine.
Grab a couple snacks, get on the road to OKC, and bada bing, bada boom, we're there! I landed like this on the bed and couldn't make myself get up to go down to the restaurant for dinner. So much for the Mocha Charger, huh!
Oh well! That's what room service is for!
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!
Ahhh, Day 7. Day 7 started early to take my kiddos to drop them off with their dad for the holiday (trying not to think about my first Christmas without them), then Marc, Carter, Corrinne and I headed to Mimi's Cafe for an amazing breakfast. If you've never had their breakfast, GO! Their eggs benedict are out of this world. Marc got their eggs florentine benedict (which are amazing with spinach, tomatoes and bacon) and I got their crown jewel, crab cakes benedict (no words can describe them).
We tooled around a bit and ran a couple errands then came home to be lazy. I'm really enjoying our Christmas card collection.And I'm snugglin' on the couch, enjoying the view.
Of course, we've got to get a pic of the snuggles.
Marc said he looked like a dweeb in that pic so I had to take another one.
He said he still looked like a dweeb, a word I was hoping he'd say again because I'm pretty sure I hadn't heard it since the 8th grade!
THEN, I got some Mommy time. Mommy Love. I found a gift card from LAST Christmas for a spa treatment and made an appointment for a milk and honey pedicure at Spa Lux. Which was a burn to Marc, because he got me a gift certificate for the exact same thing (along with a manicure and a swedish massage) but I assured him it's FINE and that that present with NEVER get old and I WILL use it!!
Here is Spa Lux. P. T. L.Happy Missy.
Some fur ball attacked me on the gorgeous leather sofa.
And I was served some delightful vanilla caramel tea!
Then I had the most delightful hour in...who knows how long...and I came out with these lovely little piggies!
Next on the agenda was running to Big Lots to get stocking stuffers.
Wahoo! The kids said they wanted Tech Decks for Christmas and Big Lots has them cheap!! Gotta love this place.
^#%$#@^%*!!! They found me. I don't know how but they found me.
AND I've been craving an orange cranberry scone for days, so it was time! That with a Starbucks mocha, again, made a very happy Missy!
Next on the agenda, Target (pronounced tar-jay). Do you think Marc knows I'm having an affair?
Once I got home we headed over to my mom's, Mimi's, for Carter and Corrinne to open their gifts from her. Happy kids!
And Marc and I couldn't wait any longer. We did our Christmas with each other since our whole Christmas day thing is going to be weird anyway. I'm pretty stoked about the gift I got him. An old turntable I found on Craig's List along with Pet Sounds and The Stranger on vinyl. I must say I'm pretty proud; he said it was the BEST present he's ever gotten. *blushing grin*
Yay! He got me an adorable sweater...
And a gorgeous coat from Fossil, which I totally needed and totally would have never bought for myself. That combined with the gift certificate for Spa Lux makes one freaking incredible Christmas. I love you honey!!
The rest of the night was spent listening to Pet Sounds the way it originally was played, along with some white russians, as I have already mentioned...God only knows what I'd be without you...
Well, well, well...I woke up on Day 6 early, and couldn't go back to sleep. I was pretty sure the novelty of being a stay-at-home-mom was starting to wear off. So I actually felt excited about waking up early and having some time to myself before children woke up, to sit and watch the news and work on my blog and leisurely sip some coffee. But we all know what happens when mom wakes up early thinking she'll get some her time.Even HE doesn't look happy about it! We made due though. He kept me company and we watched some cartoons, while Alec slept in til 8:40!! Poor kid was pooped. Since I was feeling pooped from all our activities, I farted around most of the morning, when I should have been cleaning, then finally did a mad clean up before lunch. The carpet was DISGUSTING so I was determined to get things picked up enough to vacuum before we got out of the house, which made me late (just call me Linda) to our lunch date at my brother's house! My sister-in-law is a teacher so she's off for Christmas Break with her kids and invited us over to sammies and romping around outside, so I took her up on it. We got some good mommy chat time and the kids enjoyed themselves!
Then we stopped over for a visit with Yaya (my best friend's mom, who is like a mother to me and in turn another grandma to my kiddos)! We needed to return a movie rental to her and she had gifts for all the kids...As if they hadn't already had enough sugar over the holidays...
Yikes! On the way home we stopped and picked up some construction paper and glue sticks because the children had been begging to make homemade ornaments. *Sigh* another project.
I complied. I got out the printer so they could print off pictures to color. And this......became this...
...and then there was a nerds explosion...
...and mommy was glad Yaya gave her her own sugar...
The kids really did work hard and enjoy themselves being crafty.
And made some cool ornaments!
A little bit later that evening my friend Megan from high school came over to learn the ropes of her sewing machine. She's had it for a while but didn't know how to use it, so I told her I'd help her figure it out. I got out my machine and apron kit thinking I might be able to get started on my own project (which never happened because I had monkeys I had to tend to in between giving instructions...).
And before she showed up I decided to get my crownie on.
Which are chocolate chip cookie dough brownies. I normally make them with ganache, but I just used some store-bought frosting, because I knew this one was dairy free so Aidan could eat it!
Here they are fresh out of the oven!As I was frosting them, the kids joined me and wanted some licks out of the can.
...as if they hadn't already had enough sugar for the day...Corrinne also came to help Megan with her little project. Hi Megan! You're on candid camera!
Her lesson was successful and she learned how to use her machine. Very well I might add!! The whipped up a little gift in just a couple of minutes to give to Corrinne for being her helper. So sweet!
And then Marc finally made it home from work after a very long couple of days, and I was very glad to see him. Especially knowing he didn't have to work the next day and we'd officially be able to start our Christmas vacation together!
Whew! What a tiring few days, looking forward to some days of relaxation to round out the Ten Days of Christmas!
spunky little blonde from OK. mom, teacher, birth doula, wannabe hippie working for a bank and livin' the life. love wine, sewing, mochas, npr, and my chucks.
Recent Comments