Reason #? Why I Love My Husband

I have a wonderful husband. Although I couldn't foresee how our lives would unfold when we met on match.com, I knew after having lunch with him in January 2004 that we fit together. There are times when he frustrates me (and I aggravate him) but I honestly can't imagine being happier with anyone else. Together we've grown to be better people and to me, that's what a marriage is about.

That said, I could make a list of why I love Ashley or how I know he loves me. But I haven't. Instead I made chicken parmigiana on Wednesday night (Ashley's request) and it was delicious. A recipe from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything (my favorite cookbook) that called for homemade breadcrumbs and homemade tomato sauce--see a review of the recipe here: http://fansofbittman.blogspot.com/2010/02/sauteed-chicken-cutlets-variation.html. The boys cooperated and I managed to pull off both. Here are two pictures from the process.
Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of the final product. We gobbled it up and the leftover portion (that I ate for Thursday's lunch) was not photograph-worthy. Go buy Bittman's cookbook if you don't own it. And if you do own it, make the Chicken Parmigiana. YUM.

As happy as I was with dinner, I was even happier when Ashley totally trashed the kitchen and installed a new deep stainless steel sink and faucet in our rental house. The old sink was shallow and I managed to spray water everywhere when I used it...and the faucet worked only halfway because the guy who installed Stan and Lyndsey's countertops broke it. Here's the kitchen: old sink to the front, new (black coated) sink to the back.
Joking, Ashley suggested that we could just leave the hole in the counter and use the hoses to wash pots. Ha.
And here's the "new" sink...buffed up with a Brillo pad. It came from Habitat's ReStore-- $40 (the faucet is a new Delta for $70). Now every time I rinse out Mason's bottles, I know Ashley loves me. Some women want jewelry--I just like to have a nice kitchen!

Weekend in North Carolina

This past weekend Ashley went camping/hunting with friends so I took the boys to NC to see my family. We had a great trip up: left around 8 a.m. and pulled in at Mama and Papa's around noon (included 2 stops). The boys were happy to be there, especially Levi because he remembers all the cool stuff he gets to do at Papa and GinGin's. I love this picture because Levi is in the red rocker and Mason is grinning--definitely proud of himself and sitting up!
Saturday night the family came up (which includes Mama's brothers and their wives, plus a few others). Another great picture of Levi--this time with Uncle Jack sitting on the rock wall that Papa built a few years ago.
Papa with Dare and Lindsay.
Uncle Mike.
Mama's fall display. She grew the gourds in her garden--so pretty!
Mason with Aunt Donna, Lindsay and Jeanette.
Levi in my old playhouse. My great uncle built this for Joshua and I when we were younger. It's made almost entirely of old pallets!
The family doing what they do best...sitting on the porch and talking.
Sunday morning Heather and Rich brought the girls over for breakfast. Mason was excited to see other people his size!

This picture doesn't really capture how pretty the fall colors were..but it's a reminder for me!
We had a great trip. The drive back took a little too long but I'm learning to expect that. Ashley had a fantastic time hanging out with his friends--recharged him for the fall and the busy season of planting the fall flowers for work. Remember to check out the Heritage blog if you want to know more about the business: http://heritagelandscape.blogspot.com/

6 month-old Mason!

Mason is half of a year old! Wow! To celebrate his birthday, he went to see the pediatrician.He continues on the tall curve (28 inches- in the 88th percentile) but has slipped down to the 24th percentile for weight (16.6 lbs). Our doctor wasn't too concerned about his lower weight--he always reminds me that Ashley and I will have tall and slim kids because we're tall and slim. Mason continues to be a "happy spitter" but I'm hoping as he eats more solid food that will improve. Levi wore a bib all the time because he drooled; Mason wears a bib to keep his clothes clean (most of the time). Ashley positioned Mason on Levi's tricycle. He was so pleased! If you hold Mason, he immediately twists and turns, trying to get down and go. He can't crawl yet but I think he's definitely motivated to move!
And here he is, perched on Ashley's shoulder.
On Thursday Mason started sitting up on his own (he can't get into the position by himself but when I plop him in the middle of the floor, he stays sitting up for a LONG time). This is a really exciting development because it means he can interact with Levi more. He has such a fun personality--very vocal and happy. The one challenge that we have right now is his internal alarm clock needs to be adjusted. He's been waking up at 5 a.m. or earlier for the past 2 weeks. I've got to break this habit--Friday is the day if he doesn't take care of it himself tomorrow morning!

"Mama, where are the boys at?"

This past Saturday we went out to our land. Ashley and his dad (and a few of their employees) had finished hooking up our well. Since Ashley's parents were watching Carey's kids, we all spent some time playing on the land and eating hotdogs. Here's Grandma and her 5 grands!
There are a lot of really great things about living in our new neighborhood. For starters, the neighborhood is nicer--and the people who live there are more friendly. But probably what makes Levi the happiest is there are other kids to "play" with. Granted, he's not really playing with them yet (usually watches from our yard or runs around with them). Every day he asks me where the boys are at. So most of the time, I have to tell him they're at school. However, when he hears them playing on the weekend, he shouts "Mama! Go outside! Go play with boys!"

Here are my boys! I'm not one to buy matching outfits...and I still haven't...but we lucked into some matching shirts for the boys, thanks to some hand-me-downs. Mason is wearing Levi's old brown shirt and Levi is wearing a friend's son's brown shirt. And overalls! I can't resist overalls, especially since Levi is not potty-training yet.
This is Levi's happy face!
Hugging on Mason. Mason LOVES his big brother!
Mason "riding" Max.
It got hot (imagine that, hot in October in SC) so Ashley took off Levi's shirt. Cool dude!
The neighborhood action! Ashley was playing hide-in-seek and Levi was trying to play, too, but he gets distracted.
And here's Levi in front of our pretty fall flowers. Thanks, Ashley!

In the Pumpkin Patch

Saturday morning we had nothing on the agenda and it was a pretty day. So we loaded the boys up and went to McBee. First we stopped by the farm and Ashley worked on a deer stand while the boys and I went on a long walk. Levi led the way and we found a huge pine cone and other treasures. We walked further than I planned and my arms got pretty tired to toting Mason (he's getting to be a big boy!). Next time I'll take the double stroller for our adventures! Willie had planted some okra for deer to snack on--Ashley and Levi picked us some. Levi insisted on holding 2 okra for a while (he has a fascination with two's...two green trucks, two eyes, two ducks, etc).
After a tasty lunch at Big's, we tried to get a fall picture of the boys (but it was hot and they weren't looking at the camera). In the background you can see a trailer being pulled by a tractor. We hopped on board and went out to the McLeod Farm's Pumpkin Patch.
Here we are on our ride out...it was one of those events where I wasn't sure it would go that well...we were reaching both boys nap times--but it turned out to be fun.
Here's the pumpkin patch. These pumpkins grow green on the vine and ripen to orange.
My happy Mason!
Levi choosing one of the pumpkins.
I love this picture...Levi tromping off, Ashley toting a pumpkin.
This week has been hot (upper 80s)--a week or so ago, we had a glimpse of fall with temps in the low 50s at night. Waiting for that cool weather to come back so it can feel like fall again! Regardless, we have our pumpkins and mums on the doorstep for whenever South Carolina decides it wants to have our short fall season!

That New House

It's official. We're getting ready to build our house! Instead of overloading this blog with information about that experience, I've created a new blog, That New House, that will document the next months as we build Glen View Cottage, a plan designed for Southern Living by the Moser Design Group in Beaufort, SC.

Check out the blog here: http://thatnewhouse.blogspot.com/
I've also permanently linked it in my link section.

Settling in at the Blue House

We're settled in and happy at the Blue House!
I told Lyndsey that our artwork actually goes better with her paint choices than it did in our old house. Check out the map print and how it picks up the perfect dark orange in the kitchen. The grey/blue on the living room walls is AMAZING. Such a pretty color....will probably use it in our new house!
My first time having a mantle...took me a while to figure out how to decorate it. I had the basics up but Ashley's mom rearranged it for a nice look. Thanks!
There are a lot of great things about the Blue House. I've mentioned the location...now the outside is super, too. Stan did a lot of work putting in a brick patio. Great play place!
Stan also built a huge back deck...love it! And so does Max, as that's his new home.
Nice yard to play in, too!
To really settle in, I baked us a batch of Heath bar cookies. Yummy! Levi helped and had his first experience licking the batter!
Debbie also picked up a box to make Levi a sand box. It's great...and our deck is covered in sand. I asked Levi to sweep and he did. Now we're making the rule that sand out of the box is OK but it needs to be kept in one area.
I love the Elmo jacket...a hand-me-down from Weston and Ryan.
And sweet baby Mason...here he is proving he's Ashley's son (Ashley closes his eyes for pictures at least half of the time).
Yes, fall in love with cuteness! He's this sweet in person, too :o)
In other news, we've officially chosen a house plan and I'll be ordering it very soon. Which means we'll be building soon. Which means...I'm going to create a separate blog about that experience. So look for it in a couple of weeks (or sooner if time allows).