Barking Kids & Tied-Up Friendlies

I'll tell ya what.. this girl.... haha..
Kids are awesome. Seriously. Funny, weird, messy... and awesome. Mine is no exception.  Today was a pretty good day, all things considered, and hanging out with my mini first thing after work is like the icing on a cake. Seriously. She's hilarious. And although I find it inconveniencing at times whenever we're anywhere and we have to stop for a 1-minute ride atop Sandy the Meijer horse, I have to stop and remind myself that these little moments won't last forever, and the world is big enough for me to relax and allow her to have them. 

sandy the meijer horse! 

In other news, the USWNT ladies took on Japan tonight, and although I'm not sure how I stayed awake through the entire game, I did it, despite the dismay of ending with a tied 3-3 match. Ladies, we're cheering you on from Cincinnati, and you blogbots will be seeing plenty of weigh in here on their Road to Rio as we get going. Oh, and sidenote: SUPERIOR PLAY, EQUAL PAY. 'Nuff said ♥.

An uneventful Thursday, really, I know.. but hey, it was what it was and tomorrow is Friday and YAY. :) 

See you then! 

xo | cmd

THREE DAY WEEKEND!!

*Whew! Another week down. This is the first full week we've been open as the newest Cincinnati office, and it was definitely interesting with Elisa gone for most of the week. I hope she's having a blast on vaca though, and maaaaybe she'll be sweet enough to bring back some Florida weather next week. Hah [drive safely!!]

Anyway, with Friday under wraps, let's take a deep breath and welcome the THREE DAY WEEKEND! Helloooo Memorial Day!

woooooo! three-day weekend!! ;) 

I went straight from work to Sandy's to pick up Sydni, and stayed there with the two of them talking for nearly an hour before we got back on the road. It was great to see her, and now that I'm back for good, it'll be a more frequent thing. Sydni and I made the haul back down to Northside to Becky's, where she and Mike were awaiting.

hello, mini!!

comet... mmmm!

Sydni wasted no time making herself at home and finding the water gun collection hidden throughout the apartment, and for nearly 30 minutes, it was an all out war between Becky, Mike, Sydni and me. It was hilarious. Once we'd settled down from that, we ordered dinner from The Comet, played some Angry Birds on the iPad, and called it a night. I have a feeling this is going to be one busy, BUSY weekend.

Syd's about crashed, and I can tell I'm not far behind her.
Here's the long weekend! Stay SAFE and have fun, friends!

xo | cmd

Farewell for Now, 'Nati :|

[#backdated.entry]

Did I mention it's amazing to be visiting back home? Well, you should've gathered by now that it's incredible seeing familiar faces, going to old favorite hangouts, venturing into new places that didn't exist when I last lived there, and above all realizing that I am still home in Cincinnati.

We visited our old church for the service this morning, not realizing it was a baptism Sunday. Andrea Jones and one of the youth girls made their show of faith with Pastor Poe today, and it was a blessing for us to be witnesses to the event. Congratulations!


baptisms @ new harmony!
congratulations, andrea!!

Another thing I dearly miss about New Harmony is hearing Julie sing each week. There are some people who can "sing" [I sometimes fit into that category], and then there are people who can SING. Julie is the latter, among the ranks of say, Trish here at Towerview. She picked a great song, too; definitely not a shabby Sunday to be at New Harmony!


julie singing - beautiful!

After church, we made a quick stop by Mindi's, who was our full time in-home daycare gal whenever we still lived in Cincinnati. Since Sydni is scheduled to stay a week with Joe's mom, she'll be spending the weekdays at Mindi's while Sandy's working. It was incredible to see them again, to catch up, but ultimately to know that Sydni is going to in good hands all around while I'm back in Illinois. 

love love love & LOVE her.

It was then off to It's Just Crepes downtown to rendezvous with Jimmy & Mo -- WAIT A MINUTE! Aren't you in Cincinnati still?! -- << I know, right?! As it so happened, Mo's sister lives up here, and she got married yesterday, too. That put the Prescotts on our turf on the same weekend we were scheduled to be here, so of course we wanted to show them around some of our favorite spots. Oh, and I did their maternity pictures, too! I can't show you those just yet, because they've still not seen them. Nothing personal, and don't worry, I'll have them up soon. I can however, give you a glimpse of the best photographer's assistant, ever... Haha.

*sigh.
So obviously this is backdated, but the good news is, I'm back safe and sound in Illinois and getting ready to take on the week sans husband and child. Holy smokes.. I may actually get this place clean after all! ;)

And
heeeeeere

we.... GO.

xo | cmd

Back In The 'Nati : DAY ONE :)

QUESTION: Would I bleed for a friend?
ANSWER: YES! 

congratulations, eric & becky!

Here's the scoop on that one: I got a mass LinkedIn email from an old colleague of mine back in Cincinnati requesting the presence of all friends and family at a blood drive. Well, not just any blood drive; this particular friend, Eric, is part of the marketing team for Hoxworth Blood Centers in Cinci, and is slated to get married[!!!!!] not this, but next weekend. [[CON-GRAT-ULATIONSSSSS!!!!!!!]] They got creative and arranged a blood drive challenge in honor of their wedding, and as it so happened, I was both eligible and available to donate today, so that.. is.. what I did. Congrats, again to my friend Eric and his bride-to-be! xo!

******************

QUESTION: Who suggested lunch at Ban Thai today?
ANSWER: Ladd :).

ladd.

I've known this kid for ages now, and while that is sometimes both a bad and a good thing [usually dependent upon the day and/or topic of conversation, lol], he is a friend for whom I am deeply grateful on many levels. It was a great day to catch up; Becky and I stopped for lunch in Eastgate, and the three of us chowed down on some thai food before heading out our separate ways. I truly do revel  in catching up with old friends, and sometimes there are none better than the best.

******************

QUESTION: How on EARTH did I fail to get a picture of Becky [and not the above-mentioned Becky - just to clarify] & me?! My favorite [and only] college RA, with whom I'm still very close, hung out for a larger part of today and I didn't get one single stinkin' picture of us - HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN?!
ANSWER: Oh, that's right, because we were too consumed with squealing and rummaging like wild coyotes through the new REI in Rookwood.


hello, new rei!

Becky and I decided to take a jaunt out to Rookwood [neighboring the old stomping grounds of Norwood, aka NorHOOD, aka the Village of the Fantastic Fifteen-or-so of us that ran that place like the playground it was...hah]. The brand new REI is among a handful of business that have ventured into regions I used to call home, after I left there. Naturally. Haha. There's now a Jungle Jim's over in Eastgate, too, and that both excites and infuriates me for that very reason. Haha. So anyway, I witnessed my dear friend Becky audibly squeal in a way that made her resemble the girly-girl that she so clearly is NOT, for just a split second or so. She cracks me up. We spent plenty of time browsing, even trying on some potential wish-list items, but left empty-handed. Oh well. Probably better that way, for the sake of my closet. Anyway, it was amazing, and mark my words, I'll be back.

******************

QUESTION: What's the best way to combine watching one friend's band play while celebrating another's going-away?

ANSWER: Silverton Cafe. Duh. (:



brother bear!
[good luck, nader, on your next adventures...
... in jordan ... with grueter! we'll miss you!!]

Nader is packing his bags and heading to Jordan [as in, the country] to work alongside our other friend Jamie. Hard to believe, but super-cool opportunity, and even cooler that I was able to see him on his last weekend in the states for a while. Nader & Jamie comprise half of what we affectionately coined as The Twigs [Jamie, Nader, Matt, & Nalom], so it is with some sadness that I watch them disband and pursue this whole life thing. Love those fellers.

singin' the niiiiiiight away...
[ladd & keith]

Keith's band was slated to play tonight at Silverton Cafe, so I agreed to rendezvous with Nader, Matt, Melissa, Keith, Laura and some others for an evening of unwinding and celebrating some next steps and some downright fun music. I opted out of Midpoint tonight, but perhaps I'll head that-a-way at some juncture tomorrow. We'll see.

Major, major thanks to my amazing mother-in-law for keeping Syd for the day - it is so good to be home to see you, too. We've MISSED you, Mamaw.... ♥

[Backdated entry]. Oh, dear Cincinnati.
It's still home.

xo | cmd

Itty Bitty Koinonia

mo & evan

It's been a long week. Joe's still out of town and the majority of our small group had other unavoidable obligations. That left us with a small but enthusiastic gang of the Prescotts, the Gobles, Becky, myself, and the little kids. 

We had a great time, as always; it's no secret that large or small, this group is incredible and I love having this time with them on Koinonia nights. Evan had a great time too, and he and Mo and their matching shirts had a bunch of fun all night. 

We missed all of our regulars who couldn't attend tonight, but hopefully we'll see you very soon! Thanks again, Tom, for providing the lesson for us tonight. It's been a wild week and this was the perfect way to unwind: friends, fellowship, food, and funny kids :) 

See you tomorrow, folks :)

xo | cmd

Hi, Again, St. Louis :)

ah, the arch....

Joe's manager from Atlanta is still in town helping out at the St. Louis store. The two of them were up and out early to slay another day's worth of work. I stayed back in efforts to clean the house up and get some chores done. I timed it right; they rolled back in just as I was finishing up. After showers and a rescue call to Kallie & Sandy to come and watch Sydni for the evening [thankyouxmillions, girls!!!], we were off to St. Louis.

the dubliner

Since Josh hadn't ever been to St. Louis, our first stop, naturally, was the arch. We parked up by Laclede's Landing and spent the next few hours just roaming our way around downtown: Past the packed stadium [Josh thankfully left his Braves shirt for another day ;), haha], all the way up 8th, and halfway down Washington until we found ourselves at The Dubliner.

hangin' out downtown
the arch | the city | the stadium

josh & joe outside the dubliner

We laughed our way through dinner and spent some time getting to know Josh a little better before we picked our way through the sidewalk crowds for two blocks to the Gelateria. Until tonight, Josh had never tasted gelato, so we were all in for a treat :).

mmm.. gelato!

Once we had some tasty gelato on our tongues, we meandered up to the City Museum, if nothing else than to just show Josh the lobby and the outdoor mazes that comprise just a portion of what that crazy place has to offer. Next time you're here, Josh, we'll take you for a visit.

strange little statue..

The walk back to the car was much quicker than the walk up from the garage; of course we realized once we'd made it all the way back through our self-devised labyrinth trail that Washington was a straight shot. Hah. Oh well.

Joe dropped into a snooze on the way back, leaving Josh and I to discuss the undeniable levels of talent of musical artists [Alison Krauss, Jerry Douglas.... Reba? haha..] and face the standstill traffic mess that was 64, down to one lane. As psychotic as that was, we finally made it back. I got the sitters back home and now I'm calling it for now..

Mother's Day is just around the clock ;)
[sorry 'bout the minor backdating.. hah]

xo | cmd 

Easter 2012

#back.dated.entry,yo.

It's technically Monday right now, but since I hear it's bad safety etiquette - or something - to blog while driving, this is the best I can do.

Easter girl!

So Easter itself pretty much flew right on by. It started early when we were up and at it, en route to our old stomping grounds at New Harmony Baptist Church for the Easter service. It was such a welcome refresher seeing all the familiar faces from our time there; it blew me away at how grown all the smaller kids seemed. Since we'd left, a new pastor has taken the reigns, rendering not only a beautiful service for everyone, but the baptism of little Ashley. As a sidenote, seeing the little kids get baptized, while such a warming feeling, makes me feel all that much older. Given the reason, though, I don't mind one bit! We were blessed to be present for it! My parents joined us, and the lot of us headed to lunch afterwards before trailing back to the apartment and undertake the process of switching everything from our car to my parents' for Sydni's weeklong vacation with them. Since distance is now a small obstacle with us living in IL, it's less frequent that they see her, so a week at a time now is the best conducive solution. Plus, it'll be a small breather for me since Joe will be flying back to Atlanta in a day or two.

my family. love love love.

Anyhow, we changed clothes and headed over to Joe's Aunt Sis' house, where the annual Easter crowd was already gathering. We arrived to find the food already coming out of the oven, and while final preparations were happening in the kitchen, we spent time catching up with family members we hadn't seen in quite some time. Chrissy and I got to talking about her upcoming endeavor of hiking the Appalachian trail, starting at the south end and completing the entire thing. She looks fabulous, and I envy the adventure on which she's about to embark. If I had 6 months of spare time, I'd be all over it. We all sat down to eat mid afternoon, on an invisible schedule centered around the egg hunt. We stayed on track.


three generations of ladies of joe's family: sandy. nicki. katelynn
[joe's cousin] chrissy & me

kiddies getting ready: katie & billy | sydni

dad & joe

This egg hunt is a big deal. Not only do they stash over 225 eggs in their backyard for the findings, they fill those things with everything from the standard chocolate [which is usually half-melted by the sun by the time we get to it, making for lovely kiddie fingers!] all the way up to $20 bills. I happened across one of those golden eggs this year, and am proud to say I finally beat my husband at something: egg hunt earnings. Hahaha. It doesn't take much, I know.

$$$ money eggs! $$$

cousins :)

The next almost 7 hours following the egg hunt can only be summarized as travel time. I made the trip alone back to IL, and after getting caught up in some late night road construction and a carwash to remove the blanket of black bugs plastered on my front end, I'm here, now, just shy of 12:30AM.


gorgeous sunset

It's back to work, tomorrow. Needless to say, I'm out :)
xo | cmd

And Now, For the Tour [& Christmas Part II!]

fiona's | eds.ville

We realized this morning as we were getting moving for the day that we have done this sort of standardized tour for all of our visitors. Seriously. We thought back to Eric, who was the first to come and visit our new house, then JB, Lynn, Tim, Heidi, Paul, Jonathan, my parents, and now Joe's mom & aunt. We also realized that after this visit, unless KP & Sam make their way out in the near future, we should be just about done with our quick version of the IL-MO tour.

In honor of our last tour, we thought we'd spice it up a bit. First, we took them on base to show them where Joe works. We even made a pitstop by the Babots for a quick second, and they were able to see what base housing looks like. From there, we took a turn off the beaten path and  headed up to Edwardsville for a brunch at Fiona's. Now, keep in mind that up until today, I've only heard rumors of the superior quality of this little dive. Meagan and Rob frequent this place seemingly every other time he's here for her lunch hour, and Nancy speaks highly of it as well. So, we thought we'd give it a whirl. We were NOT disappointed. It was quite scrumptious, and at the very end, we ran into Nancy and Karen, who'd been there entire time we had, neither of us noticing the other party. Funny things. 

sandy. syd. joe | shadow of the arch from atop the arch :)

From there, we trekked into Saint Louis, being very mindful to avoid Soulard [mardi gras]. We found ourselves at the arch, and, at the request of our visitors, journeying up into the arch. We'd done that once before, the first time when Eric visited us. It's a nice chance to catch an aerial view of the city, and I suppose it's a must-do for any tourist not planning a trip back anytime soon. 

syd gazing out over st. louis

By the time we'd finished at the arch, we headed back home, ordered pizza, and got down to opening Christmas presents.

Wait.. what? 

merry [part II] Christmas!



Yeah, that's right. We weren't able to make it back to Ohio as originally planned over the Christmas holiday, so we had a very late Christmas here at our house tonight with just the four of us and Sydni. She made out like a bandit, and of course we all got exactly what we'd asked for during the pick-a-name drawing we do each year with his family.

It's been a great day. I hate that it was so short, but we are blessed to have our family.

xo | cmd

Visitors, Continued!

Friday was fiiiiinally hereeeeeeee [yessssss!!!!!]

With no small group in the dugout, and no other scheduled events for the evening, we spent the early evening just tidying up around the place before settling in for some relaxation time before Joe's mom & aunt arrived from Cincinnati. We patiently waited...


pack your bags & head for the dills' :)

 .. and waited...

... and waited.

Apparently, Sandy & Sis [the affectionate nickname for Joe's aunt] had gotten tied up in some traffice in Indiana, so they arrived much later than anticipated. I had finally given in to Sydni's whimpers of sheer toddler exhaustion and put her down to bed, and of course accidentally fell asleep right along with her. It's nearly midnight now, and while Joe's family did arrive safely, they and the rest of my house are fast asleep.

Woops.

We'll pick this up where we left off tomorrow.

xo | cmd

Clean Clean Clean!

I'm not sure where I was for the majority of today, because the bulk of it flew by so quickly. I'm not complaining, don't get me wrong, but it's the days like this that keep me on my toes for hours afterwards in fear of having forgotten to complete some crucial task. *Ohhhh well.

When work let out, it was straight home to clean up around our house, in preparation for Joe's mom and aunt coming to visit us this weekend. I'm excited to see them; it's been a long time since we had a good visit with Joe's mom, and I know she misses Sydni.

So clean clean clean it was, and then we waited.

This place is spotless!

*WHEW.

Company comes tomorrow. Yay! :)  

xo | cmd

Barbie Birthday Bash

Whoaaaa, pink.

I guess I should get used to it, since I do have a daughter, and that daughter has seen at least 15 of the Barbie movies. I'm still struggling to relate, because, while I do remember having Barbies as a kid, I don't remember ever being obsessed with the girly, frilly, pink side of that twiggish Blonde's lifestyle. I know that there's a case of dolls stashed somewhere at my parents' house that serve as remnants of that period of my life; most if not all of them have short hair, because I thought it looked better. I was certainly wrong there, but I hated brushing them all the time, so I dissolved the issue altogether by giving them all bobs.

Anyway, today I was catapulted back to the days of dreamhouses and battery-operated horses that were among the artillery of accessories, friends, add-ons, etc. for Barbie. Joe's niece Katie turns 6 this week, and in honor of the big day, Joe's sister threw her a Barbie-themed birthday bash. All joking aside, it was a great set-up, complete from the matching tablecloth, plates, napkins, cups, and party favors to the quite large, quite delicious, quite pink birthday cake. [[Very nicely done, Nicki - I know that took some work to put everything together, but it looked great!]]

Basically, Katie was blessed with all kinds of Barbie gear, and all the kids spent at least five minutes stuffing their faces full of cake and licking pink icing off their fingers. It was certainly a good time all around, and even nicer to spend some quality time with Joe's family.



happy birthday, katie!

Not only did we see Joe's family, my parents made it down this morning to join us for church and lunch out. It still amazes me that they drive 3 hours to spend 4 with us, then head back, but then again, I think about Sydni and when that point comes, I'm sure we'll be in that same position and the distance won't matter. I love seeing them and Sydni makes it a point that her Nana, her Pappy, and her Mamaw are her favorites.

Now it's en route back to the dreamland *Belleville??* and to the regularly-scheduled work week that awaits us.

Til then.....

xo | cmd

Grandparents | Game Night Pt.2

I was really looking forward to seeing my parents, and Sydni, since we really hadn't seen much of them at all since the Sunday after the wedding. They showed up around 11, and we were quick to get lunch rolling and on the table. Joe's mom and my parents provided all the edibles; altogether it was a chatter-filled, good time.

We headed out to the park with Mom & Dad, to allow Sandy to get some rest before work, and to secretly let Sydni play until she was tuckered out [success!].



hangin' out at uncle jb's

Once we did the customary swapping of carseat, stroller, shoes, clothes, and diapers, Mom & Dad left to head home to Mt. Vernon, and we headed out for another game night at JB's house. Eric met us there for a battle at Trivial Pursuit. In the end, Joe and I came out victorious [not sure how, exactly]. It was well past Sydni's bed time, so home it was.


tired girl!



Tomorrow, we're visiting New Harmony again, and then heading back to Illinois.

Long day.

xo | cmd

Mother's Day 2011 [Day 9]



incredible woman | my mother


Dear Mom,

I feel like each year, you receive a card stating how wonderful you are and how we all wish you the most enjoyable and rewarding Mother's Day, ever. I feel like that's a bit routine, even though we don't really have a template to celebrate.

There aren't many women like you. I would venture to say that there are no other women exactly like you. The life you exude is completely capable of turning heads around you and transferring that contagious positive energy. It wasn't until we no longer lived under the same roof that I realized the full capacity of your love, your generosity, and your heart for everyone and everything in your life. You give, and give, and give, without ever asking for anything in return, and more often than not go silently under-appreciated. Your vitality is indescribable in that it can only be felt by meeting you in person.

You are the example of unconditional love and support that I will model to my daughter. To any other children with whom our future may give us. You are the energy I strive to have still have when I see the years you have. You are the wife my father is blessed to have. You are the pet owner that would save every single one if you could. You're the cook celebrities would covet if they knew. I could go on. Your hospitality is unrivaled.

And then there's your granddaughter. She loves visiting, and I feel completely confident that Nana & Pappy will give her the perfect vacation. My absence is compensated with a peace of mind knowing she is in good hands.

You've taught me compassion, patience, and humility. You educated me in the essential things like diet, exercise, common sense, and determination. Our relationship was not a perfect one, but your consistency is something that as a mother myself I now admire. You watched me make the wrong choices and sheltered me just enough to learn on my own without destroying what I was or could be. You encouraged my faith, and asked me to more or less ask myself the important questions when I found myself splitting hairs at a decision. I will always be indebted to you and your wisdom. I owe you more than just thanks, Mom.

I love you, more than you'll ever know.
I hope that today was indeed the best Mother's Day you've had.

Love Always,
-me

----------------------------------------

I wouldn't dare forget the other mother in my life without whom we would be lost. My mother-in-law is an incredible woman whose generosity and support have helped build us, sustain us, and move us forward. Your son is an equally extraordinary man, undoubtedly so because of your abilities as a mother. I am grateful for all you've done, all you're doing, and all I'm sure you will do for us. Happy Mother's Day, Sandy!


joe & his mother

And last, but most certainly not least, where would I be without my little reason to celebrate this day?! She is tiny, but her impact is much mightier than you'd think. Her smile is contagious, and her laugh makes me feel like nothing else in the world will ever matter. I am blessed and undeserving of her unconditional love, trust, and dependency. She is the driving force behind our little family, and I can't wait for the adventures to come with this little one.

my reason to celebrate!

Happy Mother's Day, to all mothers everywhere. You're one of a kind. :)

♥ | cmd

P.S. - Threw the diet book pretty much out the window today. Bad reflection of my dedication, again. Monday's a new week and we're going 21 for 21 on meals this week. Just you watch.