Carter's 1st Day of School

Today was Carter's first day of the 2012-2013 school year. It was also his first day at a new school Interactive Academy. He attended a different school February through May of this year but I decided to make a switch after hearing great things about IA from neighbors and after going to visit and finding that they have a full size gymnastics studio in-house. The kids get to use the studio during gym class and when it's too cold to go outside. Sweet! I wish this was an option when I was in school. I enrolled Carter in a one week long summer camp at IA at the beginning of August so he would have some familiarity with the school before starting today. His schedule is M, W, F from 8:30am-3pm. I know this may seem like a long day for a two year old but they nap for 1.5-2 hours of that time.  This is a significant increase from his schedule earlier this year which was T, Th 8:30am-12:20pm, after which he would come home and nap for 2 hours. The difference now is (in addition to the extra day) that I get to utilize nap time to get some stuff done outside of the house.

I was worried about how Carter would react when I dropped him off this morning because he has literally been connected at my hip all summer. If we hadn't already bonded we definitely solidified our bond during our two week solo road trip in June. "Carter, you're my boy!" (uhhh...literally) Anyhow, I was afraid he may have some separation anxiety. It took us about 10 minutes to get from the parking lot to the classroom because he seemed to be so fascinated with all the other kids and parents walking into the school. Then when we got to his classroom, his teacher greeted him with a "Hey Carter! So good to see you!" I thought this would be enough to warm him up so I took this as my opportunity to make a run for it. Not so fast. He was right behind me with that look of betrayal on his face that only kids can make. I like to call it the "you're not leaving me, are you" look. Darn it! So I tried again by coaxing him into the classroom and saying "Have fun Carter. See you later." That's our signature goodbye. I can only assume it worked because as soon as I said it I turned to walk out the door before giving him a chance to respond. I didn't hear any tears or screams as I left so I think he was alright.

At round 10:15am I received a phone call from my neighbor who was calling to tell she had seen Carter at school and that he seemed to be having a good time. She takes a boot camp class at IA and saw his class in the gymnastics studio. She said he was the most talkative of his classmates. No surprise there. We definitely have a little motor mouth on our hands. The funny thing is I knew he was going to be a motor mouth before he could even talk. He would just always make noises and used a lot of gibberish to try to communicate. My neighbor told me that he just kept saying "Mommy and Daddy coming soon." Awww...it just breaks my heart. Not really. Five hours later still counts as "soon" right? When I picked him up that afternoon he was all smiles as I thought he would be and his teacher said he had a great day. By Friday I'm sure there will be no issues at drop off and all he'll say is "Bye-Bye Mommy. See you later."

Here are a couple of pics from his first day.

Carter's First Movie Experience

My dad mentioned that he wanted to take Carter to the movies when we were visiting last weekend. I told him I didn't think it was a good idea. Until today, I hadn't taken Carter to a movie theater because I didn't think his attention span would allow him to sit still for 90 minutes in a dark room (Mickey Mouse Clubhouse excluded). Due to a unique set of circumstances, I decided to test that theory today. 

I went to pick up my niece and nephew around 2:30 pm today for a 2-day sleepover. Carter was scheduled for a haircut at 4:30 pm (Jimmy has been fired as the barber) so I proposed that the youngsters go to see Spiderman at 3:30 pm and I come and pick them up when the movie ended at 6 pm. Great plan, except that I still had time to kill before Carter's haircut. I decided that we would watch the Disney movie "Brave" for an hour and then leave for the haircut. I really would have preferred Madagascar or Ice Age because I think the animal characters would have a better chance at piquing his interest. However, the timing wasn't right for those movies so we had to go with what was playing.

We arrived at the theater at 3 pm and Spiderman didn't start until 3:30 pm so initially all four of us started watching "Brave". Carter started off well. He was laughing and pointing at the screen and calling out "trees" and "horsey" (very loud I might add). Then he started taking turns climbing into my seat and then climbing into my niece's seat. Then he turned around in his seat, stood up, and started waving at the people behind him. I still thought we would make it through our planned hour...that is, until my niece and nephew excused themselves to head over to Spidey. As soon as they left, Carter looked at me like "what's going on" and began whining "I wanna go too." Now, I'm that parent everyone is wishing would get up and remove her child from the theater. Well, I obliged; but only after he started throwing his "GiGi Bear" on the floor and yelling out "Noooooo" every time I picked it up. Unfortunately, in my effort to leave quickly and quietly, I forgot my purse and had to go back and get it. I was kind of bummed because the movie was actually good and I wanted to stay and watch it. Guess I'll just have to add it to my Netflix queue.

After we left the theater, we headed over to the children's play area in the mall to pass the remaining 20 minutes before heading to his haircut appointment. This was a much better option and the one I should have chosen from the start. Oh well...at least I now know for sure that he is not ready for the movie theater. I'll try again in a few months. 

Road Trip Parts II and III

We stayed busy in Atlanta. Thursday (6/21) we went swimming in the morning and then to the park in the afternoon. Friday Carter and I spent most of the day with my Aunt Carolyn and cousins LaCara and Maiela. I haven't seen them in over a year so it was nice to catch up. Friday night, Michon and I hit the town for a ladies' night. We went to a cozy restaurant in Buckhead called Georgia Grille. If you're in the area and love enchiladas and/or quesadillas, check this place out. I had a Lobster Enchilada and Michon had a Shrimp Enchilada. We both loved our food and the Key Lime Margaritas we had with it. Our plan was to hang out at a lounge afterwards but being that neither one of us knew where the hot spots are, we decided to drive around through our old stomping grounds in Buckhead. Apparently, the old party area that was stacked with bars, lounges, restaurants, and clubs has been demolished to make room for a new live/work/shop development similar to Atlantic Station but with a Rodeo Drive feel. Unfortunately, all it is right now is a construction site that, according to Michon, has been stalled due to lack of funding.  Seeing the construction site was like attending the funeral of my single girl party days. I spent a lot of fun nights in my late teens and twenties there. We finally ended up at STK where we agreed to stay long enough to have one drink. As we stood by the bar checking out the scene of twenty-something females and forty-something males, we agreed that we didn't miss being single. We also agreed that we were "old," which was confirmed when, in sync, we headed for the door as soon as the last sip of our drinks trickled down our throats. We were home by midnight but it felt like 2 am.

Saturday morning we had brunch with my cousin Marcus who just finished his junior year at Morehouse. We're so proud of him! Then we headed to Georgia State to watch Maiela, who just finished her freshman year in high school, play in a bball tourney. It brought back some memories of my high school basketball days. Especially since she runs point like I did. I must say, her skills are better than mine ever were and she still has three years to get better. I hope to see her playing college ball in a few years.

After the game, we rushed back to Michon's house for baby Morgan's 1st birthday party. This is when the real fun began. Can we say seven kids all under the age of 6. Did I mention that their favorite game involved everyone running to and from the couch while screaming and yelling "Baby Carter," who somehow became the unofficial mascot. Maybe because his scream had the highest pitch. Even baby Morgan tried to get in on the action...from her high chair no less. It was a lot of fun to see the kids have so much fun but the screaming started to get old after 10-15 minutes so we had to find another game that was more sensitive on the ears. By the time the party was over, I felt like I was drunk, high, or a combination of both. My ears were ringing, my vision was blurry, and every time I tried to stand up my balance was just a little unstable. Who knew kids could reek so much havoc.

Sunday morning we enjoyed an uplifting church service before packing up and hitting the road to Pensacola. (Thank you Sherman for helping me load up the car. I think we both almost passed out from the heat.) It took us about 6 hours to get to Pensacola, which was nothing after the drive to Atlanta. My plan was to stop at the first Starbucks we came across to get my new pick me up drink, a Tall Chai Latte with a shot of espresso. Why did we drive almost 2 hours before seeing a Starbucks? I didn't think it was possible to travel that far in this country without a Starbucks. I was shocked and appalled and for the first time realized we weren't in civilization anymore. :-) I finally found one in Auburn, AL. After some quick caffeine, we were on the road again. We next stopped in Montgomery to eat the lunch I packed for us and to stretch our legs. Most of the drive in Florida was done on a local highway that weaved through small towns and farmland. On the major expressways you can forget you're driving through the South but when you're on a two lane road passing mobile home parks and houses on cinder blocks I was quickly reminded that I was in a world very different from the one I live in everyday. I felt very thankful and blessed to have the great fortune, family, and friends that I do.

Pensacola was great. It was our recovery stop after being in a highly charged house full of kids. When we arrived Sunday evening, my Uncle George took us to Cracker Barrel (apparently, one of his regular spots since the servers knew his name and sat him at his usual table). When we got back to the house my Aunt Alexa was getting out of a taxi from the airport after a 10 day cruise in Italy and Greece. What I saw next gave me hope that Jimmy and I will still be giddy in love in 20 years. As soon as George saw the taxi he immediately turned off his car (in the middle of the driveway) and raced over to the taxi to give Alexa a big bear hug and tender kiss. I don't think I've ever seen him that excited. It was so cute! In that moment, he forgot that Carter and I even existed.

The next day (I think it was Monday 6/25 but honestly I've started to lose track of days and dates) we explored Pensacola heading to downtown, the famous fish market Joe Patti's, an awesome new concept store called The Bodacious Olive, and the beach. The Bodacious Olive is a store dedicated to selling freshly infused olive oils and balsamic vinegars. It was like a wine tasting bar but with olive oil and vinegar. You could taste as many flavors as you wanted and they even offered bread to dip. We settled on the Wild Mushroom and Sage infused olive oil and Cranberry Pear White Balsamic Vinegar. We also bought some freshly made penne to go with the shrimp we were planning on buying from Joe Patti's. We were planning on making the pasta dish for dinner but made the mistake of stopping by a world market grocer and having the most delicious sandwich I've ever had. It had tabouleh, pesto, and hummus, and was served on warm french bread. Oh my goodness! I know most of you won't think that sounds appealing but...oh my goodness...delicious! Needless to stay, I wasn't hungry for dinner so we had to postpone the pasta dish for lunch the next day.

Tuesday (6/26) we decided to stay low key and rest up for the trip ahead of us. We went swimming in the afternoon but pretty much veg'ed out for the rest of the day. Especially after eating the yummy penne pasta with wild mushrooms, zucchini, shrimp, and the infused olive oil we bought. Today we packed up, went to lunch at a lovely restaurant on the marina, and then hit the road for Jacksonville, where we are now. The drive was going smoothly until not far past Tallahassee, I-10 E was shut down at I-75. The worst part was that there were no signs directing drivers to the detour. In fact, the only way I found the detour was to pull over at a rest stop and look it up on my phone. Who does that! What if I didn't have a phone with internet. I would have been out of luck. The detour ended up adding at least an hour to our already long trip. By the time we got to our hotel it was 10:45 pm. I get out of the car and walk around to Carter's door so we can go inside to check in and as soon as I open his door his Mega Blocks start pouring out and fall to the ground. I had to laugh to keep from crying. Then, as if things couldn't get worse, the desk clerk informs me that there has been a water main break and that the water in the hotel will be shut off from 11 pm to 6 am. Fabulous!

As you can see, by the fact that I'm typing this at 3:39 in the morning, I still haven't wound down from the trip. That espresso stuff really works. I'm going to make myself go to sleep now so I can continue on our journey to Savannah in the morning where we'll be reunited with Jimmy after a week and a half away from him. We miss you honey and can't wait to see you!

Here are a few more pics from the trip so far.

Mama Nan with the kids.

The whole crew, one year older.

Carter with Uncle George and Aunt Alexa.

Even after the long drive, he's all smiles. You just gotta love this kid.

Road Trip, Part I

On Monday, Carter and I embarked on what will be a 3 week road trip in the South. Our first stop is Atlanta where we are visiting friends and family. Then we are moving on to Pensacola, Florida and finally to Savannah, Georgia and Hilton Head, South Carolina. For the first few legs of the trip, Carter and I are riding solo until Savannah where we meet up with Jimmy. It took us about 11 hours to get to Atlanta. We only had to stop twice which exceeded my expectations with a 2 year old. We stopped once at a rest stop in Kentucky to use the restroom and eat a snack and then we stopped in Nashville at a Chick Fil-A with a playroom to eat dinner and to give Carter a chance to burn some energy. It took us about 5 hours from Nashville to Atlanta and Carter was amazing. He didn't cry, whine, complain...nothing. He just alternated between watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on my phone and looking out the window taking in the scenery. Every once in awhile he would call out an airplane or a truck he saw but for the most part he was quiet and looked to be in deep contemplation (he must get that from me). I know most parents think their kids are awesome...but my kid is the awesomist (yes, I did just make up a word). We arrived at my friend Michon's house around 11 pm we both collapsed in the bed. Unfortunately, Carter was up bright and early the next morning at 7:30.

The next day, I unpacked our luggage and then decided to go for a run through the neighborhood.  I asked Michon about some potential routes and she nonchalantly said her neighborhood had some hills so I should get a good workout. I mapped out a 3 mile route on my phone, put Carter in the jogging stroller, and hit the street. When I came to the first street I was supposed to turn on and noticed that the hill was so steep I couldn't see the bottom of it, I knew this run was going to be shorter than I had anticipated. I also decided to skip that street and revise my route. Unfortunately, I quickly ran into a dead end and had to turn around and brave the hill. Just to give you an idea of how steep this hill was, there is an emergency brake strap on my stroller that you are supposed to wear around your wrist in case the stroller gets away from you. I have NEVER worn that strap around my wrist until this run. So I'm jogging very slowly down this hill and as soon as I round the corner I notice there is an equally steep hill going up. "I can make it," I'm thinking in my head. "Let's do this!" When I get to the top of the hill (or what I thought was the top of the hill) I don't go more than a half of a block before the street starts to ascend again. Now mind you, I couldn't see this second uphill because it was around a curve. As soon as I saw it, I knew the stop sign at the top of the hill would be my turn around point. On my way up, a police offer passed me in a squad car and waved. And then I saw him again on my return route. I know he was following me just to make sure I didn't pass out. Oh...did I mention it was 80 degrees and sunny outside.

We eventually made it back to Michon's house after running just over 2 miles in 23 minutes (I would normally finish 2 miles in more like 16-17 minutes) and I was drenched in sweat and felt like I had run 4-5 miles. I cursed out Michon later that day for not giving me a full description of "the hills" in her neighborhood. It was a great workout but I don't know if I'll be doing it again while I'm here. Definitely not with a stroller.

Today, we ventured out to the Atlanta Zoo. Michon has 3 kids, two boys who are 4 and 3 years old and a girl who will be 1 year old next week. Add Carter to the bunch at 2 years old and we had the age spectrum covered. We had two strollers (one a double stroller), two backpacks filled with packed lunches and diapers, and 4 kids excited to see some animals. We had a great time. We saw giraffe, zebras, a rhinoceros, flamingos, monkeys, a tiger, a bear, kangaroos, gorillas, and a panda. Carter did pretty well but I decided early on not to let him walk on his own. He was going every which way except in the direction we were going. Instead, I let him ride in the stroller until we got to each destination and then let him get out and look at the animals. He knew the giraffe, birds, and monkeys by name which was pretty cool to hear. After we took a break to eat our packed lunch, we headed over to the train for the kids to have one last treat before heading home. However, by the time we got there, Carter was knocked out in his stroller and I knew better than to wake him. He didn't wake up until we were almost back at the house.

We had a great day. Managing 4 kids proved to be sometimes challenging but we made it through unscathed. Tomorrow morning is swimming. That should be fun!

Here are some pics from today.

Mothers Day Blessings

I had a great Mothers Day weekend. It kicked off Friday night when I met up with some girlfriends for dinner and drinks. We shared a lot of laughs and it set the tone for the rest of the weekend. Saturday morning I got up early to meet my running buddies for an "easy" 4 mile run on the Monon Trail. The weather was perfect and the run was so easy I didn't really break a sweat which I was hoping for since I had just gotten my hair freshly done the day before. Then I hurried home to get ready for a date with my husband. We planned to go out to lunch and then to a movie. Thankfully two of our friends (a couple) agreed to babysit Carter while we were out. We went to eat at a restaurant near downtown Carmel named Divvy. It is a new small plates restaurant with minimalist decor but still with a cool vibe. The food was yummy and we complimented it with a bottle of Pinot Grigio. After lunch, we headed to catch a 3 p.m. showing of "Avengers." I was already dozing when the (20 minutes of) previews ended and I was definitely sleep within the first 10 minutes of the movie. Jimmy already knew it was coming so he graciously offered his shoulder; although he did give me a couple of nudges to try to wake me up (emphasis on the "try"). While I was awake for some parts, none of those times were during the good parts. I couldn't even begin to tell you what happened in the story. Message: do not drink a bottle of wine and gorge yourself with food just before going to sit in a dark theater with comfy chairs for 3 hours if you actually want to watch the movie. Anyhow, after putting Carter to bed, Jimmy cooked dinner for us: steamed lobster tail with melted butter, fried potatoes (his specialty), and a green salad. It was yummy and hit the spot. We watched a recorded episode of our favorite tv show "Revenge," and then called it a night.

Today, we woke up early for church where the pastor finished up a series on marriage entitled "Marriage Unscripted." The overarching message was that a husband and wife should be friends and always nurture their friendship together over things like physical attraction, romance, etc. because it is the friendship that will help the marriage endure. I thought that was fitting because Jimmy and I had such a great time yesterday, mostly at lunch (when I was awake), talking and laughing with each other. We don't always have the opportunity to do that with our busy schedules so the time together meant that much more. We also took the opportunity to spend more quality time together this afternoon during Carter's nap and before Jimmy had to jet off to Kentucky for work. I finished off my Mothers Day evening with the one who made this day possible for me-my little man Carter. After Jimmy left, we headed to the park, ate dinner, and then took a walk around the neighborhood with our dog Sarge. All in all, I would have to say that my 2nd Mothers Day was a complete success.  

Delicious White Bean Turkey Chili

Today I was planning on making Giada de Laurentiis' White Bean Chicken Chili for dinner but when I got to Whole Foods they only had ground turkey so I had to substitute. Her recipe also calls for swiss chard but I decided to use kale instead. I also left out the onions because Jimmy is allergic. Here is my adapted recipe:

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 teaspoons minced garlic
1 lb ground turkey thigh
1 bunch kale, stem removed and torn into small pieces
2 ears of corn, kernels cut off and reserved in a bowl
2 cans great northern beans, drained and rinsed
4 cups low-sodium chicken stock
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon ground cumin
3/4 tablespoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons flour
grated parmesan cheese

In a large and deep pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Stir in the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Add the ground turkey, salt, cumin, oregano, chili powder, and black pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until turkey is cooked through, about 8-10 minutes. Stir in flour until combined. Add the beans, kale, corn, and chicken stock. Stir ingredients well to combine and simmer for 50-60 minutes or until the liquid has reduced by about half and the chili has thickened. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.

Ladle the chili into serving bowls and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Old Habits Never Change

So we all know that Mothers' Day comes every year around the second week of May. And even though I have had mothers (mom and stepmom) for all of my life and I am now a mother myself, the very well-deserved occasion always seems to sneak up on me. The only option I'm usually left with is sending flowers through an online carrier that does next day delivery. Now I know what you're thinking ("aren't your mothers reading this")...probably, but if they don't know I'm a procrastinator by now, then they will never never know me (I stole that from Teddy Pendergrass...sort of). But I digress (shout out Fred). This year I decided I was not going to send flowers because the last time I sent flowers through an online vendor they turned out to look nothing like the vibrant picture on the website. Sigh. While I made this decision several weeks before Mothers' Day, I still found myself spending a couple of hours in front of my computer today searching for appropriate gifts. Darn it...it snuck up on me again. After searching several websites and soliciting opinions from others, I finally made my decision. Unfortunately I can't tell you what I purchased because I don't want my moms to find out before they receive the gifts. All I have to say is thank goodness I have an Amazon Prime Membership that includes free 2-day shipping. I just made the cutoff to have the gifts arrive before Mothers' Day. Another Mothers' Day disaster averted. Whew! Until next year...

Happy Mothers' Day to all (who qualify)!