Double Trouble

Brace yourself for a very unconnected post....I've got a couple of different thoughts/pictures I want to share and none of them are really related.

I LOVE the colors of fall. Don't these pumpkins look gorgeous on my mama's stand?

Aubrey's still loving up on the kitty.  It's amazing that cat even lets Aubrey scoop her up on a daily basis.....but for some reason she continues coming back for more toddler love.

She even recruited a friend/sibling to hang out at the farm with her so we are now the owners of two kittens. My mom's dog tried to quickly do away with the second kitten the moment she stepped foot onto his side of the yard, but after a quick scramble up the tree she was able to escape. Of course, then the kitten was stuck in the tree and it really felt like those children's books where the fireman has to come and rescue the cat from the tree. Lucky for us, the fireman's daughter, our neighbor, happened to be over and she climbed up the tree to rescue the kitty for Aubrey. Later that night when we were lying in bed I brought up to Aubrey how nice it was of Alexis to save her kitty.

Aubrey: Uh huh. Vick. oh no! He kills.

And of course is there a better way to "watch" football than curled up under a blanket with your best girl?

Hashtags

Can we just take a quick moment here to talk about......hashtags? They are everywhere (and by everywhere I mean mostly on instagram but I'm sure their coming to a photo near you soon). I....DON'T....GET.....THEM. I really want to move forward with technology and embrace the hashtag but I just feel like there's a lot of confusion out there about what a hashtag should be.

If you're really in the dark here - a hashtag is that #something that shows up after a photo.

I've seen them done a few ways. Some people use them to catagorize whatever picture they are posting, whether it is by the camera system or filter they used.

I've seen people hashtag every possible subject that could be concluded from the picture. As in:

Look at our new addition! #cats #aubrey #farm #kids #orange #pet

I've seen people try to incorporate the hashtag into the descriptive sentence they are posting, making it almost impossible to read. As in:

New #pet #kitten drinking #freshmilk.

I've seen a lot of people do what I do and avoid the dreaded hashtag altogether.

And then I have one friend who should really be a professional hashtagger.

I'm not really sure how to upload her instagram photos on here, but let me just break down a few of her recent hashtags. We should all take notes. She should teach a college class on the subject.

#stillsummer (next to a picture on the lake taken in September)
#takeaseat (under a photo of a prank false seat performed by a younger brother)
#oceanview #perfecto (under a photo taken from her honeymoon hotel room)
#boatbar #priceless #honeymoon #jealous? (another photo from honeymoon)
#thecamp #drinkingproblems (photo of wine bottles)
#comeback (a photo of Alanis Morissette's new album)
#wilbur #rowdypigs (pigs at the state fair)

I could seriously keep going because they're all so good ..... but the point is that she's really inspiring and I think we should all take a hashtag page from her book.

Wine Tours are my Life

Someone recently told me when they interview people and ask them about themselves, they like to hear the people talk about something other than their kids - so they always ask what the person would do on a day to theirselves. I started thinking about this and quickly came to the realization that I use almost all of my days to myself to go on wine tours. I love them! Even when I can't drink and resign myself to driving.

This past Saturday I went on a wine tour for my good friend Kylie's birthday. As expected, it was a ton of fun. Kylie and I ended up with a little thing going where the server would ask me if I was tasting, I would say, Kylie would inform them of my pregnancy and then I would inform them of Kylie's birthday.

I think one of my favorite parts of the wine tour was our friend Katie's absolute enthusiasm for wineries. At one winery she kept walking around and saying I want to buy this place! with the exact same amount of excitement with each retelling of her goals.

Also, the games I was subjected to by my dearest friend, Caton, in the car really made the entire trip. And yeah....so I couldn't remember that the capitol of Poland is Warsaw....so I learned a little something....And Mike had difficulty with the rules in every game....but it really wouldn't be a car ride with Caton if there wasn't games.

Pregnancy Updates

I'm not sure if anyone really cares how my pregnancy is going, but I feel like I'm neglecting this child by not updating you all. When I was pregnant for Aubrey I posted weekly updates and here I am halfway through my pregnancy and this is only my second mention of it on here. Neglectful.

Of course, now that I'm sitting down to update - I feel like I have nothing to say. The baby is kicking like crazy already and has been for the past few weeks. This is something I did not feel quite so early with Aubrey. I also feel like I am huge already and if I keep up at this rate, I will surely explode before I hit forty weeks. Finally, the amount of food I can consume is ridiculous. I don't remember increasing my food consumption all that much during Aubrey's pregnancy. Appararently I'm really taking the eating for two thing to heart this time. I use this pregnancy as an excuse for unabashed glutony on a daily basis.

That's about all that's new over here. Aubrey makes sure to say hello to the baby everyday and rub my belly which I find to be all kinds of cute (it's much cuter when you're daughter is rubbing your belly than a random stranger in the grocery store). Of course once in a while she gets confused about where the baby is (is it in the belly or the breasts - both are growing at such an abnormal rate it's really hard to fault her the misjudgement).

Cats

Aubrey adopted a kitten yesterday. If you ask her what the kitten's name is she will flutter between saying Boots or Kitty or just completely ignoring the question. If you ask her what color the cat is she will tell you red, if you tell her the kitten is orange, she will tell you you are wrong.

I called Martin yesterday around noon to make sure he didn't have any issues getting the stitches from his wisdom teeth removed. He ignored my question and said,

I have some bad news.

I thought he had some bad news.

Me: Oh no, what?
Martin: Aubrey......has........a cat.
Me: Oh, I know. So what's the big deal?
Martin: I'm just not really a cat person.
Me: Well, didn't you have pet cats on the farm when you were growing up. I know we did.
Martin: Yeah, but they were barn cats.
Me: THIS is a barn cat.
Martin: I just thought if we were going to get a pet it would be a dog.

To say that Aubrey man-handles the cat would be an understatement. It's all done out of love....but its not any type of love I'd like to be receiving. Yesterday evening, after an hour and a half of being tormented by Aubrey's love the kitten decided she had enough and was so scared she literally shit herself.....all over Aubrey's arm. It was about this time I decided maybe dinner and a bath would be a good idea.

This evening Aubrey thought she would give the kitten a bath....by dropping it in some fresh mud puddles. Needless to say, if the kitten sticks around until next week - I'll be impressed.

Yes!!!

Lately, I've gotten into the habit of texting my best friend, Caton, whenever there is something exciting going on that somehow brings her to mind.

Sunday
Me: Wearing my Spiller jersey!
Caton: Yes!!!

Tuesday
Me: Um in a very hungry drive between stores I stopped into a random pizza place in gates. Chicken finger subs that can compete with Barre Deli. Finally!!!
Caton: Yes!!!

Thursday
Me: You should watch The Mindy Project on Hulu. You can watch the pilot before it airs for another three days. I'm watching right now. Looks like it's gonna be fun
Caton: Yes!!!

It was at this time that I noticed all my messages were bringing the same response.

Me: I think you can probably just get an autoresponse to all my texts because they all elicit the same response. lol
Me: Seriously that has been your response to my last three texts.
Me: Down to the number of explanation points.

I was sort of hoping she was going to keep the party going and respond to my realization with another whole-hearted Yes!!! but she must have been worried that I would actually think she had an autoresponse on my texts because she mixed it up:

Caton: That is so funny.
Caton: I did not even realize!

Anyway, I feel like getting a yes with three exclamation points response to a text message so many times in a row is just extra reassurance that I am awesome friend. Or, at the very least, consistent.

A Sleeping House

 

 

I went to deliver some pumpkins with my mom tonight. I returned to a sleeping household. Martin had his wisdom teeth pulled on Monday so he's been a little under the weather this week. He went into the procedure with high hopes of a super quick recovery (he even told his boss that he might come in to work that afternoon!) He didn't go back to work the day of procedure but did go into work at 4:30 the next morning. He's been working every day this week, but with hugely puffed up cheeks and a lot of pain. He's basically been avoiding talking. I pretty much feel like we've been in a fight all week because we've barely communicated. It's depressing. Wednesday night, other than a few comments exchanged over the news - this was our conversation:

 

Me: If I make macaroni and cheese, can you eat it?

Martin: No.

 

This evening was much better and he seemed a lot more talkative.

 

Me: You seem a lot better today, are you feeling a lot better?

Martin: Well I think I'm getting over the hump. But I have mostly decided to make it an issue of mind over matter. If I keep sulking all the way through Friday people are going to think I'm a complainer. 

Anyway, that's what's going on over here. Just two roommates living under the same roof, sleeping in the same bed, but not really talking. Here's to hoping next week is filled with better communication.

The Buffalo Bills and Chicken Tacos

Ever since I took Martin to a football game last year, I've been really excited about watching football. I've become a huge Buffalo Bills Fan. Unfortunately for me, the game I took Martin to see was the second to last game of the season so I've had a long time to wait to rekindle my appreciation for the sport. Needless to say, I was very excited about the season opener on Sunday and even more excited because my friend Michelle was coming to hang out and watch it with us!

I made chicken tacos for the event which were equally as exciting as the game (which was a huge bust but I got a chance to wear my Bills jersey while eating delicious food, so who can complain?) I am already contemplating how amazing this same recipe would be with beef or pork and have big plans for hosting future football Sundays.

Chicken Tacos. Of course, I found this recipe on pinterest.

Throw 5-6 Chicken Breast in a crockpot with a packet of taco seasoning and a jar of salsa. I only had 1 pound of chicken and I didn't have any salsa. And I never buy taco seasoning (it's so easy to make your own!). Anyway, I just threw the chicken I had in the crockpot with a jar of enchillada sauce. I set the crockpot on high for 5 hours and then turned it down to warm until Michelle arrived. The chicken just shredded itself to pieces and it was absolutely amazing. I think next time I would put a jar of diced green chilis in there just to give it a little extra kick. But....mmmm....so good.

Zac Brown Band

See those two up there? A lot of people think they look similar. Martin, in an effort to be modest did not wear a knit hat to the concert last night and instead stuck with a trusty ball cap, but was still stopped by at least ten people either saying Hey, It's Zac Brown  or asking him what he was doing in the crowd instead of being on the stage (clearly for people to be having those type of thoughts while the actual Zac Brown was on stage there was a significant amount of drinking going down.) In any event, he totally pulled it off. Especially since his beard has grown significantly since the above photo (taken a few months ago, shortly after a haircut) and now more accurately represents the fuller look of Zac Brown.

And the concert itself.....incredible. You forget how many awesome songs someone has until you here him in concert. Hit after hit after hit. Along with a few new ones that haven't been recorded yet but that will be sure to become hits when they are. Also.....his voice. Every song sounded as if it was off a recording. Incredible!

And probably one of my favorite memories of the night was Tom experiencing the smell of second hand pot for the first time. When we arrived at the concert Martin made a mention that he could smell someone smoking. Tom immediately said he had never smelled it before and couldn't pick the smell out of the air. By the drive home he was explaining to us how you can definitely tell the different grade of marijuana by the smell. So in three and a half hours he went from a virgin smeller to classified expert on the situation. That's a pretty good learning curve.

Books. Books. Books.

Remember when I lamented over the fact that Aubrey didn't have the patience to sit through a book. When I was worried that my child would not a reader because she didn't have the attention span to read a book at bedtime, let alone have a favorite.

I have memorized Good Night Moon. Along with a few other favorite Sesame Street Board Books. For someone that has seen Sesame Street a total of three times if at all, that girl really does have a thing for Elmo.

Every night before bed and every morning when we wake up and if its the weekend at least three occasions during the day we read a series of books. 8 times in a row. Don't get me wrong, I love it and I'm thrilled that Aubrey has developed the attention span to sit through Good Night Moon on repeat for a half an hour - but I'm now anxiously awaiting the day when I can read her a really good book - like Harry Potter.

What, you think its exciting that there's a picture of a cow jumping over the moon and three bears sitting on chairs and a quiet old lady whispering hush.....wait until I read you this....straight up Magic!

So, yes, book crisis....averted.

Sunday Funday

I had all intentions of writing a post about yet another amazing Sunday this past weekend on Sunday evening but somehow life got in the way and I'm just getting around to it now. I love Sundays and this past one was no exception. After church, Martin and I decided to have a family picnic. We were going to picnic at a small state park nearby with a lighthouse, but upon seeing the entry fee of $6 per car, we decided we could have just as much fun on one of the picnic tables lining the long entrance.

This really turned out to be a great option because we were all alone so we had lots of room to play with a soccer ball, cuddle up for pictures....

And of course, look super cool in Daddy's sunglasses.

The Loophole

* A conversation that took place over a month ago *

Me: Hey! So I know you are having sunflowers in your wedding and I saw this really cute thing on pinterest with sunflower bouquets wrapped in twine on the bottom instead of ribbon. It looked amazing and I think you should do it!
Amber: Ok, you'll have to show me the picture.
Me: Well.....umm....I don't know if I can find it. You see, when I see really cute wedding ideas I always want to pin them - because they're so cute, but I'm afraid people are going to think I'm planning my second wedding or something. And I'm obviously not.
Amber: That seem like way to much thought.

* Relaying above conversation to another friend *

Judy: I would definitely read into that!

But.... I have found the perfect loophole! I create pinboards for my friends that are getting married. That way, when I find ideas that would be perfect for them I can pin them without the guilt of feeling like I'm doing something I shouldn't be? And now I can seriously look at wedding boards to my heart's delight because I have people I need to pin for.

This may sound crazy to you, but I got married in a time when there was no pinterest! so I feel like I was really cheated this portion of the wedding planning. It was just a fluke that I happened to have mason jars at my wedding and there was no website telling me that pictures of your dress hanging by itself are super cute! Also, I really like weddings and sending ideas in the direction of friends is oddly invigorating.

Caton: So, who's Lexy????
Me: Oh, she's my friend from work. She's getting married next summer.
Caton: I'm kind of jealous of all these people like Lexy and Judy that get a wedding board on your pinterest.
Me: Oh really! I can create a board for you! When I was looking for stuff for them there was actually a ton of stuff that reminded me of you. I just thought it would be weird for me to create a board for you, I didn't want you to think I'm being presumptious about anything or nothing or being pushy.
Caton: I just like to know you're thinking about me.
Me: Ok great! I'll make a board for you tonight!