What Should Have Been ...

I should have boarded a plane to New York City yesterday ... bags packed without any sippy cups or diapers ... just my husband and myself ... flying to the Big Apple.



We would have checked into the Renaissance Hotel NYC 57 where I'm sure I would have taken pictures of every lamp and pillow. There most likely would have been a Pretty Woman scene take place in the bathtub, complete with mountains of bubbles and a horrible rendition of Prince's "Kiss".



We would have toured the City before heading to the Highline Ballroom today.



This is when I would start to have heart palpitations and would need the assistance of a paper bag. This is when I would grab my husband's arm a lot and say "Can you believe it?!"
Then I would have met her.



We would have enjoyed a rather fabulous concert by the amazing Christina Perri and I would have had numerous pictures taken with her. We would have been BFFs. It would have happened. But alas, I did not win the contest to fly to NYC, stay in a luxurious hotel, and meet Christina Perri. I did not win the chance to make Ms. Perri my BFF.
Sigh.
I shall continue to enjoy her music from the comforts of my living room ... the floor littered with blocks, Princess shoes, Honeycomb crumbs, and puddles of water my 6 year old just knocked over in one her cheer routines. I shall continue to fight the volume battle, and strain to hear her talented vocals over SpongeBob and "Let's Gooooo" cheers { over and over and over again }.
Sigh.

{ Since Google is embedding my video as a big black box, you must go HERE to enjoy one of my favorite songs }

With a Joyful Ring ...

The clarinet, The clarinet, Goes Doodley-doodley-doodley-doodley-det

I don't even know if those are the right lyrics.

But this always makes me smile.

Smorgasbord Day

The most exciting part of my day, to date, happened when the Baby Man took off his diaper and ran around the living room.

I failed to mention what he left in his diaper for me to clean up ...

On that note ... today has consisted of randomly compiled events that leave me grasping for some sort of control. I'm in charge of the tv remote, which means it's OFF at the moment, and you can only imagine the wonderful things about THAT I've heard all day ... the big kids are having arts and crafts time at the table and the lil' fella is refusing his nap {for the second day in a row}. I have been on a mission to sell as many water bottles as I can for the cheerleader's fundraiser, and have also spent hours scouring the internet for jobs for the husband {we're SERIOUS about moving South}. I made college food for lunch (ramen noodles) and I'm pretty sure my lil' man ate cereal out of the box for breakfast this morning ... but I can't remember since I'm a little blurry from sleep deprivation. Note to self: Never read a serial killer documentary before going to bed. Never. Don't even Google Jeffrey Dahmer. It will keep you up until 3:30am. True Story.

So as the day winds down, I still need to shower and get the cheer bag ready to go for this evening's practice. Baked Ziti is waiting to be thrown together, and triple baths are on my late-late evening agenda. We're carpooling to the football field with sweet, sweet friends tonight ... and I shall spend at least two hours sweating in the setting sun. But I don't mind. Because my six year old will be on top of the pyramid, grinning and shouting and clapping ... and I will relinquish all control of the day ... and just watch my girl do her thang.

And that will be my day folks. Another day down, one without much purpose ... but will still be remembered.

As the day the baby man ran free, nekked as a jaybird, with a brown butt.

*** I also have a food / recipe blog where I very amateurly share my dinners with you. Check it out when you're hungry ... Bow your head, and Everyone Say Grace! ***

Sweet Summer Time

Some of my favorite summer moments as a child were spent in an inflatable pool. I would stretch out, the crisp southern grass stabbing my back and legs through the thin pool bottom, and dip my hair into the ice cold water. I never had the patience to wait for the water to warm as soon as it was filled from the hose. I was always the first in and last out ... and sometimes I would scare my siblings to completely avoid the pool. Some days a shark would be attacking me, biting my leg and I'd scream and splash my way into at least one hour of a solitary swim. One time I convinced them I had become a mermaid monster and if they dared to enter, I'd be forced to eat them.

On those hot summer days, I would stay under water until my toes and fingers crinkled and my skin blistered from the sun. They were the best days of my young life. I loved every minute of it.


And now my own children will have those memories.

Those sweet summer memories.

Nice to Meet You

Introductions are sometimes awkward, aren't they? I'll make this easy on you :) I'll do all the talking ... and you just ... read. Haha!
My name is Amanda. I grew up in South Carolina, spending my childhood below the Bible belt. My parents have been married for thirty-three years and have five children. I'm the second child, first girl in that mix. Growing up in a big family has been crazy, yet very rewarding. I wish my 29 year old self could have told my 15year old self how cool it is to be part of a big family ... whose parent's are still married too!
I myself have been married seven years this fall. My husband { aka "the man" } was in the Military when we met. It was an instant connection. We fell hard and fast for one another, marrying less than a year after we "officially met" ... there's a story there folks! :)
I became a Mom in 2005. For the last six years, my three children have been my life. I have two girls, ages six and four, and one boy who will be two this fall. You'll hear about them all.the.time, I'm sure.
I love them more than my own life. And I have learned a lot about motherhood from them ... things that I will be sharing with you. It's not always pretty but it's The Truth { title of tag to come }.

I love things. Lots of things. The beach, reading, scrapbooking, vintage pretty soft things, reading on the beach, antique stores, photography, brownies, laughing, ladies nights out, empty laundry hampers, good music, sparkley vampires, the soothing sound of the ocean, salt spray gently stinging my legs, cooking, baking, forensic tv ... just to name a few ;)
There is a lot more to me than who I am surrounded by and things that make me smile ... and that, my dear friends, is the reason for this blog. You'll find it out soon enough. Things like, the fact that I am suffering from endometriosis ... and how I love my Jesus and am enjoying learning about and growing with my Savior!
Everyone has a story to tell. This is just the tip of my iceberg.
Nice to meet you all :)

To New Beginnings

"Blossom where you're planted"

Those are hard words to swallow when your sea legs are struggling to breathe in the mountain air. I feel claustrophobic in land locked states. I suppose that's what happens after spending four years on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, breathing salt water and humidity, staying sunburnt and sweaty, and embracing the beach life style. To say that I miss it is an understatement. One day ... I'll get back home. Until then. I'm struggling to blossom where I've been planted.

I've recently revamped this lil' old blog, dusted off the keyboard, and am starting fresh. This is where I want to share the lil' happenings of my day. We can rejoice together, complain together, and share with one another ... or I can continue talking to myself. Either way, I'm here ... for a minute. I have two minions begging for dinner and an { almost } two year old who missed his nap today (apparently watching movies with his sisters and eating coffee cake was too important to sleep through). So I shall leave you with this for now. And the promise that I will return ;)

"The waves of the Sea help me get back to Me"