My Best Friend's Wedding

In the past week, Ian and I drove 26 hours, went to my BFF from 3rd grade's wedding in beautiful, quaint-but-sophisticated Culver, IN.

Wish I had some pics to post...but I left the photo-taking to the professionals.  See my tagged photos on FB :)

Some highlights:

• Krystal burgers
• A sail around the lake on The Ledbetter...a giant sailboat that is probably some kind of special, but I don't know anything about it.
• A bridal luncheon at a GORGEOUS home on the lake.  Everything was white wainscoting, with 3 floors, a mother-in-law's suite, and three (yes, THREE!) full kitchens.
• Fun photo shoot with the photographer at the Culver Military Academy.  The buildings and grounds were so picturesque...as were the hundreds of pretty adorable children in little summer uniforms.  I cannot wait to see the photos of the entire wedding party standing on these little sailboats at the dock.  Equally awesome were the pictures of us in the Bentley that we flagged down and borrowed.
• The ceremony took place on a farm, next to a corn field, in the evening.  Beautiful.
• I sang a duet for Becky and Ed's first dance.  I practiced with my partner 3 hours before the ceremony for the first time.  (Lucky- Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat)  It wasn't perfect, but I believe that I didn't completely embarrass myself :)  No- it is not recorded.  Which is probably a good thing.
• Food served included a mashed potato bar and an ice cream sundae bar.
• I got to wear flip flops the whole time as a bridesmaid.  Love it.

• Photobooth at the reception- awesomeness.

It was such an awesome time.  I love that I made it to share Becky's day...also that Ian and I had time to spend together.  I hate that it was possible to go because Danil's adoption is on hold.  Ah, well.  We enjoy the blessings as they come.

Ianism

Ian and I were eating lunch together and working on some Puzzle Buzz books (LOVE those!) and he suddenly had to go to the bathroom.  He told me it would be a long one...so I said I'd go upstairs and get some chores done.

He says, "No, Mom.  Don't go up there while I'm still down here.  Or, wait.  You know how long I usually take, so go upstairs, but right before it is time for me to be done, come downstairs again so you can be here with me."

Mommy Super Power #112:  the ability to know exactly how long your children's bathroom visits will take.

Limbo

My blog posts are few and far between lately, huh?

We're in limbo right now, waiting to see if we'll get an SDA appointment for our adoption before the cut-off of July 11th in Danil's country.  So, for all of last week, and possibly the next 2 weeks, I'm living in this constant state of "what-if".  It's hard to wrap my mind around "2 weeks" or "approximately 3 months".

I have 1/2-packed suitcases, a 1/2-stocked pantry, and I've been running the boys to the doctor's office every other day, it seems.  Chase and Guy can't kick this cold/cough/ear infection thing that they have had going on since the beginning of June, and I certainly can't leave them for my mother-in-law sick and needing medical attention right off the bat, so my usual "let's see what happens" approach isn't very helpful right now.

I feel like I have a ton of stuff to do, and I get to a little of it every day, and then I look around at the end of the day (or at the beginning or middle, frankly), and my list gets bigger and bigger, and I am completely stressed out about everything all over again.  

I'm in the middle of appealing the boys' placements for school next year and Chase needs an OT/sensory evaluation. 

I have to pack this week for either: 1) Becky's wedding in Indiana, which I am supposed to leave for on Thursday, OR 2) Ukraine, depending on if we get our appointment this week or not.  Those are two VERY different occasions to fill a suitcase for!!  GAH.

I suppose I'd get a lot more done if I wasn't updating my blog with all this whining.  That is, of course, if I didn't have two little helpers who take more things OUT of the said suitcase/box/closet/laundry basket than I put in.  

I Friggin' LOVE Summer

Hodge Podge Post

• I've been cleaning out our house...a LOT.  I believe I can officially call it nesting.  It's the same feeling of needing everything to be organized, cleaned, and put back together that I felt before all the boys were born.  But this time I get to do it without 65 extra pounds of belly (ok, and thighs and butt, if I am being totally honest).  Our garage is a hundred times better than what it was before, although I still have some sorting I want to do. Linen closets have been organized and purged, and the boys' closets are next.  The thought of people living in our house for 6 weeks without us here is really a big motivator.
• School's out for summer :)  I'm so happy to take a break from the schedules...the morning tornado of activity to get Ian and Chase out the door, the lunch packing, the after-school chaos.  I'm gladly trading it all in for lazy mornings, after dinner walks around the neighborhood, sprinklers in the yard, picnics, puzzles on the floor, story time all the time, and ice cream parlor visits.  
• Potty training.  Eh, still working on it.
• I lost my battery charger for the camera.  All my photos are being taken on my phone.  Kinda frustrating.  Must try to find that in my mad house-cleaning spree.
• Chase was sick and missed his last week of school.  Now he's on the tail end of it, and Guy has it full throttle now.  Fevers and coughs are not part of summer break awesomeness.

Uh-oh. Mess.

With all the nekkid bottoms around here, I was pretty concerned when I heard Guy call from the playroom:

"Uh-oh, Mommy.  Mess."

With visions of puddles or worse going through my mind, I hauled in there, narrowly avoiding a nasty fall caused by the Mr. Potato Head pieces that have been strewn across our floor for so long that I now consider them part of the decor.

Gavin was leaning over a giant block, studying something on the floor between the block and the wall, holding one hand up covered in some brown, grainy stuff.  Background info:  I have been trying to get Gavin to poop on the potty all day...and haven't seen one tiny bit of anything yet, so you can imagine what I thought the mess was all about.

I steeled myself for the worst, and peeked over.

It was a lump of Oreo truffle leftover from our eGroup meeting here last Saturday.

*sigh*

Glamorous Life

Stop reading if you are squeamish.

This morning, I cleaned out a nest (?) of maggots surrounding the trash can in the garage.  I swept them outside, sprayed all kinds of insecticides on them, and then thought I had taken care of the problem.  Until I lifted up a pile of old t-shirts that Bryan had been using to clean his motorcycle and found them teeming with those nasty, grubby little things.

*barf*

So I held onto the shirts by touching as little surface area as I could while I ran to the end of the driveway to stuff them into the trash can (thank goodness it is trash day today!!), and then I had to go back and sweep up all the guys that fell off on my way out there and poison them, too.

And if that wasn't disgusting enough...

When I came back inside, I found Gavin on the porch, sans diaper, in the midst of "unloading" onto the astroturf (hence, the Redneck Patio).  I immediately holler, "Ack!  Gavin!  Poopy in the potty!!!" and he looks up at me with that (literally) "Oh, crap!" face, and takes a step backwards...yup.  Into the poop.  Then he runs circles around the patio because now my chasing him with the pack of wipes is a game, and in the meantime drops deposits in his wake.

I'm not making this up.

So that is how it came to be 7:45AM and I have already disinfected my garage and my patio.

Oh, and did I mention that Chase started on Augmenten yesterday?  We all know what that means...

chase-ism

At Souper!Salad! today after church.  I asked Chase if he wanted mac and cheese for lunch.  He looks at me and says, "No!  Ice cream!"

Uncle Scott and Aunt Rachel's Beach Wedding

 Beach boys.

 Shell collecting.  I love this photo of Ian and Chase doing something together :)

 Chase had a classic case of "I like the water, I don't like the water."

 I so love that all three are old enough to really enjoy the beach now.  We were never huge beach people, but having a house on the water, and being able to take the kids down whenever we felt like it without having to pack a day's worth of survival gear made it super nice.  Also, not having a child who eats the sand this year is also a blessing.

 Shrimp boat at Appalachiacola.  I always say it in my head like Bubba does.  Then I feel the need to make a list of all the shrimp foods that I know.

 I caved and bought Ian these "How to Train a Dragon" sunglasses.  They are a little creepy.

 Sometimes they are so freaking cute I can hardly stand it.

 Well, hello little shop with the a.maze.ing gelato!!!  

 In or out of the water, the kayak was a huge draw.

 Chase and Guy- partners in crime.  We frequently hear, "ahm-ON Chee-sey!"  or "Come on, Guy Guy!" 

 Uncle Scott, moments before the big I DO...perhaps trying to convince Chase to kindly NOT dig in the sand right now.  Chase looks like he is giving him the emphatic NO!

 If you look really hard, you can see the dolphins swimming in the background as we were gathering for the ceremony...

 Prepping the 'flower boys'...

How frickin' cute is Guy in that hat?!?

 I had to bribe them with crackers.

 Gaga and Papa- aw :)  Forget Guy's hat...how cute are THEY?!?

 Beautiful bride, Rachel, and her dad, Bill getting ready to walk down the aisle.

 Gitcher flower petals, right here, folks!

 I love how they processed down the boardwalk- so pretty!

 This was right about the moment that Guy and Chase decided that the boardwalk was too hot to walk on...

And the wedding photos end there because Bryan and I were carrying the littles down the aisle!  We were the  "flower family".  LOL.

The rest of the week, well, we have limited photos (hey!  we had our hands full!).

We went back and forth between sneaking time away on the beach, to orchestrating the entire rehearsal dinner- kabobs!  yay!), and visiting with family (Both Aunt Sues, Dahni, Aunt Sandi and Uncle Craig, Papa and Gaga, cousin Steven, and Scott and Rachel when we could find them).

The boys took a special liking to "the girls"- Rachel and her bridesmaids.  Guy, especially, would wander around the house forlornly asking, "Girls?  Girls?" until he found them.  At one point, Bryan played this song on his phone, stuck in in Gavin's pocket, and sent him out on the porch with them.  Gavin will sing along with it now- ending each line with the appropriate "GIRLS!"

 Interestingly enough, this was the tame party.

 But still a respectable ruckus.

Those boys don't know how good they have it now ;)

You can't see it, but Rachel's dad is across the table from Chase here- cracking him up.  He was super fun with the boys.  He even took Ian out in the kayak after the wedding.  Too cool.  AND- did I mention that Rachel and her mom (who was also very very wonderful) are SLP's?  BONUS!

Awesome week- congrats to Rachel and Scott :)  

Catch-all Post

Falling behind on my blogging...Here's what you missed:

1- Chase's birthday party in the park.  I know I have pictures of it somewhere...low key celebration with friends...cupcakes, ice cream bars, lots of swinging and sliding, and possibly some throwing of mulch.

2- Road trip to the FL panhandle to see my brother get married in early May.  SUCH a good vacation- house on the beach, bunch-o-family-and-friends, dolphin watching daily, sand everywhere, flower boys, a beautiful ceremony, and only 3 head traumas.  Pics to come.

3- 2 bouts of pink eye.  'Nuff said.

4- Road trip to Pigeon Forge, TN.  We did Gatlinburg, drove past Dollywood (no stopping allowed), ice cream stops, and stayed in an awesome cabin tucked high up in a mountain with the Gray family.  Jackson and Ian are immediate best friends, and did EVERYTHING together.  We ended our Memorial Day weekend with a hike up to Laurel Falls, then took our exhausted crew back home to Charlotte.  (wait for pics...I promise I'll put them up.  Dianne took some really awesome shots with her good camera!)

I'll be better at blogging more often, too.  Pinky swear.