Are we there yet…

Late December and early January in almost February; part I

Posted on January 25, 2012 by carly

I keep having that reoccurring nightmare that I’ve shown up to school naked, only to find that it’s a test day and I haven’t studied a lick. I’m no stranger to this dream, it seems to rear its ugly head when laziness takes control and I neglect my day to day responsibilities. Thankfully my mama duties are in tact. As are my sewing duties. There are groceries in the house. And the laundry is folded and put away. While the last few months have been full of friends, family, church activities, and get-togethers, I have no blog to show for it. The worst part about getting behind is figuring out where to start….

Let’s go all the way back to the end of December. Yep, that’s how far behind I am…The kids adore their Papa Joe, so when we found out that he would be in the area working, we jumped at the opportunity to see him. While the Mall of Georgia wouldn’t be an exciting meeting place for many, it proved to be an amusement park for the kids. Seemed like every time I turned around, Papa Joe was having to dig deeper into his pockets…

We rode the carousel,

took a spin around the mall on the train,

and cheered on MR as she got over her fear of the bungee trampoline.

And just when we thought that our time together had come to an end, we discovered a whole section of the mall with kiddie quarter rides. The kids were in heaven. And poor Papa Joe was broke.

New Years Day was spent with our neighbors. The mimosa’s were great. And the food was even better.

A few days later, we had more great food at our sweet friend Emily and Brian’s house. Emily cooked up an amazing pot of jambalaya in a huge cast iron dutch oven. While the grown ups ate, the kids played. And while I ate, I wondered if my semi-homemade lasagna and bag salad would ever stack up to the delicious meals that we had eaten lately. I quickly came to the conclusion that it would not. And convinced myself that ordering pizza was not necessarily a “no no” when hosting kid-friendly get-togethers.

Fast forward to Jan 7th. On this day,we celebrated the upcoming arrival of Garrett’s sisters baby with lots of food, grilled sausage, and a keg (all requested by the baby’s daddy)! And while I initially laughed at this request and joked that this sounded more like a fraterniy party than a baby shower, I must say that the combination of beer, sausage, and baby gifts was a huge success. Three of us hosted the event and the day couldn’t have been more perfect! The difference between boys and girls (take note Hannah and Brantley)…while sweet MR played quietly with her leap pad throughout the shower, Huttie Cat tried his best to pretend he was a college freshman at the keg. This will be the first child for Hannah and Brantley and our first in-town cousin! With less than two weeks until baby Brant’s arrival, we are on total countdown mode!!!

If Brantley has anything to do with it, Baby Brant will play golf. If he doesn’t play, at least he will have a Petey Pie’s golf shirt to show his support of the game!

The day after the baby shower, we headed to Cumming, Georgia to celebrate Jacob’s birthday. This years theme was every boys dream, a mobile gaming theater full of large screen tv’s and video games. Huttie didn’t think twice about getting in the midst of the big boys. He especially enjoyed his time with the birthday boy and sat beside him while he opened each gift.

After cake and gifts, we exchanged Christmas presents. As usual, sweet Aunt Lynn spoiled MR and Huttie with all kinds of fun stuff! MR’s favorite, a pink princess phone that really works!

Posted in Hutson, Uncategorized, family, mary reese, milestones | Leave a comment

Fits, tantrums, messes, and homemade cookies

Posted on January 5, 2012 by carly

I knew as soon as I typed a post to brag on my sweet my kids, they would turn on me. Sure enough…MR said she barley noticed my “angry face” today. Apparently I’d been wearing it so long that my face had frozen into a permanent scowl. It wasn’t that I was keeping score, it was just a total awareness that my kids had defeated me. Huttie dumped the trashcan over no less than a dozen times; rubbed Vaseline all over the sink and mirror in the bathroom; had fit after fit; pinched; hit; pushed; and pulled his sisters hair. I had to laugh to keep from crying. Spend money to keep from screaming. And hold my breath to keep from cussing. And just when I was about to throw in the towel, MR grabbed her apron and suggested baking cookies. A messy kitchen and four dozen cookies later, all was well. Thank the Lord for do overs. For homemade chocolate chip cookies. And for the realization that you can’t appreciate the good without a little of the bad!

Posted in Hutson, mary reese, memories | 1 Comment

A mamas love

Posted on January 4, 2012 by carly

There are days when I want to hit the pause button and days when I yearn for the fast forward button. And sometimes, there are days when I damn sure want to hit the rewind button to undo all of my wrongs. Lately, I’ve had the desire to keep my finger placed on the pause button for fear that I’ll blink and the kids will be grown. It’s cliche but true…they grow so fast. I fear I will forget their giggles. Their misuse of words. Their cheeks, eyelashes, and toes. And especially, their precious innocence. I fear what lies ahead. How others will treat them. And how they will perceive themselves. Mostly, I fear forgetting the good ole days, when a tantrum or a missed nap was the biggest of my problems.

I adore being a mama to these sweet kids. I love MR’s sense of humor. Her creativity and zest for life. She’s a hugger and a lover of her “Mickey Friends” (Little People), crayons, glue, and glitter. She continues to look like her daddy, but acts so much like her mama. Her mouth runs non stop. We joke that she has the vocabulary of a college freshmen. She asks lots of questions and understands far more than your typical four year old. She is my partner in crime. She makes me laugh and keeps me smiling. She’s a rule follower, unless the rule doesn’t fit her needs, and then she becomes the negotiator. Her daddy and I agree that she would make one hell of an attorney!

Hutson is all boy. He’s rough. Loud. Physical. And loves all things on wheels. He’s my boy. The one who can sling a toy across the room one minute and give a sweet, sweet kiss the next. At 17 months, he already knows how to work his mama. He has a devilish grin, big brown eyes, and a head full of unruly curls. What he lacks for in words, he makes up for in personality. He’s a charmer and a cuddlier. There is no mistaken that this little boy is my spirited child. He tests my patience and reminds me that life isn’t always about pink hairbows and smocked dresses. Its about getting dirty and having fun! Most notable though about Huttie is that he resembles the Harrell side of the family!

Posted in Hutson, mary reese, memories | 3 Comments

Christmas Morning

Posted on December 31, 2011 by carly

When our local newspaper posted that they were in search of a family to take pictures of on Christmas morning, I jumped to the occasion! I envisioned a Norman Rockwell Christmas, but the reality was a sick kid and a missing piece to MR’s much anticipated Rapunzel Vanity set. Still, the kids rallied for their big debut. The result was a 9 picture spread in the paper; a precious keepsake of our second Christmas in this wonderful community that we love to call “home”.

Santa didn’t let a little rain get in the way of fun on Christmas morning. The photographer captured this shot of the kids soon after seeing Santa’s big surprise in their playroom!

The other big gifts were a Leappad, pink cash register, dot markers, coloring books, an interactive dog, and a cook set for MR. Huttie received books, cars, trains, a movie, a stool for the bathroom, and a tractor.

This little Adirondack chair was most definitely one of Huttie’s favorite gifts of all. He sat in it most of Christmas morning, taking in all of the excitement!

When it was time to say goodbye, the photographer shot one last picture of a proud daddy, tired mama, snotty noised boy, and a very happy little girl.

Before all of the excitement of pictures and gifts, we had a very low key morning. The kids awoke to a special breakfast prepared by Sugar, our Elf on the Shelf, who dressed in her formal attire for the occasion. There was also an empty plate of cookies and a note left behind by Santa. He reminded the kids to share and use kind words.

If MR said it once, she said it a dozen times…”this was the BEST Christmas ever!!!!”…Fortunately for her, Christmas continued a few days later when her new Rapunzel Vanity set arrived. Pretty sure we should have ordered another one for Huttie Cat, who seems to love it as much as his big sister does!

Posted in family | Leave a comment

Christmas Eve

Posted on December 27, 2011 by carly

I like Christmas Eve just as much, if not more, than Christmas morning. The excitement and anticipation of Santa’s arrival;

the last minute errands; the hustle and bustle of the grocery store; the Christmas tree full of gifts; baking cookies for Santa and his elves….

This year we added a new favorite to our list, the children’s live nativity story at church. Such a precious reminder of God’s many blessings!

These sweet, sweet memories are quite possibly the best gift of all!

Posted in family, holiday | Leave a comment

Leading up to Christmas Eve

Posted on December 27, 2011 by carly

The kids couldn’t have been more excited…last Wednesday night, Danny arrived!

The next day, thanks to four free tickets from our local newspaper, we headed into Atlanta to Christmas on Peachtree. The kids enjoyed the train, listening to the carolers sing holiday music, and decorating cookies.

When Danny comes to town, a few things happen…She always brings lots of food, which frees us up from cooking! This time, she came with a cooler full of goodies. There were brownies, chocolates, cheese straws, a pan full of stuffing, chicken, macaroni and cheese, green beans, and black eyed peas. She quickly became Huttie’s girlfriend of choice when she pulled out the whip cream.

The other thing that happens when Danny is around…dance parties. And lots of them!

When the kids weren’t dancing, eating, and listening to stories of Christmas past, they were being forced to pose for pictures from their unrelenting mama. G let me open my gift a little early this year so that I could capture all of our Christmas fun. I was beyond excited to receive a new lens and remote control for our camera.

*Note: Much like his big sister, Huttie LOVES to play dress up. Thankfully, this dinosaur hat has replaced MR’s pink princess tiara as his new favorite accessory.

Posted in family, holiday | Leave a comment

A visit with Santa, a murder mystery party, and an early Christmas with Grance and Bigs

Posted on December 21, 2011 by carly

There really is nothing like the Phipps Santa. He’s so popular, that you have to register in the summer just to sit on his lap in December! It’s all for good reason though. Once you get registered, you get a few minutes with this very sweet, magical man. Unlike years past, MR was thrilled to meet the man in red. She colored a picture of a sea snake for him (very Christmassy, huh?) and spent hours writing out her Christmas list. This years list included a leap pad, Rapunzel vanity set, cash register, and jumpy.

Huttie wasn’t quite sure what to make of Santa Claus. The photographer earned his keep by shooting this picture of Huttie before he unleashed his (very loud) disapproval. Luckily, a candy cane got our boy back on track. As did the promise of a ride on the Pink Pig.

With Santa and the Pink Pig behind us, G and I were set to attend our last holiday gathering of the season. This one was a murder mystery party with loads of drama and a room full of crazy characters with names like Shamus Steele, Constance Cheat, and Enid A. Drink. The event was lots of fun, until I realized that the real mystery was how I managed to grab the wrong appetizer dish from our refrigerator before heading to the party. Instead of grabbing the full container of toffee fruit dip, I grabbed the half eaten container that had been sitting in our refrigerator for over a week. The worst part, which thankfully I can laugh about now, was discovering my mistake in a room full of people.

Another source of embarrassment came the next day, while looking through the pictures of late night karaoke. Apparently, it ain’t a party until someone brings a half eaten appetizer and/or reveals their thigh support pantyhose…

Much of Saturday was spent with Grance and Bigs. After lunch at Flip Burger, we drove around Buckhead in search of old homes and Christmas decor. During our ride, we decided to do a quick drive by of my dad’s first cousins home near Piedmont Hospital. Our timing couldn’t have been better! As we drove by, we were thrilled to see Anna and her husband John outside. The unplanned visit was even more special when Anna gifted me with a picture of Huttie’s namesake, Samuel Hutson Goolsby.

We said goodbye to Grance and Bigs on Sunday, but not before attending church and eating at the Marietta Pizza Company. We couldn’t have asked for a better weekend…half eaten appetizer, exposed pantyhose, and all!