Tuesday, April 28, 2009

A Much Needed Revival

I love my family, I truly do. I love Mike and Dylan more than life itself and would unthinkingly lay down my life for theirs. That being said, I need my girlfriends! I have developed some very good friendships here in North Carolina and I cherish these relationships. But, there is nothing that can compare to old friends. The friends that have grown up with me and seen me through many, many good times and some not so good times. Unfortunately for me, all of my old, best friends live on the opposite end of the country...Utah, to be exact. I have been lucky to see my friend Angela on several occasions over the past few years, but it has been almost 5 years since I have been to Utah and therefore it has been the same amount of time since I have seen my other old friends. Mike (well, actually I) bought me a plane ticket to Utah for my Birthday this year. I returned yesterday from a very wonderful and much needed trip to spend some quality, fun time with my dear girlfriends...sans husband and child.

First, I had to drop off Dylan at my parents house in Charleston. My parents were so gracious to agree to keep him for us while I was away. I spent a couple days at their house because my brother and his girlfriend were visiting. It was good to see them and it's always fun to watch Dylan interact with his Grams and Pa.

My mom is a wonderful home decorator. I really think she should pursue home staging or interior design as a career. She and my Dad always do beautiful landscaping/gardening in the Spring. This year was no exception and their flowers were gorgeous. Dylan really enjoyed looking at all the pretty flowers.

Dylan loves his Pa. We spent a lovely Sunday morning just sitting on the front porch. I returned home on Tuesday, leaving behind a very sad child who became un-sad within five minutes of my departure.
I left Raleigh very early Thursday morning and arrived in Salt Lake City, UT around lunch time. My best friend Angela picked me up from the airport and we headed straight for the Gateway (a fun, outdoor mall area in downtown SLC). We met up with our friend, Melanie, and one of her sons, Josh, for lunch. Melanie, Angela and I all know each other from our high school years in Michigan. It had been a very long time since the three of us had been together. We had a great time eating and then shopping for a few hours.

After we finished shopping, Ang and I drove a few minutes north and went to visit our old college roommate Stacy. We went out to dinner with Stacy and her two boys, Sage and Kaleb. I absolutely adore Stacy and her two little guys are adorable and hilarious. I really wish we'd been able to spend some more time together.

Stacy and I became really close when we were roommates, even though it was for a short period of time. I love that we can still hang out like nothing has changed.

Sage just wanted to ham it up for the camera.

This was my first time meeting Kaleb, but he had no problems with me holding him. Thank goodness! He is such a sweetheart.

Ang was my photographer most of the trip, but I was not about to leave her out of the picture fun.
Part of my excitement about going to Utah was that I could have my hair done by someone who actually knows what they're doing. One of my best friends, Destiny, was my stylist all through college. I have majorly missed my appointments with her. I may just have to start flying out to Utah 3 times a year...I think it's worth the expense. D, Ang and I all lived in the same apartment complex for a couple years and hung out all the time. We have seen each other through a lot! Having the two of them by my side helped me get through a lot of heartaches. They also have provided some of my best memories from my 7 years in Utah.
I love these two girls with all my heart. And I really wish that we could all live closer to each other. It was so indescribably fun to hang out and just do what girlfriends do.

Angela and Jason have the two cutest little guys (Landon & Preston). I was worried that they wouldn't remember me; I have only seen them one or two times. Lucky for me, they were my little buddies. The cutest thing was to come up from the basement and see these two cuddling together each morning. Thanks guys for letting me be a part of the fam for a few days!
Saturday morning I met up with my friend Andrea for breakfast. It was so nice to catch up with her. No picture though...I forgot my camera. That afternoon, Ang and I went shopping for about 6 hours...it's what we do best and was totally fun. That evening we met up with our roommate from Freshman year, Lara. I haven't seen Lara in 9 years! It still felt like nothing has changed...even though a lot has. We met for dinner at my fave restaurant, Cafe Rio and then went for ice cream. I laughed so hard, my stomach was hurting.

Sunday was spent going to church, driving through the mountains, visiting the Draper temple, and shopping at IKEA. That evening, Destiny came over to visit for a couple hours. Her poor husband wasn't feeling too well, but he was a good sport and suffered through all our girl talk and reminiscing.
All in, this was one of my most memorable vacations and it was much needed. I have been through a lot of hard times over the past year and I really needed to be with my old friends. There is just nothing that will ever compare to these relationships and I am so greatful that we have all managed to stay close even though there are many miles between us. I send my biggest, heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped make this trip happen.
Love ya girls! Can't wait to do it again...hopefully sooner than 5 years.

Monday, April 13, 2009

Easter - Round 2

While I love spending time with our families during the holidays, I was very excited to spend a holiday at home - just the three of us. I wanted to spend Easter starting my own traditions and giving Dylan a little of what I received as a child. We woke up Easter morning and I made Dylan his favorite breakfast...chocolate chip pancakes. Okay, who am I kidding? This is really my favorite breakfast, but Dylan loves it so it worked out well. Unfortunately we have 9:00 a.m. church meetings, so I wasn't able to take my time with everything. I tried to save the Easter basket hunt for after church, but Dylan is already a little sneak at 2 1/2. He found his basket while I was trying to blow dry my hair.

My cute little guy in his Easter outfit. Dylan is not a fan of 'church' clothes, so I try to keep his outfits as close to everyday wear as possible. I must admit, my child looks really good in the color salmon (or as other men call it...pink).

I figured Grandma Karen would be sending lots of candy for Dylan, so I decided to go with more long lasting gifts for his basket. He got a few books, two water guns, sidewalk chalk, bubbles, a Veggie Tales dvd, stickers and a new toothbrush.

After church and nap time, we set up a little egg hunt for Dylan in the backyard. None of us really like to be in large crowds, so we decided against the big community egg hunt on Saturday. I think it ended up being a good idea. Dylan loved running around the backyard looking for eggs and he was done after finding seven of them.


Dylan's 'big' Easter gift was a Big Wheel. Funny story here...he actually got a Big Wheel for his birthday back in December. Mom and Dad have been too lazy and preoccupied with other things to put it together. It has been collecting dust in a box in the garage. So, I regifted! Yup, that's right, I am a bad mom and gave my child the same gift twice. Don't judge me...he is happy with his new bike and Mike and I are happy because we didn't have to spend more money. I figure this is the one and only time I'll be able to get away with that, so why not?!
We went the non-traditional route for Easter dinner and grilled burgers. All in, it was a relaxing and fun day.

29 and Feeling Fine

That's right folks...I have officially entered the last year as a 20-something. April 7th came and went pretty quickly this year, but it was definitely a Birthday worth mentioning thanks to great family and friends. My parents sent me this gorgeous bouquet of flowers. For once in my life, I have been able to keep them alive for more than two days. The vase is still sitting on my dining room table and the flowers still look pretty. I have no green in my thumbs, so this is a miracle! My wonderful, generous parents also sent me a new 50mm lens for my camera and Adobe Photoshop Elements 7.0 software, as well as some money. Kent and Karen (also known as, the in laws), and my grandparents also sent me some money to spend at my discretion.

My wonderful friends met me for lunch at Mimi's Cafe and I walked away not only with a full, satisfied belly, but some great and thoughtful gifts (a Photoshop how-to book, a bracelet, and cute purse). Thank you Gina, Karen, Christine and Nichol!

Mike took a day off work and we went out for breakfast at IHOP. Yum! I LOVE eating out for breakfast, but it only happens, maybe, once a year. Dylan gave me a 3 hour nap.

All of this was awesome, unnecessary, and much appreciated, but I think my favorite 'gift' is yet to come. I leave next Thursday to go on a 5 day trip to Utah to visit all my friends from my college years (and a couple from high school years). I am so excited! I haven't seen most of my friends in 4 years and that is just way too long for my liking. And, thanks to my parents, I'm flying solo! Happy Birthday To Me!

Friday, April 10, 2009

PSA - The Tick

I'm not usually one to get up on a Soap Box and throw my opinion out to the wolves. I firmly believe that everyone has the right to their own opinion and as long as they are not infringing on my rights, I don't care what they think/feel/believe.

But, I'm here to say - Make sure you put bug spray on your children before they go galavanting around in the great outdoors. It is recommended you don't spray it directly on their skin, but rather spray the inside and outside of their clothes, socks, shoes, hats before you get them dressed. I know this seems common sense and it most definitely is not 100% guaranteed to prevent bugs from getting on your kids, but it's a precaution that should be observed.

You might be asking yourself 'Why the crap is Audra ranting about bug spray?' Well, you Facebook users are probably aware, but for those of you who aren't up to speed with the Facebook era...Dylan was bit by a nasty little tick yesterday. Now, we've had ticks in our house before. We have a dog who likes to run and lay in tall grass and brush, so yeah, we've had to get ticks (or rather, Mike has had to remove ticks) off the dog. I've had ticks removed at girl's camp when I was a teenager. But, I am here to tell you that getting a tick off a two year old's belly is one of the most unpleasant experiences ever! Stupid thing couldn't have grabbed onto Dylan's foot or arm. It went straight for the belly where the kid can see it and where Dylan simply breathing affects the ability to get at the darn bug with tweezers.

We were outside a good portion of the day because the weather was absolutely gorgeous. So, I'm not sure if the tick hitched a ride home from the park on Dylan's clothes or if he got it out in the backyard. We do live on an old farm field and there is a huge brush patch right next to our fence. It really could have come from either place. All I know is when I changed his diaper at lunch time, I saw no tick. When I changed it again after playing in the backyard, there was Mr Ticky attached to my sweet child's belly. I made the mistake of saying 'Ooo, Dylan, you have a bug on your belly.' To which Dylan replied, 'No Mama, no bug. Put shirt back on.' I tried to brush the thing with a wipe to see if it was still crawling around or if it had latched on and Dylan went ballistic on me. I knew then that there was no chance of me extracting on my own, so we had to wait a few hours for Mike to get home. In those three hours I was not allowed to go near Dylan's shirt. It was like if he couldn't see the bug, it didn't exist (Hmmm, that should be a fun lesson in Faith and Prayer at a later date).

When Mike got home, we got down to business. Dylan still didn't want his shirt off and he fought us trying to take it off. It took both Mike and I practically sitting on the child to hold him down. And, well, we all know that little kids do not take well to being restrained. He immediately started screaming and writhing around. I thought it would take longer for him to get REALLY worked up, but no. Within a couple seconds he was already to the point where I thought he was going to throw up. All this screaming and wiggling was causing Dylan belly to heave up and down - A LOT! Even when we were able to restrain his limbs, that darn belly was still moving all over the place and I'm certain we kept pinching his belly with the tweezers which added a whole other unpleasantry to the ordeal.

Details, details...we switched who was using the tweezers about 5 times. That little twerp tick just did not want to let go. I really can't blame him, Dylan does have really bitable, sweet skin. But, man, it took about a half hour to finally get that thing off. Plus about four more hours to get Dylan calmed down enough to go to bed (I think he finally went to sleep around 9:30). Very unpleasant experience. Mike and I felt horrible for having to traumatize our son, but we were not paying $100 at the ER to have them remove a stupid tick just to save ourselves some drama. So, we just had to deal with the racing hearts, high blood pressure, and our son hating us for the night.

And now for the worst part (& kind of contradicts my little PSA from earlier), I put bug spray on the child! Perhaps we'll just stay inside.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Easter - Round 1

Every holiday tends to come in three different 'Rounds' in our house. Round 1 is usually Pa and Grams (Kirk and Patty), Round 2 is Mom and Dad (Mike and I), and Round 3 typically arrives a little later (Kent and Karen). Dylan's Easter festivities began last week when he got a package in the mail from Pa and Grams. He had a great time discovering what was in the wrapping paper. I think he is finally understanding that presents are not just about the unwrapping part. He now knows that the best part is what is under all the paper.

Okay Mom...let's get this party started!

I've never seen a child unwrap a gift so quickly.

Oooooo, Cool Mom! (Seriously, that's what he said to me)

Grams and Pa know just how to make a kid happy. Dylan's favorite candy is M&M's and he absolutely loves stickers. Combine the two and you have a great gift! He also received some additions to his Thomas the Train collection (also started by Grams); more track pieces and 'Billy' (or as Dylan calls him 'Orange Billy Train').
Easter Round 1 = Happy Dylan.

Monday, April 6, 2009

Lil Artist

I really don't consider myself to have any artistic ability whatsoever. Anything I create that can be considered art is usually a replica of someone else's work. There does, however, seem to be an artist gene on my side of the family. My sister was pretty good in art and I have a cousin who is incredibly talented. Dylan has never really expressed much interest in doing 'craft' projects, but the other day I decided to finally open his set of paints he received as a Birthday gift. The kid was hooked! Every day since then he has begged me to let him paint. It's a mess to clean up, but I love watching him take pride in his masterpiece.


We all know a kid can't keep the mess strictly on paper. By the time he was finished, Dylan had paint on every available surface. That includes every bare body part.