hidden blessings

I believe the bumper on my Highlander is cursed. It's been replaced once before and now it needs to be replaced again....sigh.

I've managed to back into a light pole {that's what caused the first replacement}, back into a brick wall, back into another car that was directly behind me, and just recently back into another car that was backing up the same time as I was. Ok so maybe it isn't so much the bumper being cursed as it is the fact that I just stink at backing up.

After this last mishap, I was planning on having the bumper replaced {again} but I have a $500 deductible so it was going to have to wait until after we moved into the new house.

We have been staying with our friend Molly until we can close on the new house and she has a roommate. The other night her roommate accidentally backed into my car. This is where the hidden blessing comes into play. She just happened to back into the part of the bumper that was already dented. Now instead of me having to pay the $500 deductible to have it fixed, her insurance will cover everything.

I've never been happier to hear my car was hit! Hidden blessings, y'all. Hidden blessings.

blogging peer pressure

Today I am really struggling with why I blog. I know why I say I blog, to keep my family and friends in the loop on what's happening in our lives. Nearly all of my posts are short little recaps of daily happenings. I post pictures of my baby and family events or funny little stories. There's nothing extremely major or deep on here.

BUT!

But if I sit here and be completely honest with myself, am I really posting just for family and friends? The answer would be no. I like the attention. I like when I receive a comment, a like on facebook, or a mention on twitter. I'm being recognized, validated somehow.

Going back to middle school and high school years I kept a diary. I wasn't keeping it just for me even back then. I was hoping somehow someone would find it and start the conversation which would allow me to talk about myself.

The reason I passed notes with my best friend about my crush was in hopes that he would somehow intercept and exclaim, "oh I like you too!"

Are secrets really said so that they remain secret?

I've jumped on another bandwagon {so to speak} recently. Shereadstruth has been going around the blogging community. It's about reading the Bible together, discussing it together, and becoming closer to God together.

I somehow feel guilty about this. That, again, I'm only doing it so I can be recognized and that is the most awful reason to want to be closer to God. Then yesterdays verse hit me like a ton of bricks.

"And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly."
- Matthew 6:5-6

I need to be doing things because I really want to, no other reason. We all really should be living our lives that way. We all should be following our dreams because it makes our hearts happy.

I may seem like a hypocrite for even posting this, but it's what's on my mind right now and that's what I want to blog about.

And a picture of my baby because I always want to blog about my sweet boy.

five friday confessions

• If you looked in my weekly lunch box you would think I accidentally picked up a six-year-old's bag instead of mine. Fruit snacks, string cheese, peanut butter and jelly...I eat like a little kid.
• I don't know if I'll ever feel comfortable calling the upstate "home". To me, home will always be where my parents are.
• I feel depressed that we don't have a beach trip to look forward to and I resent the hubs' new job for taking it away.
• I told the hubs that I keep picturing our life with three babies and not just the two we originally said we'd have. I've lost it.
• Since we have Clemson football season tickets this year, I've already begun my hunt for game day dresses. I will be dressing up for the games this year.

blueberries!!

Last night Quinn tried blueberries for the first time. Every time I give him something new it just cracks me up. He'll taste it, make the funniest expression, and shake his head like he just swallowed a bug. Blueberries were no different. I ended up adding some yogurt and bananas to the mix but he was still a little unsure of the new taste.

Of course he ended up a pretty purple/blue color from ear to ear. Trying to get anything in his mouth is quite the challenge these days. He whips around and wants to grab the spoon to "help." I'm thinking next time he might be eating blueberries in just a diaper ha!

a little bit of yankee, a little bit of y'all

If you don't already know, I lived in Massachusetts until I was 14 when my parents moved my little brother and me down south to South Carolina. You could say it was a bit of a culture shock, but most things were a welcomed change. There's a lot I love about the southern way and there are still some yankee tendencies that I will never let go of I'm sure.

Yes ma'am, no ma'am
Yes sir, no sir
I was thoroughly confused by this one at first. I will always remember my first day at my new high school when a teacher asked me a question. I politely answered "yes" and was met with the most offended, glaring expression. She muttered, "excuse me??" and all I could do was blink. That was when I was given my first lesson of, "I don't know what you yankees do, but down here we show respect and say 'yes ma'am'.". Yes ma'am.

Now I say ma'am and sir on a regular basis. Doesn't matter how old you are or your relationship to me, I will always use it for fear of another mishap. The hubs and I are raising Quinn to say it as well. He will also call our friends Miss Jessica and Mr. Bryan.

Grits
I just...no. I can't do it. I cannot eat something that tastes just like it sounds. I'll forever and always be an oatmeal girl.

Dressing up for football games
Love it! I love any excuse to look cute but I'll be completely honest, I don't always follow through. The beginning of football season in the south {and sometimes the entire season} is just so dang hot. I will throw on a pair of shorts and Clemson tee and just call it a day.

Ketchup on eggs
The hubs *hates* when I do this. It totally grosses him out and he has started threatening that I better not teach Quinn "that disgusting habit" haha. Sorry I'm not sorry and I'll never ever stop. Eggs without ketchup gross me out.

Bubbles, john johns, longalls, rompers, etc.
Southern women know how to dress their babies!

Water bubbler
Y'all would call it a water fountain. I don't know how many confused looks I've received when I've mentioned a bubbler but I just can't seem to break the habit and switch to fountain.

Monogrammed everything
I purchased my own embroidery machine just so I could indulge in this southern habit. If I can add a monogram, oh you bet I will.

Aunt vs. Ant
There's a u in the word aunt for a reason ha! I just cannot call someone 'Ant Judy.' It really makes my skin crawl {because an ant is a bug!}.

The list of yankee likes is fairly small compared to my now southern tendencies. I love sweet tea and wearing pearls with jeans. I love seersucker and camo on guys. Clemson is a way of life and tailgating can be done for any event. So at what point would I be considered a southerner and not just a displaced yankee?

tips and tricks: bath time

Today I'm linking up with Meagan for Tips and Tricks Tuesdays for Moms. I haven't been a mama for very long, but I'm slowly starting to pick up on some tricks that make our life just a little bit easier.

Lucky for me, Quinn loves bath time. He giggles and splashes and just generally enjoys the water. Trying to scrub him down is always a challenge because he squirms all over the place and I end up covered in water myself.

My biggest problem was the wash cloth. I could never get the baby shampoo to suds up on the cloth and I just didn't feel like I was getting Quinn clean. I would keep adding shampoo until I got some suds which meant I was blowing through a large bottle entirely too fast.

Enter the bath puff. I wish I had thought of it sooner! It makes complete sense to me now to use it on Quinn. The puff is soft and you only have to add a tiny drop of shampoo on it and end up with a really bubbly bath. Quinn giggles the entire time I scrub him down. Bonus: I don't have to add a wash cloth to the laundry pile every night. So simple!

We picked one up at Walmart that has a monkey on it for just a couple dollars. Hope my tip helps another mama out there!

water baby

Since the 4th fell on a Wednesday this year, we had a mini celebration with my family the Saturday before. We decided to take Quinn out to see the fireworks and just see what would happen. There was always a chance that he would freak out and we'd be stuck, but thankfully he loved it.

just chilling out

cool like daddy

I love his patriotic swim trunks and tee

It was really hot that night so we stripped him down to his diaper while we watched the show. You can see how pale my little ginger is compared to my very tan mother ha!

On Tuesday after work, we headed to the hubs' sister's house and spent the night and all day Wednesday there. We took out boat out on Lake Hartwell and enjoyed spending time with his family.

I can't believe Eric is about to be four. He looks so grown in this picture.

Quinn loved just floating around

daddy's first mate

even though we were only out for a couple hours, both babies passed out on Kathy on the way home

We've been so busy with the move and getting our old house packed that it was so nice just to take a day off. We haven't been able to enjoy the summer at all. I hope after we move {two weeks!!} we'll be able to relax some and go out on the boat a bit more before the summer is over.