Taking a sick day. Or maybe a week.

Hello friends! I’m sorry for my absence, but between travelling for Spring Break and coming down with pneumonia, I’ve been a little out of sorts. I’m still sick, but taking a break from the comfort of my sofa to spend a little quality time with my computer.

As I just said, we went out of town for spring  break. Specifically, we went to visit my sister and her husband in beautiful Middleburg, VA. It’s absurdly beautiful up there. If I had been feeling better, I would have taken lots of lots of pictures. As it stands, I did not. But here’s a really cool photo I found of the Middleburg Christmas Parade:

(image via)

That obviously isn’t what it looks like in springtime, but here’s a photo of their adorable downtown:

Oh, and in the midst of that downtown? My sister (and her husband’s) uber-chic pet boutique, Wylie Wagg. 

Seriously, if you’re a pet owner, and you’re in the Northern VA area, you should really visit one of their stores. They are so much fun to shop in. You can check out their website for their other Northern VA locations. And yes, I am shamelessly promoting my sister’s business.

So, the rest of the week was  good, except for the part where I got pnemonia. Oh, and there was a little incident over at Tyson’s Corner. I mistakenly thought the American Girl doll store was open there, and had really hyped it up to Ava. I mean, really hyped it up. She even saved some money to buy a companion for the AG doll she already has. You can imagine the excitement, and then subsequent disappointment when we got to Tyson’s and it turned out the store was still under construction. Thankfully, we were consoled by a purchase at the Disney Store. So, I got out a lot cheaper, and now have an excuse to make another trip up there this summer.

I started getting really sick that afternoon, and I’m using my fever-induced delirium to explain why I bought a pair of sandals that I really shouldn’t have. Except I got them in very shiny gold, not black.

It’s all good, though. I know I’ll wear them tons. I have a friend who got them last summer, and I admired them all season. They’re kind of replacing a pair of Jack Rogers that I’ve had for more than 3 years, and which are totally shot.

I won’t bore you with the details of my illness, but needless to say, I feel pretty blah. Pneumonia is one painful ailment, and I’ll be glad to get back to normal. Plus, having to take a break from exercise just weeks from bathing suit season is just bad. I apologize in advance to my pool friends for the blubber that you will be forced to see next month. I’ll get back to work on it as soon as I can.

In the meantime, here are the kids in their Palm Sunday attire.

Please note that Davis was more than a little skeptical of wearing a bubble. He kept trying to take it off. It’s his last one. I gotta milk it, right?

Hope everyone has a wonderful Easter weekend.

Carter

Girl crush….

It’s no secret that I adore Gwennie P. (that’s Gweneth Paltrow, for those of you who aren’t as tight with her as I am). I have been a little obsessed since even before Shakespeare in Love. And really, I kind of think she’s one of these women who gets better with age. I mean, who wouldn’t want to look like this in their bikini after 2 kids, at age 38?

I’d like to think that if I had Tracy Anderson whipping my tush into shape, I’d look like that, too, but I think maybe the girl just has good genes to go with all that hard work.

Okay, so. Gweneth has her own little website, called GOOP. It’s pretty much a lifestyle blog, where Gwyneth advises the rest of us on how to achieve the same kind of perfection she has in her own life. Duh. It’s just that easy.

As you may know, Gwyneth is like, BFFs with Jay-Z. I mean, who wouldn’t pick those two to be best buds, right?Well, Jay (or Sean Carter, whatever) just started his own lifestyle website called Life + Times. It’s pretty cool. He has a pretty great perspective on things, and I think he’s fairly brilliant.

So, the two interviewed each other for their websites. You can find GP interviewing JZ here. And you can find Jay’s interview here. Both are fun reads. And both reveal surprising things. Go see for yourself.

In addition to acting, singing, and looking fabulous, Gwyneth just published a cookbook called My Father’s Daughter. I, of course, have ordered said cookbook. I’ll let you know how it is. One of the things that I have always admired about Gwyneth is that she talks so lovingly about her family, and especially about her parents. This cookbook apparently came together after her father passed away. It was inspired by recipes he cooked.

As for me, I am nursing some kind of horrid cough, and am about to demand a chest x-ray from my doctor. In the meantime, though, the alarm is set for 5:30. The gym calls, you know. Pool season is mere weeks away.

Carter

Running in God’s Country, plus a few pics

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend. I know mine was pretty good, if you consider running 10 miles a good time. I’m not sure that I do, but I do enjoy the  guilt-free eating that comes after burning 1000+ calories.

On Saturday, my good friend Sarah picked me up at 6:15am so we could get to Chapel Hill for the Tar Heel 10 Miler. Last year we ran together, but only did the 4 Mile run.  We said when it was over that we’d do the 10 this year, and we did.

It’s only appropriate that Sarah and I run this one together. She was my suitemate my freshman year at Carolina, and one of my roommates (well, apartment-mates) my junior and senior year. We had many, many a good time back then. Probably too good. And back then, there was no way we could go out and run 10 miles. Running one mile then would have been a feat.

So, here we are, a couple (give or take) of years later, back where at all began. I was pretty unprepared for the race, and a lot nervous. I mean, I try to get a six-mile run in once a week, and maybe 1-2 other runs, but I didn’t “train” for this race. It all turned out fine, though. After I spent about 2 hours Friday night making a new, Britney-heavy playlist (I know, I should be ashamed), Sarah and I spent the whole 10 miles talking. I didn’t even turn on my iPod. It was fun, though. Great to catch up, and talking makes the time go by so much faster.

The mean race people designed the course so that around mile 8, you start an absurd uphill climb that doesn’t stop until early in mile 9. Just cruel. And, if you know Chapel Hill, you know that it’s not like the rest of the course was flat. There were hills all over the damn place. But, there’s probably no prettier place to run around here. Chapel Hill in the springtime is about as good as it gets.

The rest of the day was spent eating as much as humanly possible.

I don’t have any pictures from the race, but I do have some random pics of the kids enjoying the spring weather:

Sibling love.

Ava adores her new bird dress. Consignment sale purchase….still had tags attached.

Davis….looking for trouble.

A few weeks back, there was a love-in in Ava’s bed (note to self: time to get rid of the pacifier):

….And later, Davis had his first milkshake:

That’s all for now! Hope everyone has a great Monday!

 

Carter

Back when ignorance was bliss….

Yesterday’s 82 degree temperatures made me want to break out a dress. Or even shorts. But then I remembered the pastiness that is the current state of my legs. At this point, I don’t really even want to wear shorts to the gym.

I started thinking about how, from the time I was 15 until I was 26, I cured Winter White Leg Syndrome with lots of lovely visits to the tanning salon. Oh, how I loved those days. Twenty minutes in what was essentially a heated  coffin? Yes, please! I’m sure if you’re claustrophobic, it’s your worst nightmare.

For me, though, it was pure relaxation. Get in there for 20 minutes, zone out, maybe take a little nap, and emerge with a tan. Fabulous. Back when I was in high school, my parents even funded this little hobby. You see, although we knew then that sun was bad for you, we were still thinking it was safer to have a “base” tan than it was to go on the beach with no color at all. No one was wearing SPF 50 back then. My mom’s dermatologist practically recommended the tanning bed. I think he basically told her he didn’t endorse tanning, but said that if she was going to do it, getting a base from the tanning bed was her best bet.

Sometime in my mid twenties, I knew that tanning was dangerous. Not the healthiest thing to be doing. But, I kept doing it. Up until the year I got married. And let me assure you, the day before my wedding, I popped into the tanning bed for one final session. No way was I wearing a white, strapless gown with even a hint of un-bronzed skin showing.

I think that was the last year of tanning for me. From then on, I started worrying about skin cancer, and decided to be a little safer. I’m pretty skilled with self-tanner now. And I always start out the summer with at least SPF 30. I’ll admit, though, that by mid-June, I’ve often scaled back to about an 8. But year after year, I miss the tanning bed so much. Especially this time of year, when my white legs threaten to offend all those who come near them. So, today, I started using this:

I find that it’s a little easier to deal with than actual self-tanner. It smells a little odd, though. Small price to pay for tan(ish) legs, I suppose.

In other spring news, I found an Easter dress:

I also pre-shopped this dress for Belk Charity Days. I get to have it (25% off) in just a couple of weeks.

Obviously, both of these frocks will need some tan.

I can’t even bear to think about bathing suits yet.

 

Carter

Not a baby anymore….

Yesterday my little baby boy turned 2. I guess Davis is  officially not a baby anymore. I have mixed feelings about his turning 2.  I’m certainly a little sad that he’s getting so big, and growing up so fast. Wasn’t it just yesterday that we brought him home on a beautiful spring Saturday? It seems impossible that 18 months have passed since he started sleeping through the night. I can’t believe the little onesies he used to wear would only fit one one of his chubby toddler thighs these days.

But 2, despite its (well-deserved) reputation, is a pretty neat age. Oh, sure. We have our little tantrums. We throw things. We hit. We drive our sister crazy. But, oh my gosh. He is so much fun right now, too! The language development is my favorite. Just hearing the new things that come out of his mouth every day brings a smile to my face. If I could bottle his laugh, I would. There is hardly a better sound in the world. And seeing the way he looks at Ava? Well, my heart melts a little every time.

If you had asked me a few years ago, I would have told you that I wanted all girls. No boys. I just didn’t see myself as a boy mom. I wanted Ava to have a sister. All I can say now is that it’s a good thing most of us don’t get to decide the gender of our kids. I can’t imagine not having this rough-and-tumble little guy in my house.

Davis had a few friends meet him for a birthday party in the park. He had a blast, and loved every second of it. He was looking a bit disheveled, but I think that’s a sign of a good birthday!

There was cake, of course. With a Sesame Street theme for our little Elmo lover.

But I think Ava enjoyed the festivities most of all. She was outstanding in her role of big sister, taking care of not just her brother, but most of his little friends, too. I was pretty impressed at how well she handled her baby brother being the star of the day.

Happy birthday, sweet Davis! I can’t wait to see what bright things your future holds. Just don’t grow up too fast.

Carter