Sunshine and Sandbars

Tree seat.

Since my kids are 5th generation Floridians, I believe it is my duty as their Mama to impart my appreciation for Old Florida and its sunshine.  So we have been taking one day a weekend "off" and doing a mini-road trip.  Recently we have been to Hanna Park, Jekyll Island, Silver Springs and Amelia Island.  Last weekend we went to Colin's all time favorite fishing spot- Matanzas Bay.

The weather was perfect and watching the kids play in the oaks and bound in the water and make "sand angels" was the best entertainment I have had in years. 

not surprised at all Allen thought the cannon was pretty neat.

Cora climbed up the ladder to the highest tower at Fort Matanzas all by herself.  Daddy was so proud.  Allen loved the boat ride to the Fort and seeing the Sergeant's weapon collection.

View of the beautiful trees in the parking lots during our picnic- which we picked up at the Old City Market.  Fresh calzones and spinach pies.  YUM!

Post-lunch frolicking.

Kids waded out to the sand bar with their Papa.

Pretending to be cats.

Sand angel making.

Always have to make a stop at the carousel in Saint Augustine.

Great Lengths

I just finished what has become Allen's naptime ritual:  a daily head and back massage administered by myself. 

Yes, I give my almost three year old son his very own deluxe spa treatment in order that I might get A Moment of Peace a day.

Desperate Times, Desperate Measures, blah blah.

Don't get me wrong.  I let him play, then fuss, play some more, fuss some more and then I inevitably throw in the towel. 

yup, he's got me wrapped around his little finger and has since I saw his little dimples on Day One.

Day One! So buttery!

at least he falls asleep relatively easily in the stroller/car.

Almost every single day, I find myself stomping up the stairs, Moore scowl on my face (I always said I would never have botox but seriously reconsidering at the moment), headed in the direction of Allen's room.

He sees me come in the door, literally drops his little choo choo trains crashing to the floor, flings himself on his belly on his bed and he pulls up his own shirt and places my hand on his back so I can begin his massage.  If I take too much time, he has the nerve to yell "Mama!! Rub Ann!"  (yup he calls himself "Ann" due to being challenged in the L department of the English language) and proceeds to grunts loudly until I do it.

It takes anywhere between one minute and thirty minutes but he almost always falls asleep.  But I am so desperate so I will sit there and rub the little prince for as long as it takes.  

I go to great lengths. 

My thoughts when I see his little eyes close:  THANK YOU LORD.  (while feeling a little bit guilty and also a little bit like a sucker for falling for his little routine once again).

(In the spirit of blogging honestly, the truth is that this is very similar to my Very Own Bedtime Ritual: Basically, I fuss until Colin gets into bed and I put my pillow on his lap so I can have my very own head/back rub while we read/ watch T.V. until I doze off..)

Anyway, it is actually pretty sweet just staring at my son's face, feeling his little buttery skin and his soft breathing but just once it would be nice if he would fall asleep on his own, instead of on his own terms.


But I have a feeling it is too late for that. 

Lucky me ;-)



       

spontaneous bonding

So proud of Cora, the star of the week in her class! She led the pledge and Allen and I joined her at chapel.

We were in the mood to have a spontaneous adventure.  So we cleared our weekend schedule on Friday morning and headed out of town for time with just our little family.

After all, Life is too short to celebrate every little and big thing.  

It was wonderful!

Family dinner at the Rainforest Cafe.

What a fun day!!! Kids were amazing.  Husband is too :-)

Cora and Colin on our first ride- Dumbo!

Cora met Belle.  Thank goodness.

Monday at Silver Springs, a gem of North FL. 

View of 84 foot deep Spring during glass-bottomed boat ride.

Another kind of boat ride.

I said OK when Cora wanted to ride the carousel 4 times in a row.. 'cause she is 4 years old... and you are only 4 once.

Love this bear.  Reminds me of Colin.

as good as it gets

Florida's answer to snow angels?  Sand angels!

 

 

Some pics from our family's beach excursion last weekend.  When the weather is this nice in January, it seems like it makes sense to skip Church and have family time at a beautiful place.  Followed by Dunkin' Donuts.  Because sometimes you have to break the rules and have some fun.  And sugar helps keep Baby brother from falling asleep in the car and skipping naptime.

Cheers!!!

I have been capturing Cora mid-air a lot lately.

always in motion

all you need is a shovel and bucket for hours of fun.  oh and a little brother.

Allen was "cooking" and offered me some "coffee".

Wave chasing

sand snuggling

no bird was safe from Allen.

Daddy snuggles. 

Who needs the town center when you have the beach?!

8

I woke up this morning due to heavy breathing in my face.  I opened my eyes and found Cora and her sparkling eyes about an inch from my droopy ones. 

She smiled and exclaimed: "Mama. You are a strong. beautiful. Woman."

(Me: Did Colin put her up to this?  Well, not a bad way to start 2013 although I wondered if there were any other 4 year olds out there who are as ??? as our Cora?)

Then I remembered that it is also our 8 year wedding anniversary and that Colin had gone to work at 5am (so he could have the afternoon/evening off and celebrate together) and I was on day #3 of being stuck in bed having a fever.  The last thing I was feeling was strong or beautiful, although I did feel grateful for being sandwiched between two beautiful kids and having a hard-working husband with plenty of work.

Cora: "Mama.  Today is your anniversary with Dada, isn't it? Because Patsy said yesterday that tomorrow is your anniversary so today is tomorrow, right? and Tomorrow is Today!!! (I will have to write a blog later called The Tao of Cora.)  So that means you get to be a Bride again and wear your pretty white dress!! And put on lots and lots of makeup!!!" While bounding on the bed to punctuate her enthusiasm.

I explained to her that Mama was not going to wear a wedding dress but I would be happy to dress her as a bride in honor of the occasion.  Which I did and she immediately proceeded to go have in imaginary wedding in her room with her husband, Jonathan II as the first one got fired for "telling her what to do all the time" (Cora and her future husband will definitely be in need of some pre-marital counseling someday). 

So the three of us headed downstairs, I made myself some coffee followed by a performance by Cora a.k.a. Ballerina Clara to one of my all time favorite move soundtracks "When Harry Met Sally". 

My favorite song from the album is "Our Love is Here to Stay" and somehow it always brings tears to my eyes.


It's very clear, our love is here to stay
Not for a year but ever and a day
The radio and the telephone and the movies that we know
May just be passing fancies and in time may go

But oh, my dear, our love is here to stay
Together we're going a long, long way
In time the Rockies may crumble, Gibraltar may tumble
They're only made of clay
But our love is here to stay
Together we're going a long, long way
In time the Rockies may crumble, Gibraltar may tumble
They're only made of clay
Oh, but our love is here
Our love is here
But our love is here to stay
To stay

  ***

What a year it has been. 

Full of blessings, challenges, surprises, new friends, reconnecting with old ones.

The highlights? Trip to Saint Maarten with Caroline and family, visiting college friends in D.C., Sea World, Asheville and Hammock Beach with Mom and Dad, dinners, parties and playdates with friends, visits from our family in Indy and Portland and getting to know our new home and neighborhood.

The challenges?  Nothing serious.  We have our health, our family and a home we love.  And few regrets.

***

Last night we kicked off our anniversary by me surprising Colin with a takeout dinner of pork, black eyed peas, collards, texas toast and fried green tomatoes (a homage to the plated dinner served at our wedding- pork tenderloin, black-eyed pea relish, collards, jalepeno chive cheddar biscuits and fried green tomatoes).  I was planning on recreating the dinner myself but barely got out of bed all day.  Colin brought the dinner up on trays and we ate it in our bed, fending off our wayward dog with the sounds of Allen wailing in the background. 

Yet somehow it had never been better and I knew that that moment was as good as it gets.

Our plans tonight?  If I am better, we are planning on seeing Lincoln and having champagne and a quiet dinner at the Wine Cellar.  Followed by Carrot Cake of course.

***

 

As for New Years Resolutions? Just one.

It goes back to the Our Love is Here to Stay Song.  One of my many flaws is to get caught up in things that simply do not matter at the end of the day and make me scowl and snap and brood.  The things? well my house is the last thing from a page from House Beautiful, there are bad hair days, tantrums, lost elections, crumbs everywhere, disorganized closets, those extra pounds, our UNlandscaped yard, ect. ect. ect.
None of it matters at the end of the day.

 Oh, but our love is here
Our love is here
But our love is here to stay
To stay

Colin, thank you for sharing your life with me.  It is a real honor.

Happy New Year!!