A Project

Last weekend (on my birthday!) I spray-painted something for the very first time.
Well, ok, so Brooke actually did the first coat because I was afraid I would mess it up. And he did a great job. This lamp belonged to his grandparents, and I have always loved it. But I wanted to make it stand out a little more, and Nicole suggested spray paint. Check out the metamorphosis!

The whole endeavor took, like half an hour and cost about $2.50. We got the paint that is intended for plastic, so there was no sanding or priming and each coat took only 15 minutes to dry. Next up is Jude's dresser, which will soon be a lovely shade of green! In lieu of photos of the dresser, here's Jude himself, just waking up from a nap:
I love the yellow walls, but I can't take credit for them- they were already painted when we moved in. I haven't done anything in his room, but I do have plans. Isobel's room is nearly finished (or as finished as any room ever is) and I'll be doing a post with photos as soon as I finish this one last project that involves this gem:
I know, I know, you'll be in suspense until them. What oh what will Christina do with that $5.00 Patriotic Teddy Bear print from Goodwill?? You'll just have to wait and see.




In other news, Isobel and her BFF Shaina had ballet camp every morning this week and they were ADORABLE. And they loved it. And they were adorable, did I mention that?

The Coast!

At the beginning of this week we took a quick trip down to Wilmington with Brooke's parents for a little coastal getaway. We were only there for two nights, but it was a lovely retreat. We went to the Ft. Fisher Aquarium (which we also visited during our trip South at the end of January) and I bit my tongue, once again, about the hideous alligators.













I have a major problem with crocodiles and alligators. But the last thing I want is for Isobel to pick up on my fear and adopt it. So I try really hard not to show my discomfort, and you know what? Pretending not to be afraid has actually helped me to be a little less afraid, I think. So it's good for everyone involved.



It's getting easier and easier to take good photos of Isobel, now that she's old enough to understand what I mean when I say to hold still and look toward (or away from) the camera.

Contrast Jude, who has suddenly turned into an active toddler. You'll notice there aren't very many pictures of just Jude in this post. Can't you just see him begging to be let loose from the stroller?








And yes, we spent some time at Wrightsville Beach. It was glorious. Cool water, not too choppy, soft sand, empty stretches of beach... ahhhh. I handed the camera over to Brooke's parents, and they got some great photos of us all frolicking during the "golden hour" late in the afternoon.

(p.s. - Note my new swimming suit! It's my birthday present to myself! I'm so happy!)

Anyway, here are the promised beach photos. I love them.

I'm having formatting problems, so we're just going to let this last photo of me and Brooke be down below the Isobels rather than between them.
You win this round, stupid Blogger.

Awesome Isobel

I am really proud of my big three-and-a-half-year-old girl, Isobel. She just finished up her first year of preschool, she's growing up incredibly fast, and she's just really cool. So it's high time I bragged about her a bit.

Firstly: She's got this facility with strangers that just blows my mind. She introduces herself to everyone we see, and she's totally confident that they will love her. When we go to a park or museum, she usually makes a friend right away and spends her time playing with that new friend. I don't know how much of this is childhood innocence, but I can't tell you how much I hope she keeps this outgoing, confident personality through adolescence and into adulthood. What an asset, to be an extrovert!

Secondly:
























The girl is coordinated, athletic, and fearless. She wows (and, occasionally, frightens) other parents at our local park with her junglegym skillz, like hanging upside down, swinging standing up, and sliding down the fireman's pole. She's also REALLY close to being able to do the monkey bars on her own (something I was never capable of).

Thirdly:
She is gentle, patient, and at-ease with animals. She and Stella do annoy each other sometimes, but generally they're good together and Isobel really loves all animals. She's not crazy about bugs, but she's getting more and more comfortable with them as she gets older. I'm always proud of her when we're out and about and she shows good dog-greeting etiquette.

A few other tidbits: her favorite word today is "appetite," she loves to paint and draw with markers, she can count to three in several languages, and she's beautiful, agreeable, and kind. What more could I ask? Isobel is the greatest.

Jude is also the greatest. I wouldn't want you to think I'd forgotten him, so here's some babycuteness for you:

Jude can walk!

Liver Bread Recipe (with mouthwatering photos!)

Liver Bread (via)

Ingredients:
· 1 lb liver (any kind- I used chicken livers)
· 1 cup flour (any kind- I used Self-Rising this time, but the texture was better with regular old All Purpose)
· 1 cup corn meal
· 2 Tbsp garlic powder (more or less)
· 1 Tbsp oil

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Cover a baking sheet with foil and oil it.

2. Dump the livers into a blender and puree.

3. Mix in all the other ingredients.

4. Spread liver mixture over foil. Bake for about 25 minutes. Open all the windows in your house; the smell will be overpowering.

5. Let cool. Slice into bite-size chunks- a pizza cutter works well. (I forgot to oil the foil this time around and so had to flip the bread over and peel the foil off the back before cutting it up.) Divide and store, refrigerated or frozen, in ziploc baggies.

Enjoy!

Mountains n' Sterrrburry pickin'

[Here's what you've been waiting for: a post by Brooke! Enjoy.]

Recently we had a Saturday morning free, so rather than rise at the crack o' noon and mutter about the darn kids across the street that are always gettin' into our recycling and playing with the bottles and cans to make Björk-like music at two in the a.m., we went in search of nature's gifts to fill our empty bellies. I'm talking about strawberries. We picked a few baskets worth, then got the heck out of there before the workers had a chance to realize that Jude had eaten his bodyweight's worth of free berries.























Christina got all haute couture on me after I mentioned that James McAvoy had been spotted down at the local Golden Corral. She swore she would converse with him over Snackums and Skillet Cornbread and she was so excited about the prospect that she screamed "MAAAAACAVOY" and bit this hole in the rug. Isobel snapped the pic on the right below while Mommy was gone for the next 36 hours with McAvoy on the set of his next documentary movie: "American Food Buffets: Why I love those wee houses of deliciousness."























Then we took our redneck coonhound to the top of the Pilot Mountain so she could feel at home with all the squirrels and birds and other rednecks.







Isobel, 3 and a half, is the prettiest girl in the whole wide world. Just try and deny it. You'll find yourself in a world of hurt if Stella hears.

PA

Six cousins in a box!

We love visiting Brooke's family in Carlisle. It's so convenient, having two of his three siblings AND their parents, all in the same town. And that town is a manageable six-hour drive from us. Now if only we could get Allison to move in an Easterly direction. Actually, I'd like all of my family to move Eastward, too. C'mon, people!




But yes, a highlight of this trip was the fantastic and enormous sandbox that Bobby built for the twins' birthday. My children LOVE sand. LOVE. More often than not, Isobel comes home from preschool with sand in her hair and shoes and underwear.

Another highlight was watching Stella and Maggie play together. Maggie is Brooke's parents' Brittany puppy; she's about a month older than Stella. They loved each other! It was a huge relief for me to not have to watch Stella all the time; she and Maggie (and the ol' timer, Simon) ran around the Shifflers' nice big yard all week. Next time we go up, I'll have to remember to get a video of puppy playtime. They were moving too fast for me to really get any good photos with both pups in the same frame.





Grandma and Papa have a nice-looking and sort of working piano that we all like to play a bit when we visit. We don't have a piano, so all four of us fight over anything with 88 keys. I try not to think about how ridiculous it is that I have a degree in piano performance; I only play about once a week, in church. Brooke, whose playing-by-ear abilities are miraculous, has even fewer opportunities. How depressing. Now I'm feeling sorry for us, which I should definitely not do because we have this adorable JUDE to gaze at all day every day!

This last photo is by Nicole. Oh, how I love it so!