Flat Taylie

We had a visitor with us this weekend: Flat Taylie.  She may have come on Thursday, but I forgot to check the mail that day.  So if she was here, she spent a lonely night in a cramped mailbox.  I have to tell you that when I took her out of the envelope, I was pretty surprised.  That's the biggest "Flat Stanley" project I've ever seen.  Not so easy to take along on trips while also lugging a flailing toddler.  But I suppose it made things more interesting.

On Friday night, I rented "High School Musical 3" just so I could say I watched it with Flat Taylie.  I knew straight up that I wouldn't be watching it with Jared.  I watched the whole thing, and while the music was actually not that bad, I wasn't sad when it was over.  Real Taylie, please don't be offended by my honesty.  I still like the first one the best.

On Saturday we took Flat Taylie to some historical places.  I was glad that Jared would come so that I wouldn't have to rely on bugging strangers to get the pictures.

At the glassblowers near Jamestown Island

Historic Jamestown.  

We didn't walk around the inside museum because it doesn't make for very good pictures, and Flat Taylie's eyes don't work so good anyway.

The bridge to get to the settlement.  

Luke LOVES this bridge.  He will run from side to side and look down into the water.  I think it took him at least 10 minutes to cross it.  The only way we could get him to keep walking was to run far enough ahead of him that he would get a little scared of being left behind.  Then, he'd run just far enough to ease his fear, and he'd stop and stare again.

Flat Taylie didn't like the bridge.  She tripped and fell.

Jamestown monument

Can you see Flat Taylie waving in the wind?

Seeing a cannon.  Behind is a model of how the first settlers would build houses.  This shows the structural beginnings.  Afterwards, they would thatch the roof and put mud on the walls.

Meeting Pocahontas

Later that afternoon, I went to Colonial Williamsburg with Luke and flat Taylie.  This time, Jared stayed home to study, so I had to bug kind strangers.  To get this picture, I stopped a nice looking couple.  The lady took the picture while the man stopped Luke from running into the road.  Wouldn't you know it?  He had spotted some horses right as we were taking the picture.

Flat Taylie in the stocks

Flat Taylie and some nice Colonials.

Many people commented on Flat Taylie's shirt that says, "Drama Queen."  It was a big hit.  These people made all kinds of jokes about it.  And several people walking by said things like, "That's the biggest Flat Stanley I've ever seen."  So apparently this is a well known project.  Whoever started the trend must feel like a big shot.

Anyway, I had a fun time with Flat Taylie, and I'll be excited to meet Flat Brenna someday.  Unless of course Amber is chosen for the honor.  I figure it might be her turn next.  Didn't Flat Ethan visit Nay-Nay?  Or maybe it was Mima and Papa.  I don't really remember.

Shamed in front of a cook (and other things that make me feel like an idiot)

Yesterday Nora and I went to CW to walk around, and we decided to stop by the Raleigh tavern bakery.  Word to the money wise: Don't go!  They doubled the price on practically everything.  A ham biscuit for 5 bucks?!  I think not!  So after standing in line for nearly 10 minutes, we left without buying anything.  

But we were in the mood for a little snack as we'd both earlier in the week found cash in our pants pockets.  So we walked over to Retros.  As I was drinking my coke, I let Luke walk around since the "restaurant" was practically empty, and he wasn't in anybody's way.  He loved looking at a life size cutout of Elvis that they had next to the restrooms, so he kept wandering over to the restroom corner.  So anyway...here's the shamed part.  A guy comes out from the back and walks to the restroom.  Luke follows after him, and Luke's pretty fast.  Without thinking (and without lowering my voice) I call, "Luke, let the man pee in peace."  And just then I make it around the corner to see that the door hasn't shut behind the man (because Luke is trying to get in too), and I hear him laughing.  Practically hysterically.  And I turn around red-faced and in shock that I actually said that only to find Nora snorting into her tomato soup.  We couldn't look at each other for the next 5 minutes without laughing.

I felt like I should just whip out my medicaid card and tell the world, "Yes.  I am white trash and have no tact or manners.  Thank you for noticing."  

And then last night, I was loading soap into the dishwasher.  The box was on its last run, and I was trying to shake out the last kernels of soap which of course wouldn't cooperate by going into the little cup but instead shot all over the dishwasher door.  Jared says, "Don't you think that's enough?"  And I tell him, "Nonsense.  The cup's not even full."  I close the door, lock it, and start the dishwasher.  A little while later, we walk into the kitchen to find a HUGE puddle of water and bubbles gushing, literally GUSHING, out of the dishwasher.  But the thing is that I swear I didn't put into too much soap.  So what did I do wrong?  Jared started laughing, but he stopped pretty fast when he realized I was about to cry.  I hate doing things wrong, acting white trash, and feeling like an idiot.  I also hate lima beans.

Shamed at the Bookstore (among other details of my life)

There are a lot of 3rd year law students who will soon be graduating and leaving.  I am so sad that they will be gone!  Hopefully a few (one especially) will stay in the area :) Anyway, Jared and I have felt so welcomed here.  We made some friends right away, and I am determined to help our newcomers feel just as welcome.  More than that, I am determined to convince people to choose William & Mary.  We want a good big group of families here.  Nora took up my cause too.  There was a family visiting her ward yesterday who is in town investigating William & Mary for an undergrad program.  Nora invited them to dinner and invited us to come say hi too.  It was really fun to meet them, and today Jared and I met up with them today for lunch.

We were supposed to meet in from of the bookstore in CW at 11:30 am.  I got there early, so I decided to explore the childrens section upstairs.  Luke started whining in his stroller, so I let him out.  He walked around looking at books and babbling for a little while.  And I swear I was within a few feet of him the WHOLE TIME.  But was I really paying attention to what was in the corner?  Not really.  Not until it was too late...  I saw Luke reaching for the huge cardboard display, and shouted NO! right as he grabbed and yanked.  Crash!  And there was Luke lying on the floor under the display board with books scattered all around.  As well as a few critical pieces of the display.  And an employee ran around the corner.  "Oh!Oh! I heard you yell no, and I heard the crash."  And then she saw me pull Luke out and check him over.  What color was my face?  Probably red.  And I was stammering apologies and trying to comfort Luke at the same time.  Luckily, the employee was really nice about it and acted more concerned about Luke than the books or display, but I felt soooo stupid.  And I wanted to escape as quickly and with as much "I'm really not a terrible parent" dignity and proof as possible.  So when she asked, "Can I help you find anything?" I just said, "Oh.  I already found it,"  held up the Sandra Boynton book I had been looking at (and not originally planning to buy), and took it to the register.  We are now the proud owners of this book:

which turned out to be absolutely hilarious. 

And then we headed to lunch. (Where Luke made a poopy diaper-- and there was no changing table.  It's a good thing he doesn't complicate things.)

Jared and Luke in Retro's-- one of the best places to eat in CW (in my opinion) because it is cheap and it has quite a few vegetarian options.  And also their corn dogs rock!  Mom, don't judge me.  I deserve a treat now and then.  Although to tell the truth, there have been an awful lot of nows lately which explains why I haven't lost any more weight in about three weeks.  I'm rededicating myself tonight.  Salad for dinner.  Anyway...

Our new friends, Yurii and Donna (and their son Alman asleep in the sling).

We hope they're here next year!

King of the Mountain

I went into the kitchen to put away some wash rags and came back to the living room to see this:

Aaaaaah!  I ran to Luke and reached him right as he took a step off.  Glad that he didn't get fall and lucky he didn't get hurt.  I let him do it a couple more times while I was standing next to him.  I wanted to see how he did it.  Here's how:

Needless to say, the laundry basket has been placed in my room and my door shut, but I'm scared to see what he tries to climb next!

Our Adorable Son

Thank you to Nora for snapping some great pictures of Luke!

My First Farm Fresh Trip

I've never shopped at Farm Fresh before, but I recently learned via a Relief Society enrichment on "couponing" that Farm Fresh doubles $1.00 off coupons every Wednesday.  

Yesterday was Wednesday, and Jared and I tried a V8 soup for dinner which was delicious, and I had 2 $1.00 off coupons for some more, so I thought, "Hey. Why not go to Farm Fresh and get some soup?"  I went through the coupons I have and pulled out a couple.

I didn't get a lot of things, and I should have looked at the ad before I went, because I would have got some REALLY sweet deals if I had done my research first, but all the same, I was happy.  I got all this for $9.00.  And it originally rang up for $20.00!  The trash bags alone are 6 dollars at full price.  So I felt like I had made a small victory.

Just a Little Bit Taller...

What is one of the greatest accomplishments of Luke's life?  Growing tall enough to get inside the third drawer.  He pulls it open and then stands on tiptoes to look inside.  He usually goes for the whisk first, but this time he went for what was easiest.

Scoping it out

The 1st selection

The 2nd selection

Tasting the merchandise

Playing with Friends

Luke loves it when friends come to play.  He's more of a follower than a leader most of the time, but he has a blast following other kids.  He likes to scream at them though-- not a mean "I'm going to get you" kind of scream, but a super excited "I'm having the time of my life!" kind of scream.

Samuel likes Luke's screams and screams back.  They have whole conversations that our downstairs neighbors probably hear.

Luke and Samuel playing in Luke's room.

Emiline doesn't like Luke's screams.  I think they scare her, but she's pretty good about putting up with it.  Luke is really good with kids a little bit younger than he is.  I'm glad that he's gentle with and overall aware of his little friends.  I just love watching them together, and entertainment for Luke means less work for me.

Home Again... And with Good News

Jared got home yesterday (later than planned) because he ended up having an internship interview in Houston.  It went really well!  We'll be in Houston this summer!  Jared just has to arrange the final details of when and how long and all of that.  I can't wait to find out the details, and I am so excited to know that we'll get to stay together as a family this summer.  There's plenty of room in my parent's house and it will be great for Luke to have so much time with Mima and Papa.

Home Alone

Jared's brother is getting married this weekend, so Jared is going out of town.  Rod lives in Oregon, but the general meeting place is Utah.  So Jared is flying to Salt Lake, meeting up with his family, and then all of them are driving to Oregon together.  I have been in the car on the Wilkerson road trips.  I expect Jared will get a good dose of debate and laughter.  Luke and I will miss him while he's gone.  

Shakespeare's Sonnet 2

Last week my wonderful visiting teachers, Elizabeth and Catie, came over. We all got to talking about the toll pregnancy and childbirth take on your body. Elizabeth told me about Shakespeare's Sonnet number 2 that talks about how our beauty (that fades with us) lives on in our children. We don't waste our youth and beauty, we just share it with our kids. I think Luke was worth it. Don't you?

When forty winters shall beseige they brow,

And dig deep trenches in thy beauty's field,

Thy youth's proud livery, so gazed on now,

Will be a tatter'd weed, of small worth held:

Then being ask'd where all thy beauty lies,

Where all the treasure of thy lusty days,

To say, within thine own deep-sunken eyes,

Were an all-eating shame and thriftless praise.

How much more praise deserved thy beauty's use,

If thou couldst answer 'This fair child of mine

Shall sum my count and make my old excuse,'

Proving his beauty by succession thine!

This were to be new made when thou art old,

And see thy blood warm when thou feel'st it cold.

Snow in Williamsburg

Last night the Gradys knocked on our door to tell us it was snowing outside!  We went out for a little while to nab some pictures, but the camera battery died after only one shot.  It kept snowing during the night (a little), and school was cancelled today due to the weather.  

Late this morning (around 10ish) it started snowing again, so after Luke's nap, he got to explore the snow.  He wanted to stay out for longer, but since he doesn't have any snow clothes, we only let him play for a few minutes. 

Luke liked the snow stuck on license plates.

A little harder to walk

Chasing Luke down

Checking it out

Getting cleaned up

*Not about snow, but...

Last night Jared and I made aebleskievers and crepes.  They turned out really good (after we'd figured out the system).  The Beans and Gradys joined us for an entirely inappropriate diet meal that was delicious.  I had planned to take pictures, but I only remembered after the bowl was empty.  Oops.  Next time.

Nertz!!!

Friday night we had some friends over so we could play Nertz.  Justin and Nancy made a delicious pasta dinner.  Kyle and Kathleen brought some yummy fizzies.  So we ate and then got down to business.  The worst part about Nertz is explaining the rules and how to play.  I did my best, but then we just started.  I think that's the easiest way: to just do it. We had a lot of fun.  And with all of us being pretty competitive (especially Kathleen!) it was pretty energetic as well.

Sorting out the decks

Kyle and Kathleen were the "Summer" team because they were both wearing blue which is the color of the ocean.  And as Jared so sarcastically noted, "The ocean only exists in the summer."

Justin and Nancy were the winter team because they were both wearing white.

Here are the winners!  (Not that we had an advantage or anything.) Jared and I were the fall team.

Overall the girls liked to be the 1-2-3 person and made the boys be in charge of the Nertz pile.  Good thing the boys were okay with having to watch 4 cards plus all of the piles.