Rainy Holiday Weekend

Its Memorial Day weekend. That's a contradiction isn't it? Memorial Day Weekend. Hmm...let me start over...Memorial Day is today which means we had a three day weekend. In Erin-terms: its Memorial Day weekend! Memorial Day: the day to remember all those brave soldiers who have died so that we can have the fun and freedom that we have-so that I can live the wonderful life that I have. I too often forget that there are incredible mothers, fathers, daughters and sons in our incredible military that are out there fighting in unbelievable conditions so that I can live my little life with some sort of normalcy. Anything military related gives me chills to the bone. They are a people that I can't even comprehend. I could never be so selfless to give up my life for a stranger in our selfish US of A. Nor can I imagine being a parent or loved one of one of those. I thank our military and their families!

I'm sure you're itching to know how we spent our weekend, right?

Friday night I kicked off the weekend by having a little night out with a girlfriend for drinks, dinner and a movie. We had some yummy Pablo's, margaritas and saw Sex and the City 2. I will say that the movie was better than I expected. I never have high hopes for a sequel but it was funny. It was not as good as the first but worth seeing if you were a big SATC fan. I miss the show (which I've tried to make up for with Gossip Girl) so it was good to see all the girls back together again.

Saturday we did nothing worth mentioning. Spent some time at home getting chores done and letting Hudson boss us around. :) Here are a few pics of us playing around the house...

Hudson loves matchbox cars and trucks. He found my old-and-in-great-need-of-repair-flower-box a great place to drive trucks and fill them up with dirt.

Vrrooom Vroom!

Me playing with my toy.

He made an even bigger mess of this shabby little flower box.

Hudson "CHEEEZE-ING!"

Hudson giving out yet another thumbs up...to what I'm not sure.

Hudson wanted Bear-Bear to be in the picture.

Hudson and Daddy

Sunday we had a lake trip planned with friends but the weather was not cooperative. Sudnay morning Hudson's grandmother was itching for some Hud-time and we had nothing else to do, so to the lake we went. We spent most of the day running from rain and chasing sunshine, but it was still a good time. Late afternoon the rain subsided and we saw a beautiful sunset. Totally worth it! And I would like to say thanks to the people with a brand new empty boat house. I don't know why you aren't using your lake house on a holiday weekend, but I'm glad you weren't so that we could during a quick storm.

Monday (today) we were invited over to my friend Rachel's house for a little back yard BBQ. We are rarely able to make our calendars coincide, so when she extended the invite and we were free there was no question where we would spend the evening. Rachel and her hubby Mark made a fabulous meal. It was so good to see them, their home, meet their sweet family and friends, and let the boys play. Hudson is so shy when we're around a lot of people and kids--especially at a house he isn't familiar with--which totally baffles me. He certainly didn't inherit that trait from me! ;) Thanks Olis fam!

Me, Rachel and our babies

Rachel and me

Wyatt blowing bubbles for us.

Partners in crime.

Kickin' off the boating season of 2010

Last weekend we took Hudson out for a boat ride. He has not been out on the boat since the end of last summer. He liked the boat last summer. I assumed he would love it this year, but you never know. My assumption was correct. Kiddo loved it! He rode like a big boy and said "faster Daddy!". The second we stopped to splash around he was ready to jump in. Literally. He jumped in! I was so excited! Those of you who know Lantis and I well know that we are water bugs. If its above 75 degrees, we're itching to be on the boat. We took Hudson out for his first boat ride when he was only a couple weeks old, so I guess he was destined to love it too.

Thumbs up to boating.

Ready to go for a swim.

Boating can be extremely tiring. Of course Bear-Bear went out with us!

There's so much cuteness in this pic I can't stand it!!!

My boys enjoying the water.

I hope you are all able to enjoy some sort of body of water with your families this year. I think its good for the soul. Cheers to kicking off the summer of 2010! Happy Memorial Day weekend to you all!

A Whole Lotta Cute

Why yes, I am referring to my son. He's a whole lotta cute wrapped in a sweaty, handsome, curious, sweet little boy. Of course, he's a typical two year old in that he pitches his fair share of fits--I mean in the floor kicking fits. He pushes the limits constantly and loves to find the edge of my nerves. He is very curious and questions everything. He yearns for my undivided attention and love and there are times when life makes it hard for me to grant that wish. He is loud, he loves music, he loves to play drums and guitar, he loves to dance and sing, he loves bugs and dirt, he loves trucks and cars, he loves our dog, Buddy, he is 110% boy and I would have it no other way. For all the times he pushes me to my limit, there are so many other times that make it all worth the trouble. I live for the moments when I get sweaty/snotty kisses from him, when he crawls in my lap and asks me to read and when he says "I luu lou Mommy" without me asking. He makes my heart melt. He makes me laugh all the time by doing absolutely nothing in particular. I can just watch him play in his own little world and it makes me smile and giggle.

I don't know who said two is terrible because they had it all wrong. Yes, there are days when I want to pull my hair out, but he's worth it all.

I was flipping through my phone pics today and decided they deserved to be posted. Here are a few photos that I've caught on the go that capture Hudson at some of my favorite times.

Helping Daddy in the yard.

He gives riding the lawn mower a big thumbs up. He just recently established the thumbs up and he gives it freely.

He likes helping mommy drive. :) Call me Britney Spears! Ha! I swear I only allow this in our neighborhood!

His surfer dude hello. Lantis taught him this since we surf behind our boat.

Laughs! I love 'em. Lots of 'em.

Golf. This kid loves golf and usually carries around a club when we're out in the yard. Whenever we visit Golfsmith (often) for Lantis to stock up on the latest and greatest stuff, Hudson entertains the whole store with his mad putting skills.

Rach's grad shindig at Cocina

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TGIF!

Hello little blogging world. I hope this post finds you well and I hope you are as excited about it being Friday as I am! I have had a very long, very busy week and I'm ready for the weekend! I don't have much of a weekend or a day off in store. In fact, I'll work harder tomorrow than I have all week and I couldn't be more thrilled about it.

I shot a wedding last weekend and I have another tomorrow. I'm super excited about the results from last week's wedding and I can't wait to share. As soon as the bride approves I'll have them on my Lens Envy blog and website. Trust me, you'll hear me singing it from the roof tops! Hopefully the weather will cooperate tomorrow and we'll be able to get some gorgeous photos. Tomorrow's bride is probably the most laid back person and bride I've ever met so no matter what happens I know that she's totally going to roll with it. My kinda gal!

One newsworthy nugget: my BFF, Rachel, graduated from Cumberland last Friday. Congrats Raquel! We're so proud to finally have an attorney in the group. God knows we need one! Haha! Just kidding. I love you!
Also this week Hudson finished his first year of school. I will have to do a post about that later with pics. I'm proud of my baby and how much he's grown and learned this year. I'll gush about it at a later date though. :)

I hope everyone has a great weekend! Mwuah!

Fried Eggs

After school on Tuesdays and Thursdays Hudson and I usually have lots to do--doctor appointments, grocery shopping, and house work. Yesterday we had no appointments or errands to run which meant it was clean the house and do laundry day. Before school I had started the washer and dryer. When we get home I expect to take the load out of the dryer fold them, and keep the cycle going except that the clothes weren't dry. The clothes were still slightly moist and sour smelling. My first thought is "Great! Now I have to buy a new dryer. Perfect timing." I checked the lint trap--it was clean, I checked the hose--no kinks, I checked and its steaming hot--heating element still kickin'. Hmmm...I think maybe there's something clogging the hose. I thought about unhooking it and vacuuming it out, but realized that would require lots of work. Our laundry room isn't huge so I didn't know how to move things around to get behind the dryer most importantly. Then, if I made some mistake in removing the hose I'd be in trouble with the hubby so I decided to wait until he came home. I was ticked because I could have had the laudry finshed by now, but this thing is holding me up. He immediately goes to work on the dryer when he gets home. He starts vacuuming out the hose and says OH MY GOSH COME IN HERE. I peer into the hose and see that a little bird family has made their home in our dryer hose. They climbed a long way through the vent and wall and into the hose to make sure that their baby bird was going to be in a nice warm environment. What mommy bird didn't realize is that as much as I dry clothes she was going to have a fried little egg.

We removed the nest as carefully as we could and put it in a shoebox outside near the dryer vent where hopefully mommy bird will find it. I kind of hope we get to see it hatch so that Hudson can see it!

Blue Angels May 2010

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On Mother's Day we went to see the Blue Angels show in Tuscaloosa. This is the second BA show I've seen. Both have been phenomenal and give me chills. They are absolutely amazing pilots. I think its one of those things that every American should see and be proud of. I think they are planning to do this show in Tuscaloosa annually so if you've never been you should plan to attend next year. Especially if you have a little boy. Hudson loved it too! This was his second show also, but the first he doesn't remember. We went to a practice show in Pensacola while on a beach trip when he was 10 weeks old. Glad I have photos to look back on...to keep me motivated to eat right and work out because I'm a little post-baby chub in this pic, and to help me remember the fun we are having with this baby boy.

Record set...

...for longest amount of time lapsed in between posts. Now there's a feather in my cap!

I have made it a point over the last couple of weeks to put work and my laptop away at night. In the evenings we've been playing in the yard until we've squeezed the last bit of light out of the sky. Then we'll head in for dinner, baths, and bedtime. After Hudson goes to bed, Lantis and I hang out or watch a movie--unless its Monday and then I have an appointment with Gossip Girl. I haven't had lots to report, but I figured it was time to catch up.

I always wanted to watch the Tudors on Showtime. I didn't hear about it until the second season. Then I would forget it was on. Now we dont have Showtime anymore and they're on the 4th season and King Henry's 6th wife. We decreased our cable package last year: a) to save money on all the things we weren't watching and b) to not be couch potatoes (you see how well that's worked). I signed up for Netflix (because I'm not a couch potato) awhile back and I must report that I love it! We still have On Demand and some movie channels, but that is no excuse not to have Netflix. Anywhoo I've rented the seasons of The Tudors from Netflix and I've been catching up. I love history and its a great show. Pretty historically correct also. If you're into that stuff, check it out. The Tudors on Showtime.

Some fun time in the yard.

Hudson is in a BIG "helping" phase. You can entertain him by letting him "help" you with whatever you're doing. Sorting laundry--Hudson helps by putting darks in the white basket. Cutting grass--Hudson helps by walking beside Daddy. Dusting the house--Hudson helps by walking around and knocking things around with the swiffer. Loading the dishwasher--Hudson helps by suddenly feeling the need for a cup of water or milk. Its great though. I can tell he's learning and soaking up everything we're doing because I see him mocking us. Love it!

Manning the grill and stove at my Mom and Dad's house--Master and Mrs Hollis.

We celebrated my Dad's birthday and Mother's Day a week early because my dad was going out of town. We grilled fish and chicken and made some of his favorites to go along with it. Then we had some homemade vanilla ice cream. Its normally yummo but my sis used real vanilla none too sparingly and it was alcoholic ice cream. For real. I got a buzz off of one bite. We got a kick out of it though.