Memorial Day 2011

What a weekend! We were so busy and by Sunday night, we were all exhausted. We had so much fun, though.

Friday night, we took Cooper to his 1st Redbirds' game. It was a little chilly and we got to the game much earlier than anticipated, so we walked around the park for a while.

Waving to the players on the field:


The best picture we could get of me and Cooper:


Cheering on the Redbirds!


After lots of climbing up and down the stairs, a few bites of pretzel, and a fit or two, we called it a night after the 2nd inning. I'm sure there will be many more baseball games in our future.

Saturday morning, we went downtown for a walk and quick run through the Farmer's Market. After hanging out at home for a few hours, Cooper went to Jeff's parents' house to spend the night while we saw The Hangover II, made a Target run, and picked up Newk's for dinner. I hadn't paid much attention to The Hangover II reviews, but apparently there were complaints that this one was too much like the first one. Like Jeff said, does anyone remember how funny the first one was? Yes, the movie is predictable and similar to the first, but it is hilarious.

Jeff worked Sunday morning, so I went to church, exercised, made a Heath Bar Cake for my aunt and uncle's pool party, and caught up on DVR. Jeff picked up Cooper and we all met at home to go to Aunt Leigh and Uncle Mark's. Cooper is definitely a water baby, but because it has been almost a year since his last pool visit, we weren't sure how he'd react. Once he got adjusted to the cold water, he loved it! My mom has to stay out of the sun for the most part because of the effects of radiation and my dad's back was bothering him, so they would help Cooper "jump" into the pool (hand him to me or Jeff). We'd dunk him in the water and he came up smiling every time. He also would sit in a big raft, then roll off the side into the water head-first. He's not scared or bothered by going under water at all!

Jeff and Coop at the pool:


By the time we got home that night, we were all exhausted. The hectic weekend was catching up to us and we all went to bed early. Coop and Jeff were up early Monday morning and went to play golf, so I got to sleep in! Yay! Once they made it home (and Cooper was taking a nap), Jeff and I watched what may be my new favorite train wreck show- My Big, Fat, Gypsy Wedding. It really deserves its own blog post, but I don't even know where to begin with it, so I'll just say that you need to tune in to get the full effect of how crazy this show is. After a late morning walk, we went to my grandmother's house for a BBQ lunch and to spend time with my mom's family, then to Jeff's grandparents' house for time with his mom's family.

Cooper LOVED homemade vanilla ice cream:


So now we're back at work- tired, but thankful for a 4 day work week!

Crazy Saturday

A crazy few weeks, actually. I feel like since Spring break, things have been going non-stop for us. Spring is always busy, but with Jeff's trip to Scotland thrown in, I feel like we really got off track. Thankfully, the main part of state testing is over (which is my big responsibility in the Spring), graduation was last night, and I have a week of school left.

Today was no exception in terms of things being hectic. Kelly, a friend of mine from work, has 2 children whose birthdays are a year apart. She did a combined farm themed birthday party for both of them and it was amazing. Kelly and her mom are very creative and the perfect party planners to begin with, but I think she really outdid herself this time. Kelly's family lives in the country, so how convenient is it that she already had a barn to work with for the party?!?! They rented baby goats and chicks (unfortunately we were late and missed out), had real horseshoes as picture frames along with wooden cowboy and cowgirl cutouts, Happy Meal-type boxes for the kids' lunches, coloring tables, and cowboy hat favors. Too cute!


Cowboy Cooper


Cooper took a little while to warm up to the crowd, so Jeff took him to partake in the coloring table.


Cooper preferred the "sunglasses around your neck" look.

Once we finished at the birthday party, we headed home and took advantage of the nice weather, taking all the outside toys out. No need, though, because Coop is very into water. The water hose, specifically. He may play with the lawnmower or t-ball set for a few minutes, but goes right back to spraying himself, making mud pits, and trying to spray us or Avery.




Chasing after his ball. Notice Jeff is still having to spray the water hose.

Checking out the water table:


I think Jeff and I were more tired than Coop after all of today's excitement! Another accomplishment, though- Coop is saying "wa-wa" for "water." We're getting there and I feel like I might be able to stop worrying about his developing vocabulary.

James Frey on Oprah: Part 2

Today was part 2 of the James Frey interview and Oprah APOLOGIZED! Color me shocked- I didn't think such a thing like that could happen. She apologized for the tone and way she said the things she did to James Frey, but not that she said them at all. Hmm...sounds like a backhanded apology to me, but I guess you take what you can get.

Today's episode picks up where yesterday's left off, but got into more of what Frey has been involved in since he was last on the show. He now has his own publishing company, a wife and 2 children, and while still full of himself- seems at peace. Oprah asked if he had ever relapsed (he hasn't), but said that even his roughest days in rehab and with A Million Little Pieces didn't compare to losing his son after 11 days of life. You truly see how human he is when he's talking about his kids.

He and Oprah seem to have a mutual understanding of each other. She never knew that he was brought back on the show to talk about truth instead of be ambushed by her (a producer confirmed this) and he admitted that he should have been honest from the get go.

Can we all sing Kumbaya now?

Shellac Manicure

Have y'all heard about this new manicure that is supposed to last 14 days? The Shellac manicure, while more expensive, is the newest in nail care and I decided to give it a try. A few co-workers and Jeff's mom have had one and while everyone says it didn't last the full 14 days, most everyone said it was worth a try.

I go Saturday afternoon and decided to really treat myself and get a French manicure. Shellac doesn't have many colors to choose from yet, so this was the safest bet. It's a process, for sure. Several layers of polish, several go-rounds under a UV light, and on and on. I have to say, though- I normally mess up a manicure in an hour, 2 on a good day, so I never get them. This one look the same today as it did when I walked out of the salon Saturday.

A hand model, I am not:


48 hours in and I'm still impressed. I'm not sure that I'll keep getting them, but for the moment, I like having cute nails and am enjoying the fact that I've changed sheets on the bed, almost lost a finger to a teething 19 month old when trying to give him Orajel, cooked, done laundry and dishes, and haven't chipped the paint once!

James Frey on Oprah Part 1

Now that Oprah is leaving daytime TV, I am obsessed with her. 7 shows left? Oh my gosh- I now have to watch all of them and by next Wednesday, I'll be boo-hooing about how I'll never get through my day without watching her.

In all seriousness, I've never been a huge Oprah fan. If her show topic was something that interested me, I'd watch, but it wasn't something I HAD to do. Unless it was her Favorite Things episode, then definitely, I'm glued.

But today and tomorrow's shows are must-see for me. A few years back, when Oprah's Book Club was really in full swing, she picked a gem- A Million Little Pieces by James Frey. The book, touted as a memoir that followed Frey's addiction and rehab experience, was riveting. I have no recollection of how long it took me to finish the book, but it was quick and its follow-up, My Friend Leonard, was read in a day. Turns out, A Million Little Pieces isn't so much a memoir as a novel and Oprah, in all her glory, called him out on it. On live TV. In full Oprah fashion. "No, you LIED." she said, but it was really her wonky eye that probably made Frey make his "I made a mistake!" comment.

In a 2 part episode, Oprah and Frey meet again. I guess it's to let bygones be bygones and find out what's been going on since that infamous interview. Basically, Frey said after he filmed the episode, he went home and dealt with the backlash that came from lying or misleading his readers. He and his family moved to France for a while to get away from the paparazzi and he basically told Oprah that he felt like he got steamrolled during the interview.

Whoa. You just told Oprah she made you feel like crap, essentially. Has anyone ever done that?

I'm hoping tomorrow's episode picks up the pace. I think it will- the previews address how they came to do these episodes and what Frey is up to now. Still, even though I know some of the details of A Million Little Pieces are fabricated (and maybe My Friend Leonard, too), Frey's writing style can't be denied.

Movie Review: The Fighter

Saturday night, after watching the Grizzlies get a thrilling win against the Oklahoma City Thunder, we put Cooper to bed and started The Fighter. I figured we would like it, but had no idea how much I'd fall in love with this movie.

For those living under a rock, The Fighter follows the story of Dicky Eklund and Micky Ward, boxing half-brothers living in Massachusetts. Dicky gained famed by knocking down Sugar Ray Leonard in a 1978 boxing match, while Micky is mainly seen as a stepping stone other boxers use to improve their skills. Dicky is a cocaine addict and is being filmed by a HBO crew, who he wrongly assumes is filming his comeback to boxing. By the time the documentary airs, Dicky is in jail and Micky has decided to cut ties with his mom (formerly his manager) and brother (formerly his trainer) in an effort to have a chance to make boxing a career. The Eklund-Ward family has a rude awakening watching the documentary and through a series of events, the storyline evolves and changes.

I didn't think The Fighter would tug at my heartstrings like it did. Christian Bale did a wonderful job portraying a crack addict. As weird as that sounds, he pulled it off perfectly. The cinematography was great. Lots of scenes from the boxing matches were done in slow motion, so every with every hit, it seemed more dramatic. Even for someone like me, who knows next to nothing about boxing, was intrigued at how much you could tell Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale trained for the movie.

I highly, highly recommend checking The Fighter out!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms (yep, all 2 of you that read this) out there. I hope your families made you feel like the special women you are!

We had a great weekend. Jeff really worked hard to make sure it was a lot of fun for everyone. Cooper woke up early Saturday morning, so Jeff took him to the golf course, loaded him in the stroller, and they walked a few holes. Jeff said Cooper loved every minute of it and they would have stayed longer if the course didn't get crowded. They made it back in time for us to have breakfast together, hit the farmer's market, and walk downtown before taking Cooper to Nana and Hondo's. We gave my parents and Kyle tickets to Spamalot for their birthdays, so we all went to Saturday afternoon's performance at The Orpheum. Jeff and I had seen it before, but we all loved it! After a quick trip to look at the rising river, we headed back to pick up Cooper and get home in time to watch the end of the Grizzlies game. They managed to win in overtime and as I type, we're waiting for tonight's game to start.

Sunday morning, I awoke to presents from Jeff and Cooper- such sweethearts! I got the new Foo Fighters and Adele CDs (both are wonderful), Steven Tyler's book "Does the Noise in My Head Bother You?", and some pajama pants. I went to church, went back home for all of us to take a walk, then was treated to brunch at Majestic Grille. Check out Cooper eating pancakes, French toast, strawberries, bacon, biscuits, and Goldfish...probably all at once:



After brunch, we walked to The Peabody and lucky us, the ducks were out. Cooper loved seeing them. One was chasing the others around and they were splashing and quacking. Cooper thought it was the funniest thing ever:



Cooper fell asleep in the car, so Jeff and I thought we'd all get naps yesterday afternoon. Unfortunately, Cooper had other ideas, but Jeff was sweet enough to take him to Nana and Hondo's house so I could rest. They came home and we went to my parents' house to celebrate Mother's Day with my mom.

It was such a great day and great weekend. I am so lucky to have Jeff and Cooper and thankful for such a good weekend!