A Year Ago Today

(Oliver- a year later!)

This time last year I was taking one more look at my house in Texas and heading to the Austin airport with my 6 month old, 2 dogs and Mom. (Jim stayed behind to finish packing and to drive the car to NC.)

It was all bittersweet. I loved that house, the neighbors, and downtown Georgetown.. but I was ecstatic to be moving back home to North Carolina. I missed home terribly, and having Oliver in Texas made me realize how much I wanted and needed my friends and family close to me.

So here we are, a year later. I am super happy to be here, and I appreciate the things I never even took the time to notice before I moved.. like all the trees, amazing weather, and lack of big hair and cowboy boots.

In just a year here, Oliver has gotten to experience his first Christmas, first snow, first birthday party, first Easter egg hunt, and the list goes on. Most importantly, he has his family here that adores him more than anything. Home sweet home.

Saying goodbye to Jenny and Laurie

And enjoying the window seat

And Then There Were..

Shiny wood floors. What did you think I was going to say?

Lots going on at the new house. Jim got the kid(s) bathroom grouted as well as the guest bath last week. They look amazing. Here's a sneak peak.

We're also making progress with the painting. Not to jinx it, but we may even finish up the painting this weekend- woop, woop!

Oliver enjoys checking in on the progress we've made. I think he's excited as we are to move in.

Agent 99

Well not really.. but tomorrow Mom and I are going to observe Oliver through the secret window in his classroom.  He won't be able to see us, so it'll be like watching wild animals in their natural environment.. only better, it's my son.

Oliver got a hair cut last night too.  Rock on lil dude, rock on.

Zonked Out

Little man had a BIG day at school today.  He came home with a new skinned up knee, and marker all over his hands and shorts.  He's also learning this thing that can only be described as a tantrum.  He gets really upset when I pick him up, but when I put him down he throws himself to the ground and rolls around like his shirt is on fire.  At least he'll be prepared if that ever happens.  I completely ignored him both times he did it, and I think that's working.  Haven't seen any today, and I'm hoping to never see it again- wishful thinking,  I know.  Anyway, today was so exciting he didn't save any energy for lunch.  He fell asleep while drinking his milk and I didn't have the heart to wipe off the bean mustache on his face.  Precious.

The First Day of School Was Never This Exciting

I'm not really sure who was more excited about going to Oliver's new school today, me or him.. It was definitely a toss up.  It was a family event, and we had so much fun.  Jim and I went to Oliver's classroom this morning to watch him play and interact with the other kids in his class.  What a ham he was to watch.  I wish you could have seen the excitement in his eyes.  Actually, excitement is a bit of an understatement.  The little guy was in heaven.  It didn't seem a lot different from some of the play places I have taken him to, but I think he understood this was HIS classroom.  He went from one thing to the next, but he was mostly interested in the slide/stairs equipment.  He went up and down, up and down, and clapped for himself after doing it.  Some kids were crying, some were looking a little lost, but not Oliver.  He was right where he needed to be.

After we dropped him off, Jim and I sat through a 2 hour orientation that involved parent questions.  These always crack me up, because you get to learn what kind of parents the kids have.  There appeared to be some fun parents in the room, but mixed in there were a few crazies.  I wonder who else was doing an analysis of parents, and more importantly which category I fell under.  I did after all ask if they had a plan in place for this uncertain flu season.. That may have qualified me falling under the "overprotective parent" category.. right along with the lady asking for background checks on all the parents that even look at her child. heh.

Afterwards we went back to the classroom to pick up our busy bee.  The teacher assistant was quick to say, "Oliver is going to do great in here."  That made us feel good, and yes a wee bit proud.  Oh, I forgot to mention that during the orientation we saw a wagon full of children go by the window, which included our little Oliver K just sitting there taking it all in.  I'll admit, that made me tear up, but only once.  Gosh, it really is official, he's a big boy now.

Running For My Sanity

I've been running for a while now, not religiously, just 3 to 4 times a week. I've always hated running, and I only did it to stay in shape for soccer. That's why a few months ago I was a little shocked with myself when I willingly wanted to get a run in even after I completed my last run for the week. The entire run I was just floating on air with excitement.. FINALLY, I like to run!

Why couldn't I enjoy it when I was in high school on the cross country team for crying out loud? I dreaded practice every day, but I enjoyed spending time with my friends, so I stuck with it. At one practice, a friend and I came up with this amazingly clever plan to get out of running. We decided to cut through the woods and hide in the bushes until the fastest runner went past us. The plan was to come in right after him, in turn making ourselves look really good while not having to do the actual run. We had even planned to pant and look really exhausted as we sprinted our way to the finish line. Unfortunately the coach was on to us thanks to a few tattle tails, an we ended up having to do the run anyway... not to mention having to deal with an angry coach. Opps! And we thought we were so smooth... I'm sure the giggling in the bushes didn't help.

Anyway, I've been running but just at a comfortable 5-6 mph pace. I started wondering what kind of 5K I could run. In high school I wasn't extremely fast, but I wasn't slow either, somewhere around the 26 minute mark depending on the level of the trail. 27-28 minutes if there were a lot of hills. Last Friday I decided to go for it (on the treadmill.) I decided to start the first half mile at 5.5 to warm up, but then I bumped it up to 6.5 and even 7.5 at the end to make it under 30 minutes. My final time was 29:39. I was stoked- I could still run under 30 minutes. It felt really good, I won't lie. I kept running, but slowed it down a bit and finished at the 4.25 mark. What an amazing high. I've noticed my body craves that feeling, and it helps me clear my mind, have more patience, and enjoy the little things in life. Maybe next week I can get my time down to 28 minutes.. wish me luck!

"Life is short... Running makes it seem longer" Baron Hanson

Corn on the Cob

Another reason we LOVE summer time!

Our Little Camper

This evening Jim and Dad set up Oliver's tent, and of course Oliver had to help. Oliver loves playing in the tent, and I know this made Jim super excited. I see a lot of camping trips in our future!!

Making progress

Putting it all together

Success!