What to do when it's hotter than the sun. {365 - Day 182}

104 degrees.  Seriously.  That's hot, even for North Carolina.  So, what to do when it's too steamy to play outside?  

#1 - Get pickles.  As soon as we pulled into the parking lot of Atherton Market, SB yelled, "Pickles! Pickles!" A girl after my own heart.  Here she is showing off her free sample from Pickleville.
We finished our visit with a fresh squeezed lemonade, but it was too hot to sit around very long. SB was turning a lovely shade of pink from the heat.

Day 182 {iPhone + Instagram}

#2 - Sit around on the couch in the A/C in your underwear and play with your iPad. Note that the almost 3 year old is monopolizing the iPad and I am stuck taking instagrams with my cell phone.  I think she was buying something on iTunes at this moment.

Tomorrow's forecast looks equally balmy.  You'll find us all under an umbrella in the baby pool.  Stay cool!

Lunchdate. {365 - Day 181}

This morning we had a photo shoot in Winston-Salem.  Afterwards, we met my dear friend Ouida for lunch.  Ouida and I have been friends for at least 14 years.  She is the wittiest person I know and the most encouraging, supportive person I've met.   She's an awesome mom to Sarah Beth's pal Avery and a great photographer but she won't admit it. Yes, she is wearing a heavy sweater in 100 degree weather, but her office is cold.  Don't judge.  Thanks for a fun lunch date in Camel City, Ouida! 

Day 181 {iPhone + Instagram}

Crayons. {365 - Day 180}

You know you're the parent of a toddler when you judge a restaurant not by the cuisine and the atmosphere but by whether or not they have crayons.  

It was too hot to cook tonight, so we headed to Kickstand for burgers.  The black bean burger rules - avocado and chipotle ranch on top?  Yes please.  Sarah Beth preferred honey mustard sauce with a little chicken on the side.


Day 180 {iPhone + a little Photoshop}

Dog. {365 - Day 179}

Today was a great day in that Sarah Beth got promoted to the next class in swimming.  This means that Mommy will no longer be required to get in the pool with her.  Yay!  Not that it hasn't been fun, but having to change both of us in and out of swimsuits every week was getting tedious.  Now, she will be in the Shiny Starfish class with the "big" 3 year olds. 

After swimming, I sat down at my desk to do a little work.  Someone was watching me, so I pulled out the camera.  You'd think having a black and white dog in a black and white chair would camouflage her doggy hair, but all the black hair shows up on the white parts and the white hair shows up on the black parts.  Lose-lose situation.  Next time I'm picking a monochromatic dog that blends in with my furniture.  No offense, Savannah.


Day 179 {Canon 5D Mark III + photoshop}

Shiny. {365 - Day 178}

You ever have one of those days where you stay inside most of the day, then go outdoors and realize it was absolutely beautiful and you missed it?  Today was that day for me.  We had a babysitter this afternoon for SB so we could focus on work, and I didn't venture out until almost 5PM.  The weather was perfect.  No humidity, sunny and warm but not too hot.  This is North Carolina right? 

Anyway, to make the day not a total waste, I took a little stroll before heading into Trader Joe's so I could soak in just a little sunshine.  Here's my self-portrait, courtesy of highly reflective public art.

Day 178 {iPhone + instagram}

Heart. {365 - Day 177}

Tonight was Kids Eat Free night at Showmar's, Sarah Beth's favorite restaurant.  No one felt like cooking, so off we went.  Part of the festivities included a balloon guy working the room.  He crafted animals, motorcycles and dolls from his colorful stash of balloons, but by far the most popular items were the balloon hats.  Sarah Beth was going bananas over them.  He started on the other side of the restaurant, so by the time he got to our table, she was standing on the seat bouncing up and down with excitement.  She told balloon guy that she wanted a hat and chose a heart instead of a flower.  Three minutes later...pure awesomeness.  She would have slept in it tonight had I let her.

Day 177 {Canon 5D Mark III + a smidge of Photoshop}

Henry. {Charlotte Newborn Photography}

In April, I photographed Caitlin and Kristien's Maternity session.  The couple had decided to wait until the birth to find out if baby was a boy or girl.  Two weeks ago, sweet Henry decided to make an appearance, one day before his due date.  He is just beautiful and so happy and content.  His Mommy and Daddy are doing a great job.  Henry's doggie brother and sister are happy to have him join the family too, as long as he doesn't take up too much room on the couch.

Making Friends. {365 - Day 176}

Sarah Beth loves playing with other kids.  Whether they like it or not.  She picks a kid, usually an older one, to follow around the playground until he or she either chooses to play with her or blows her off.  She never gets upset when she gets the brush off, usually just stares for a few seconds then shrugs her shoulders before running off to select her next playmate.  Today, she got lucky and found a nice little boy who was willing to entertain her for a little while.  He only spoke Spanish, but that didn't faze her.  She trailed him around the park until his dad called him to leave. It warms my heart when she finds a nice kid to play with.  It makes her so happy to meet new "buddies" as she calls them.  Here she is with her buddy, checking out the spraygrounds.

Day 176 {iPhone + Instagram}

Party Time. {365 - Day 175}

Today was our sweet neighbor Gavin's 2nd birthday party.  Gavin had the same exact due date as Sarah Beth, just one year later.  G was a few weeks early, and SB was a few weeks late so their birthdays are a month apart.  I'm glad G is first, so I can steal Gavin's Mommy's great birthday party ideas!  Gavin had lots of fun water toys to play with, a paint station, a spot to decorate fans with stickers, plus cake.  Toddler nirvana!  We had to drag SB home, but she didn't put up a fight about bedtime.  She will sleep well tonight!

Day 175 {iPhone + Instagram}

Again? {365 - Day 174}

I came home from my photo shoot today and immediately started downloading images.  I heard SB and her Daddy playing upstairs.  Then.....it got quiet.  Too quiet.  So I went to investigate and this is what I found. Looks like Sarah Beth will be up 'til 11 again.  Fortunately, Kurt will also be well rested and ready to entertain her.  Right?

Day 174 {iPhone + Instagram}

Sleeping Beauty. {365 - Day 173}

I guess playing with Legos this afternoon wore Sarah Beth out.  She fell asleep on the couch around 5 o'clock for a 2 hour nap.  Which means, of course, she is still up now at 10:30PM playing "horses" with Daddy as I type this.  I'm hoping we can outlast her.  At this point I think the odds are 50/50.

 Day 173 {Canon 5D + Photoshop}

Advocate. {365 - Day 172}

I mentioned before that our dogs for the most part are banished to the lower level.  It's worked out for the best, but Sarah Beth wishes they were upstairs all the time.  Despite Savannah's disdain for SB and Moose's indifference, Sarah Beth loves her two mutts.  She is very gentle with them and harasses them minimally.  If they were normal dogs, they would love her for all the food she drops on the floor and attention she showers on them.  But they are weird and neurotic so they just don't get it.

Today, Moose slipped upstairs while Kurt was heading to the grocery store.  Sarah Beth put her hand on his back and begged us to let "Boose" as she calls him, stay upstairs.  Here she is pleading her case.  Between her big blue eyes and Moose's equally pleading puppy-dog eyes, we relented, and Moose spent some quality time upstairs with us.

Day 172 {iPhone + Photoshop}

Random. {365 - Day 171}

Didn't do a whole heck of a lot today.  We finally got outside at dinnertime and it sure was pretty.  I like looking 10 feet tall in my shadow.  Evening light is the best.


Day 171 {iPhone + instagram}

Chalk {365 - Day 170}

Sarah Beth wanted to play with chalk this afternoon.  It was a little buggy out, so I tried to get her inside, but she stated "It's nice Mommy, not storming and it's not dark out yet."  How can you argue with that?  So I grabbed my camera to play while she drew.  She tired herself out and went to bed early tonight, which gave me extra time to play with collages in Photoshop.  Such fun.  She's a cute little artiste if I say so myself.


Day 170 {Canon 5D + Photoshop}

Father's Day. {365 - Day 169}

In my head I had this grand idea of doing a quickie photo shoot of Kurt and Sarah Beth today, but after a pancake breakfast followed by a family bike ride, all we wanted to do was sit on the couch and watch a "Wonder Pets" marathon.  Well, technically only one of us wanted to watch "Wonder Pets" but the grown-ups were just happy to be relaxing on the couch.  So there is only one little photo of Daddy and daughter today.  But it's a good one.


Day 169 {iPhone + Instagram}

Happy Father's Day to my dear husband Kurt.  He is truly a wonderful dad who loves his little girl more than anything in the world.  SB is very lucky.  I can't say the same of the boys who will want to date her someday.  For now, though, he is the most important man in her life and she likes it that way.

Freezie Pop Blues. {365 - Day 168}

I didn't realize how complicated it was to eat a freezie pop until Sarah Beth tried her first one today.  The proper technique for freezie pop consumption requires you to have one hand at the bottom, squeezing the pop up past the plastic sleeve and keeping it there, the other hand needs to be right at the top so the pop doesn't break off.  Then there's the whole mess involved in drinking the melted pop juice at the bottom.

For little Miss Independent, this was a challenging skill to master, which resulted in half the frozen pop ending up on the ground.  She said it was ok, that the rabbits would eat it.  So no worries there.  (Rabbits?  At the playground? Interesting.)    Fortunately, I knew it was going to be messy, so when the lady asked which flavor we wanted, I asked for the one that most closely matched her shirt.  :-)

Day 168 {iPhone + Instagram}

Interloper. {365 - Day 167}

I may have mentioned before that we have banished our two dogs to the basement.  It's not as bad as it sounds.  It's a walk-out, so they can go right out the door to romp in the backyard, or stay inside and watch squirrels out the window from the comfort of their own dog beds.  The reason for the excommunication is that they are not the best dogs around Sarah Beth.  The beagle, Savannah, has never gotten over being replaced as the apple of her Daddy's eye.  And Moose is just kind of neurotic.  It works out fine as we spend lots of time downstairs in our office spaces, and our old dogs don't have to hobble down the steps every time they need to go out.

Anyway, they are allowed upstairs sometimes after SB is asleep, or when she has gone crazy at mealtime and strewn food all over the kitchen floor.  That's when the Savannah Cleaning Crew is called up and they take care of cereal/rice/pasta etc with no complaints from them.

Today was a cereal day.  Sarah Beth got creative and a Kashi tornado hit all over the place.  Savannah cleaned up, and for some reason stuck around awhile.  Here she is, breaking the rules - upstairs AND on the furniture.  Bad dog.

Day 167 {iPad! + Photoshop}

P.S. It's my first iPad photo!  Usable photo, anyway.  I have about 150 photos of the top of Sarah Beth's head as she learned to operate the iPad camera. I'll spare you those!

Sunflower. {365 - Day 166}

The day after returning from a trip is always a mess, no matter how long or short the trip was.  Unpacking, mountains of laundry, and an empty fridge. Fun.  Luckily, we brought home a little sunshine to brighten our day.  We picked up this awesome sunflower at that cool shop we visited in Bat Cave.  You know, the one with the giant chicken.  It is now the only thing in our garden that we can't kill.  In fact, I think we could use it as a deadly weapon if we needed to defend ourselves.


Day 166 {Canon 5D}

The name of the shop is Slick Rock Country Emporium.  We took a few photos there because it's such a lovely little spot.  In addition to local crafts and jewelry, they sell eggs from their own chickens and vegetables from their gardens.  If you ever find yourself on Hwy 64 between Hendersonville and Bat Cave/Lake Lure, be sure to stop in and buy yourself a sunflower or some other fabulous find.  (We also found the perfect anniversary gift for my parents which we left at their house since it was kind of big.  I wonder if they'll sneak a peek or be good and wait a whole month to open it.)

How cute is this place? We chatted with the owner who said they were 

visiting the area years ago and just stayed.  I can totally understand why.

This is where the chickens live.  Those are some lucky chickens.  I bet their eggs are delicious.

The shop backs up to a beautiful little waterfall and stream.

Small blonde girl is not for sale.

Third Time's a Charm. {365 - 165}

So yesterday's debacle was still fresh in our minds as we woke up this morning.  I had every intention of taking SB to the pool rather than attempt the lake again.  But then, she looked up at me with her big blue eyes brimming with hope and said "Not storming, Mama. Go to beach?"  She then hopped off the couch to wake up Daddy with the same question.  Next thing you know, we're piling in the car for the third trip to Lake Lure this week.  This time, the forecast was clear. 

We spent nearly an hour and a half at the beach before the black clouds of doom crept in over the mountains.  And she spent every single minute in the water.  They have some neat spraygrounds by the lake for kids.  She thought they were almost as cool as splashing around in the lake. 

Day 165 {Canon 5D + a little Photoshop}

Once the whistle blew and the thunder rolled in, we ran for cover and had lunch before heading back to Grandma's house to pack up and go back to Charlotte.  We dread the packing process, and always seem to get ready to go just in time to screw up dinner.  We are usually starving by the time we get home after the 2 hour drive with no desire to cook or go out.  This time was no exception, we decided to be "smart" and stop for a quick bite on the way but with dogs in the car we had to make it a picnic.  We ordered pizza from a spot downtown and sat on the courthouse steps while we waited. 

Our bellies were full but I'm not sure it was worth the nearly 10PM arrival time at home.  Bath and bedtime was quick and slightly tearful due to an overtired toddler.  Next time, we are leaving earlier, I swear.

Misadventures. {365 - Day 164}

Oh boy.  The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.  Today we saw sunshine and decided to head down to Lake Lure so SB could splash around and enjoy the "beach."  We got there at lunchtime so we stopped to eat at a small spot on the river.  The food was decent and the view was amazing. 

Day 164 {Canon 5D}

 Afterwards, we strolled along the river a bit.

Sarah Beth decided to explore the deck of a shop along the river.  Kurt followed her up while I stayed below taking photos.  Just as I noticed the swarm of yellow jackets buzzing around a corner of the deck, I saw Kurt slapping his legs, then grabbing SB and running for the hills.  Uh oh.  Last time Kurt got stung, he had a bad reaction, so this was not good.  He got stung 3 times.  Thankfully, SB was ok, but we had to high-tail it to a drugstore to get some Benadryl for Kurt.    Lake Lure isn't exactly a thriving metropolis, so it took awhile to find a drugstore. We then sat at in the parking lot for close to an hour to make sure he wasn't going into anaphylactic shock.

Once we decided he was going to live, we headed back to the lake, paid our $16 beach fee, and strolled onto the beach.  We were there maybe three minutes and she had stuck 5 toes in the lake, when thunder rumbled in the distance and the "everybody out" whistle blew.  Seriously. 

So we packed up and headed to the car to wait out the storm.  After a while, we gave up and retreated back to Hendersonville.  Tomorrow, we're just staying at the pool.

Time Warp. {365 - Day 163}

We had another rainy day in the mountains.  Not much to do, so Kurt and I had a lunch date while SB played with Grandma, and then we stopped at the grocery store on the way back to pick up some ingredients for a quinoa salad.  Fortunately, we already had the quinoa, because this particular store looks like it is straight out of 1978 - I'm guessing they never heard of quinoa. As I headed back towards the produce department, I literally stopped in my tracks and took a picture because it was like traveling back in time.  If only the prices matched the decor...

Day 163 {iPhone + Instagram}

Birthday Chicken. {365 - Day 162}

Today is my birthday.  It started off with a small blonde person kicking me in the face.  Oh how I love it when my little girl appears in our bed in the middle of the night.  We're up at my parents' house, so our bed is smaller than ours at home - making the intrusion all the more...um, cozy.  After a fabulous breakfast, we hit the road, looking for adventure despite a rainy forecast.  We drove down to Lake Lure, stopping at this great little shop along the way.  I'll have to share more photos later, but here is the giant chicken that drew us in.  Who wants one for their front yard?  Me, please!  If only it would have fit in the car...

Day 162 {Canon 5D + photoshop}

Friday Night {365 - Day 161}

Another weekend in the mountains.  Yay!  It took us forever and a day to get packed and out the door this morning afternoon.  Why it takes us longer to get our stuff together than it does to actually drive here is beyond me.  Some weird time-sucking vortex maybe.  Anyway, we're finally here and kicked off our weekend with an impromptu sushi dinner with friends, followed by the always delicious Kiwi Gelato in downtown Brevard.  If you're in the area, go there now.  Sarah Beth polished off her chocolate in about 5 minutes.  Thankfully, the sugar buzz wore off and it also only took her 5 minutes to fall asleep.


Day 161 {iPhone + Instagram}

Ssshhh. {365 - Day 160}

This morning I took Sarah Beth to the spraygrounds at a local park to cool off.  She ran around like a total maniac for over an hour, splashing and giggling to her heart's content.  After that, we went for ice cream instead of eating lunch, because sometimes, you just need ice cream.

We got home just in time to join Daddy on some errands.  I'm not sure if we even left the driveway before tinkerbell fell asleep.  This is us waiting in the parking lot while Daddy ran into a store.  Her  fifteen minute nap, by the way, pushed her bedtime back 2 hours.  She's still up at 10PM.  This is why napping is not encouraged in this house. For almost 3 year olds, anyway.  Mommy would love to take a nap.  Someday...

Day 160 {iPhone + photoshop}