weekend in nc

on friday i was feeling a little bummed out. remember our amazing trip last year to ma? well, that annual event was happening again on saturday morning, and i was sad that we weren't able to go again this year. this summer is already almost over, and i feel like we haven't really done much of anything. well, at least not in the form of a vacation as a family. our only day trip to the beach was pretty much a giant fail. and alanna starts school again in a week. so i was kinda feeling down about not going anywhere this year.

looking back at this time last year, it seems like we had so much going on. we had the weekend in ma, we were looking forward to a trip to the mountains with my parents, and also our annual vacation at disneyland in october. this year we aren't doing any of that. and it makes me sad. i would really like to just get away for a bit.

my sweet husband must have known that i was feeling a little off, and he did a great job of making our weekend very nice. on friday he rented the blindside for alanna and i to watch, while he went and saw the expendables with the boys. we both really liked the movie, and it totally made me cry (of course, haha).

on saturday morning our landlord had the water heater replaced (it died friday evening), and after the super nice fix-it guy finished up under the house, we headed out to danny's parents place. we left the kids with vicky (thanks again!), and drove to durham for some quiet kid-free time. we had sorbet at whole foods and then browsed the used book store before heading back.

the kids sometimes make us feel like zombies, so it's nice to get away. in this case, they made danny look like one :)

when we got back, vicky took us out to dinner, and then we spent the evening relaxing outside. malcolm picked the cutest little cantaloupe ever from her garden.

we found some fireworks in the house, and had fun setting them off

all the noise and sparks and excitement, and malcolm could care less. he was totally uninterested.

sunday started off pretty lazy

danny mowed the lawn (it looks great!), and when he was finished, we all got in the car and headed to chapel hill.

we stopped for lunch, and then went to our favorite comic book store.

malcolm looks thrilled, haha.

then we hit the used book store

and we finished the outing with chocolate cake at the local co-op. yum! it was a nice low-key weekend. oh, and i'm glad the humidity is gone, and the weather is getting better. i'm really looking forward to spending more time outside soon.

ugh, this heat

yikes is it ever hot out here. today the heat index was 108. i am starting to feel like i have summer depression. you know how people get down and blue in the winter months from the lack of sunshine and vitamin d? well, i think i have that in reverse, if that is possible. i cannot wait for the weather to cool down, and the autumn air to settle in. i am seriously counting down the days.

since we aren't able to spend time outdoors, we are trying to stay sane by getting out of the house often. summertime cabin fever is the worst.

we took a trip to the mall looking for back to school clothes. we've also been hitting target and the book store for fun.

alanna is taking art classes again this week, so that is keeping her busy. i took malcolm to marbles by myself on wednesday, and i didn't lose him this time! we actually had a really great time. it wasn't nearly as crowded as the past few times we've been. and he listened to me and played very nicely with everything and with the other kids.

our little garden is doing pretty good. so far the only thing growing is cucumbers... lots and lots of cucumbers. i think we have about ten of them in our crisper right now. i've been trying to get malcolm to eat them, but with no such luck. we are hoping that the tomatoes start growing soon. and i'm pretty sure our squashes are toast, but we'll see.

malcolm was having fun taking self portraits with my camera :)

today after we picked alanna up from artspace, we went to toys 'r us to cool off and browse their awesome selection. malcolm loves that damn store. he is a huge fan of ride-on toys, and after we left i asked him what his favorite toy was? of course, he said the bikes. (dan, i took this one for you!)

i hope your weather is better than ours, and that you are keeping cool. can you believe that in two more weeks, alanna will be an 8th grader? eeek!

snip snip

malcolm is two and a half now. his hair was starting to get long and wild, so rather than have a go with the clippers at home again, we figured it was time for him to have his first professional haircut. yesterday we took him to a local salon that specializes in kids cuts. he got to choose a video to watch, and which little vehicle to sit in. he chose the nightmare before christmas, and an airplane.

he was really good and sat pretty still during the trim. he did get a little scared when the stylist tried to tidy up the back with some tiny clippers, but then she let him hold them, and showed him that they didn't hurt, and she was able to clean up his neck.

after the cut, he ran around in the lobby checking out all the fun things they have for kids. i tried my best to get a good shot of his hair before we left.

and again in the car on the ride home. but this is all i got, haha. he hates having his photo taken.

p.s. don't let that sweet face fool you. malcolm has hit his full blown terrible two's. he can be such a beast these days. just an hour before we went to the salon, we went out to lunch, and he was simply awful. to the point where we had to take him home and put him in time out in the corner. most days he is so sweet and smart and absolutely amazing... but then in an instant he just loses it. on the drive home from the restaurant yesterday, while danny had steam blowing out of his ears, i vividly remembered alanna acting/doing the same exact thing at that same age (until she turned 4), and how upset/angry/embarrassed it made me feel. i think this time around i am a little more patient. danny on the other hand, maybe not so much. this is his first time dealing with a toddler. i hope we survive this stage in his little life. we love him oh so very much, but yikes, is he ever testing our patience.

what we've been up to

wow, it's already august!? it's been super hot and humid here, and/or pouring rain, so we haven't been doing anything too exciting. *it's currently pouring outside* i can't believe summer is already almost over. alanna goes back to school in less than three weeks. crazy! where did the time go? with all of this rain, all i can think about is how it will soon be autumn. my absolute favorite time of the year. hooray. here are some photos from this past week.

we love going to costco. believe it or not, this is my dream couch. i would love this in our house to relax and watch movies on. but lucky dog would destroy it. so i will just continue to dream about it.

my first time making peanut butter cookies out of the vegan cookies invade your cookie jar book (i added the chocolate chips for danny)

malcolm and i took a trip to kmart so i could admire this sweet little patio set that i love. i'm hoping it will go on major clearance soon.

kisses for daddy

middle of the night thunderstorms

i took these videos from inside the house. we don't have a covered porch, so i couldn't go outside to film the lightning. but it was wonderful!




we took a quick overnight trip to charlotte and hit ikea on the way home
(our house is coming together very nicely thanks to some new shelving! i love ikea. and thanks again lynn for letting us stay with you guys!)

danny kept malcolm busy while alanna and i decided what to get for her bedroom. he caught this video on his phone, haha



summertime baths in the front yard

alanna has spent the week here, at artspace, for their summer youth arts program

our lantana bush's are covered with bumblebees and beautiful butterflies!

trips to the neighborhood park

silly boy

on tuesday evening our hot water went out. so we gave malcolm a quick bath in the kitchen sink...

he loved it, and made a huge wet mess!

we really lucked out with this new (old) house. our landord is fantastic. i called him yesterday morning to let him know about our lack of hot water, and he had someone come right out to fix it. and this morning he called to make sure that we weren't having any more problems. he also let me know that he pays for an exterminator service to treat the house, and that they will be coming in a couple weeks. so no yucky bugs inside for us (have you ever seen a palmetto bug in real life?! if so, you know how awful they are. eeek!

anyway, he has done way more than our last landlord ever did, and we've only lived here for a month and a half. pretty awesome. our last house had bats in the attic, termites in the wood, spotty mold in the drywall and windows (ewww), and a rodent in the basement (poor garrett!) and the owner never came and repaired or got rid of any of it. he was a slumlord for sure. i am very grateful for this new place. we are pretty happy living here :)