in four weeks

my mother and father are coming to visit! april 6th marked the longest stretch that alanna and i have ever gone without seeing them. one whole year. which is much, much too long. now that my parents are getting older, it is really hard being so far away from them. not to mention how sad i feel when i think about how much of malcolm's little life they have missed in that time span. one whole year in toddler years is monumental. i am thankful for this blog of mine, so that they are able to keep up with us, but it is a shame that they don't get to see the kids grow in real time. alanna has sprouted like a weed this past year, and i'm afraid they won't even recognize her when they see her! ;)

we had planned to use part of our tax refund to take a trip out to salt lake city, but when we got the news from our accountant that we were not getting a refund... and that we actually owed a few hundred dollars, my heart sank. (last year our refund was over $5,000. wth?) thankfully my parents got a refund this year, which they chose to put toward booking their flights to nc! airfare is outrageous right now, borderline criminal in my opinion, and it is very frustrating not being able to travel as much as we used to. we are so happy and excited that they are able to come visit us, since we cannot afford a trip home this year. it has been nearly two years since they've been here, we've moved and are in a smaller house now, with a much smaller bathroom... so here's hoping we all survive living together for twelve days! ha! 

oh yeah, and as an added bonus... they are also flying my brother out for a handful of days too! this will be his very first visit to raleigh. it's about damn time he came out, since we've lived here nearly six years! north carolina is a beautiful state, i think he will like it here. i hope he doesn't get too terribly bored or annoyed by us, and that he enjoys seeing where i now call "home". 

love you guys!

*p.s. i had originally planned on posting this on thursday night (like the date shows), but then blogger was down for a few days, so it is late going up. i also think that my last two posts didn't show up on the blogger dashboard, so if that is how you follow along with me, then maybe read back a post or two. thanks! :) 

mothers day weekend

this weekend was really nice. i usually have saturdays off of work, but i always work sundays (open to close), so we made mothers day plans around my schedule. on saturday afternoon we went to the movies. the boys and i saw hoodwinked too, which was okay. alanna wasn't with us because she spent the day with a friend from school, at a church youth event downtown. danny and i both liked the first one better, and i think the 3d ruined it for me. malcolm and i had the hardest time keeping our glasses on. boo. he was super fidgety, and wanted to walk down the stairs instead of sit still. i guess he is still too young for the movies, especially ones in 3d that require wearing something on your face. but it was fun to go out and do something we normally don't do. we also visited the local comic book store (free comic book day!), and the local used book store.

before the movie started... and after way too much popcorn and soda!

on sunday danny let me sleep in while he took malcolm on a few errands. they returned with groceries and flowers from trader joe's! malcolm picked out a beautiful bouquet, which smells wonderful. the kids made me a sweet handmade card that doubles as a voucher for a trip out, all by myself! it included two giftcards, one for target, and one for starbucks, so i can grab a frappuccino and enjoy it alone while i pick out something new to wear. sounds fabulous! thanks again danny :) 

i worked 12-6 and afterwards we all met up with danny's family for dinner. we always enjoy spending time with them. vicky, i hope you enjoyed your mothers day, we love you. and mom, i really missed not being able to celebrate with you, but i am so excited to see you soon...

happy mail

oh goodness, i love getting things in the mail. this week has been full of fun mailbox surprises! i've been reading this blog, the dainty squid, for over a year now, and i just love all of the cute things kaylah makes for her etsy store. so when i saw that she was having a sale, i jumped at the chance of getting some great items at a great price. these two pouches are so much cuter in person, and i am very pleased with the quality. i will definitely be back for more, and if you are looking for a cute gift idea, be sure to check out her shop/blog. 

the same day that my second pouch arrived, i also received a package from petit collage! do you remember when i featured their books on my blog here? well, i saw that they were offering a free signed book just for participating in a quick survey, so i did, and wow were they ever fast! in less than a week my book had already arrived at our door. it looks like they are still offering this wonderful deal on their site, so click on that link above and get yourself a free board book! your child will love it :)

and the best package of the week came from my mother. she is so sweet and always remembers me on mothers day. i know that it may seem odd that my mother sends me gifts, since it should be the other way around, and normally the husband/boyfriend/etc. is the one who gives the gifts instead. but ever since my very first mothers day, she was the one who always remembered me. for those eight years while i raised alanna as a single mother, she always gave me a little something to let me know that i was doing a great job, and to show me just how proud she was of me. she has always supported and encouraged me, no matter what. even after i got married and chose to move so far away, she still sends me something each mothers day, and it means so much to me. she really is the best mother i could have asked for, and i truly appreciate everything she does for me.  

not to mention that she probably knows me better than anyone else. despite living so far apart these past six years, she still knows just the perfect things to give me. i guess i haven't changed much since back when i still lived at home? she found this eric carle scrapbooking kit at costco, and knew that i would love it. boy was she correct. i actually cried when i opened up the package. i cannot wait to put it together and fill the pages with photos of my little family. it is going to be so cute. thank you again mom for being so thoughtful, i love you.

the start of something wonderful

on saturday we planted our tiny little garden. i really do have the best mother-in-law (i'm not just saying that because she reads this -hi vicky! but because it is true), and she sure does spoil us. on saturday morning vicky arrived at our house with our little garden in the back of her car. it was sunny and warm, perfect for spending time outside with the family. malcolm helped fill the holes with water, until he started to wilt in the sun. he bailed and went inside to play games on disney.com. i think he is already addicted to online gaming, and he is only three. uh oh.

alanna and i are so excited to have our own little garden again this year. i love spending time working on it in the evening -dirt under my fingernails and all, and the feeling of accomplishment when the veggies have grown big enough to be picked. i do not love the mosquito bites though. we will do our best to keep it from growing too wild, be eaten by pests, or be pressure-washed (like last year). here's to a summer full of fresh homegrown produce! thanks again vicky, we really appreciate everything you do.

april leftovers

here are a few leftover photos from april. enjoy.

handmade onion rings, made by yours truly.

those eyelashes! beautiful. if only he had inherited them from me.

our back yard. home to wild bunnies, squirrels, and the fatest robins i've ever seen.
(do you see the little bunny?)

this boy is obsessed with making huge guns out of blocks. danny totally encourages it. here's hoping it's just a stage ;)

dinner downtown with my guys, while we waited for alanna to return from her 8th grade field trip to richmond, va. 

i took this photo about an hour after the tornado had passed. it was beautiful outside.

this was a first. they really do love each other so much.

i'm so glad i was able to capture this sweet cuddle session.

i love her.

and i love these. i already want a dozen more pairs.

and finally, this. malcolm takes great photos of me, haha.

our easter

in pictures:

my mom sent us an easter package. we always love opening the box to see what she has stuffed inside! thanks for everything mom.

after visiting the bunny at the mall

danny made us bunny pancakes on easter morning, he used a new recipe and they were delicious. my mom sent us the bunny pancake mold. 

we headed to gamma bicky and pop's house, and found this note taped to their front door :)

we spent lots of time outside 

malcolm loves to "take a ride" on all of pop's motorcycles

we played a humorous and at times intense game of badminton with the family

dessert! (wish i had also taken a photo of vicky's wonderful vegan lasagna)

it was nice to have sunday off of work, even if i don't care much for this holiday (too much sugar and candy in our house!! eeep!) and to have spent the day with family. i hope you had a nice easter weekend as well.

arboretum

alanna had all of last week off for spring break. we usually go to salt lake city during her vacation, but this year we simply could not afford the outrageous airfare. we didn't do anything exciting since danny had to work everyday. the kids and i just spent time at home, went to the mall, and ran errands. i felt like we were spending too much time inside, so on wednesday i decided we should take a nature walk. we visited a new place here in raleigh, the jc raulston arboretum. it was beautiful, i'm not sure why we've never been there before, but we plan on going back often. of course i chose the hottest day of the week (91 degrees out, oops), and we were all sweaty by the time we left, but it was good to explore someplace new.

"the american honey bee is usually a very gentle creature. however she will defend her home against all threats." what a good mama. we stayed a safe distance.

malcolm wouldn't smile for me...

he made silly faces instead :)

we found some wildlife

who knew such a beautiful place was tucked away in raleigh. it is open every day of the year, is free to the public, and has a big open lawn perfect for flying kites. fantastic.