Babies' First Bowl Game / New Year's Eve

I am so far behind in blogging that I will never, ever be able to catch up. This makes me so sad. There are so many things the boys did or said in the last six months (not to mention a trip to Disney World and our first semester of homeschooling) that are gone with the wind, all because I didn't have/take the time to write them down, so rather than continue to bury my head in the sands of defeat, I'm just going to pick up right now ... well, with a few days ago when the boys and I went to watch the Cats win the Belk Bowl!

As soon as I found out that Kentucky would be playing in Charlotte, tickets to the Belk Bowl rose to the top of my Christmas list. Jeremy had to work and couldn't make the trip, but "Greenville Pop" (also known as "MaymePop," as opposed to "NanaPop," who lives here in Canton) was up for the drive. We arrived early enough to grant Jones's request of driving all the way to the top of the relatively-empty parking garage; Freddie was thrilled to show off his new closet-full of Nike gear, and I was just happy to have seats on the shady side of the stadium (an added bonus to avoiding the blinding sun is the perfect lighting in these photos!). It was a GREAT day for football - sixty degrees and not a cloud in the sky.

Also, mercifully, the boys have reached an age where they're a breeze to take to ballgames - it's been this way for the last and a half year or so. Gone are the days of them asking when it'll be over before it's even started. They no longer require a million trips to the bathroom or concession stand. Jones almost never needs his noise-cancelling headphones anymore. As I've said so many times, the bigger the boys get, the better. I love the fun we're able to have now that they're mature enough to handle it. I also love that my boys get excited about my Cats. We won a thriller, almost at the buzzer. Given the way Lynn Bowden won us the game, this one will live in UK lore for decades to come, so I'm so glad the boys and I were able to be a part of it!

Oh, and an eleven year old girl from Charlotte sang the National Anthem. She did an AMAZING job. As she sang, Jones turned to me, his hand over his chest, and said, "She's gonna wake up the bears in Canton!" That was, perhaps, his highest form of praise. Because the game had a noon kick-off, we were able to be home early enough to join Jeremy for a New Year's dinner at the Blue Rooster. From there, we did our traditional countdown with King Julian (thanks, Netflix!), and the boys were in their beds by 8:30. Jeremy and I followed not long after. We always assume the ball is gonna drop whether or not we're up to see it happen.

Here's hoping 2020 is as good to us as 2019 was!

I am OBSESSED with Freddie's
Nike obsession. I think his passion
is absolutely awesome, and I love seeing
his personality take its wonderful shape.

Lemme tell ya 'bout Freddie.

Freddie's saving up for a Paw Patrol watch. It's a special kind with Marshall on the cover and digital  nimations that make it seem, I think, like the user is interfacing with Ryder himself. For those of you without personal knowledge of "Paw Patrol," I know this seems like complete Greek, but trust me - it makes PERFECT sense to Freddie. 

Anyway, he came across this must-have arm candy at Wal-Mart earlier this week. I told him, as I always do, "Perfect! You can ask for that for your birthday or Christmas." That pretty much always works, but this time, he said he wanted it sooner. He didn't want to wait until then. I told him he'd have to save his money - and that, maybe, his daddy would have some jobs he could do around the office to bring in some coin. This was a VERY exciting prospect for him.

Jeremy decided instead to have both boys - Jones decided to save for a Chase (again, Paw Patrol) action figure (again, first seen this week at Wal-Mart) - help him pull the MANY weeds in our yard (related: on Monday, Freddie walked outside and said, "Mama! It looks like we're growing a garden!" Leave it to Freddie to look on the bright side of things). They started last nite and worked for about an hour before bed; they did the same tonite. 

All that to say, Freddie is COMMITTED to earning this watch (which, I swear, he will wear exactly twice before forgetting it even existed). The boys and I headed to Greenville today. Before we left, Freddie pulled a quarter out of his treasure box. I told him, "Buddy, I thought you were saving your money to buy that watch!" I think he thought he could buy it with that quarter, but for whatever reason, he took it with us as we went on our merry way.

I asked Jones to carry one of the bags I was taking along. I asked Freddie to carry my purse. Neither of these bags were heavy at all. Still, when I got to the van, Jones said, "Mama! Freddie dragged your purse on the ground." Instantly, I was angry. I LOVE this purse. This purse came from my parents, by way of a store in New York City, which is the ONLY PLACE ON THE PLANET THAT THIS PURSE IS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE. It's perfect - kelly green and big enough to hold an Epi-pen, my camera, the Mother's-Day-gift wristlet I use as a wallet, and whatever assortment of little boy trinkets I collect while living my life as the mom of two young sons. There's also, usually, a bag of peanuts and a phone charger. Oh, yeah, and some Imitrex.

You get the picture. 

I looked at the bag and saw its beautiful green smeared with black, the smudge of a sidewalk in dire need of a pressure wash. The smudge could, possibly, come off with soap and water. The HOLE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PURSE, however, cannot be patched. Angrily, I snapped, "FREDDIE! LOOK WHAT YOU DID!"

Freddie has the tenderest of tender hearts: "I'm sorry," he humbly said with a bowed head. 

I walked away to put something in the basement. He followed me, and when I turned around to look at him, he stuck out his open hand. Resting in his palm was that quarter he'd taken from his treasure box. Softening, I said, "What's that for?" He said, "For YOU, so you can buy a new purse."

I took the quarter (there are consequences for foolish choices like that, and he needs to understand that ruining someone else's property will usually cost himself something, too); I also apologized for losing my temper with him and told him that the good news was that I was going to be in New York next week and could go buy myself a new green purse then. I probably won't (they ain't cheap!), but I can, if I choose to, and the point isn't the purse. The point is that my child has the softest, sweetest, most precious heart, and that is worth more to me than all of the kelly green handbags in New York City.

Lake Chatuge 2019: Week One

Our first weekend of the year at Lake Chatuge was a lot like every other weekend we spend at Lake Chatuge. Well, I take that back. This one was different. First of all, it rained - torrentially and almost non-stop, which made for VERY peaceful sleep. It also left a lot of time for game-playing in the house. It precluded our traditional trip to the Treat Store (Boundary Waters), but it didn't keep us from "guarding Aunt Nancy's dock," as she told the boys to do, and it didn't keep us from participating in the weekend's Main Event - the Cardboard Boat Race!

Part of 31st Lake Chatuge Antique & Classic Boat Rendezvous, the race involved spending two hours building a boat using nothing but cardboard, an Exacto knife, and Duck Tape. Both boys were going to participate - one would work with Jeremy, the other with Mr. Pressley, but when we arrived - in a Saturday morning rain that could be characterized as "monsoon-like" - Jones decided to tap-out. That left the Pressleys and Jeremy to work on a boat for Freddie. 

Taking Randy Cunningham's advice that "Duck Tape is your friend," they fashioned a simple skiff and covered the entire bottom and most of the sides in gray tape, earning it the moniker "Old Gray Boat." Jeremy raced alongside Freddie, who did a fantastic job in his first race, while his proud and encouraging brother stood at the midway point, cheering, "That's my brother! That's my brother!" which, the more I think of it, may have been ripped off from a very similar boat-racing scene in "Stuart Little."

Sadly, the Boat Show won't be back at Chatuge next Summer, but it wouldn't surprise me if Freddie and his crew didn't follow it to Lake Lure this time next year!

Oh! And something else out-of-the-ordinary happened on this trip! Jones MAY have broken his nose. Whether it was broken or not, we aren't sure, but it was definitely busted, bloodied, black and blue, and swollen after a fall off of the porch swing. He cried when it happened but handled the aftermath like a champ!

This was the beginning of Croco-Mama & the Rhino Bros.

Freddie's Preschool Graduation

Don't look now, but Freddie Pressley is a preschool graduate!

The ceremony was great - Freddie led his class (alongside Emily Claire Smith) in the Lord's Prayer - and according to Mrs. Delalio's announcement, he wants to be "a digger man" when he grows up.

He will be GREAT at that.

If you ask Freddie, though, the highlight of the whole experience for him was likely riding the school bus from the Early Learning Center to the main campus. He's been very sad about the fact that he never got to ride one, and JoJo did it on the regular (going from school to PE and school to the library as well as to three different field trips), so when torrential rain made it necessary to transport the graduates, I knew he'd be thrilled, and was he ever thrilled.

It was also pretty cool that Jeremy was asked to deliver the closing prayer at the ceremony. Afterwards, the boys and I had lunch with my mom at the Blue Rooster, and after that, we headed to Lake Chatuge for our first visit of the Summer.

Like a lightning strike, our year at HCA has come to an end. I am so grateful for the incredible experience that we had there. Should things not work out in our homeschooling adventure, I would feel 100% comfortable sending the boys back to Haywood Christian.  In fact, we're already planning to be on campus at least once a week. Mrs. Herbert has cleared us to attend chapel, so I'm so thankful for that!