yet another Lake Break

After Jeremy closed the office at noon on Saturday, the boys and I loaded up the van and headed to Lake Chatuge for the day. It was a quick trip - just one nite - as Jeremy's keeping the office open on Saturday mornings, at least for his first year with AllState.  I'd assumed they'd sleep in the van on the way to Hayesville. I was wrong. They didn't, which meant naps ninety minutes later than usual when we got there around 2 p.m. After they woke up (4:30-ish), we got on the boat and rode to dinner at the Blue Otter, which is the PERFECT spot for eating with toddlers, because they have outdoor seating - and corn hole boards to occupy them while you wait for your food, which, at the Blue Otter, can sometimes take awhile. 

Cruising to dinner is one of my favorite things to do at the lake. The boys love the boat, and this time, instead of just sitting in Daddy's lap while he drove the boat, both seemed to want to stand with their hands on the steering wheel when it was their turn to man the ship. 

Dinner went well - corn hole held its usual sway over Jones, as did Rocky the Rooster, who randomly strutted around on the patio where we ate (is that legal?). At one point, Rocky crowed several times in a row, which just about blew Jones's excited mind. Almost as exciting was the fishing "bobber" he found on the boat, as we headed home. He danced around with it on our intermittently-rainy ride, proudly showing it off to his daddy and me. When he aimed it at the water, I said, "Don't throw it, or it'll be gone for good." Almost on cue, he threw it and learned the all-important life lesson that your mama is almost always right.

Then came bedtime. I'd expected they'd sleep GREAT, each having his own room this trip. Well, Jones slept great. Freddie, not so much. My prevailing theories of the boys' horrific lake sleeping troubles have been that, first, they typically share a room there (which they're not used to), so they keep each other / wake each other up, like they did our first few nites at Pawleys Island (before I moved Freddie's crib into the bathroom ... no. I'm serious. He slept in there last year, too),

and secondly, they may wake up a little earlier than usual, but where I'd just let them play in their cribs for awhile until Jeremy and I are ready to get up at home, I jump up right away at the lake so as not to wake up my in-laws, who are in the next room. Well, this trip my in-laws weren't there, so letting them play in their cribs was totally the plan ... until Freddie violently cried out at 10 p.m., again at 11 p.m., and, finally, at 5 a.m. That to say, the Mystery of Freddie's Lake Chatuge Sleeping Habits remains puzzling, frustrating, and very much unsolved. 

Anyway, Sunday dawned bright and all too early. The boys ate outside, as has become their lake custom, and then we went to church at Mount Pleasant Baptist, as has become our lake custom. Then lunch - then naps - then another boat ride - then home, by way of Vito's Pizza in Franklin. 

Jeremy and I ate there on one of the lake trips we took while we were dating and have talked about going back ever since. It did not disappoint - Jones, in particular, LOVED it, downing two New York-sized slices and polishing off what I can only assume was several ounces of grated parmesan. He'd shake some onto his plate - and then shake some more - and then some more - and then he'd slide a bite through this powdery "dip" on the way to his mouth. I probably should've intervened and given him a good lesson on how it's so important that we not be wasteful. But, at the moment, being wasteful was keeping him blessedly quiet, so ...

What kept him quiet before the pizza came was playing with Lightnin'. Remember how I wrote about his starting to quote along with movie lines? Well, he was reciting lines sitting at our table. He was "driving" Lightnin' across the table and "reenacting" the scene when Mack starts to drift off to sleep on their way to the big race. "Mack, MACK, MAAAAAACCCCCCKKKK!" Jones started. That's how I knew what he was doing. It was a great - and sobering - reminder of what tiny little sponges their amazing brains are!

When we got home - the boys immediately went to bed ... and had to be woken up to take Jeremy to work at 8 this morning. 

Oy.

WHY WON'T THEY SLEEP LIKE THAT AT THE LAKE?!?

Jones's new fish face; he's started making it all the time.

On our ride to dinner Saturday, Jones parked in
this little perch.

Then he started to reach out to try to catch the waves.

He'd laugh and say, "It got me!" anytime he got splashed.

I know Freddie gets all the "oohs"
for his eyes, but I'll be honest:
I've got mad love for Jones's, too!
Hazel-y brown they may be,
but they're every bit the amazing
shape of Jeremy's, which I love
as much as his color! 

Lightnin' and the "Fire Toot"
in what appears to be
a pretty dangerous face-off

He heard a plane. Do you see it?! 

This happy dance inspired by
Rocky Rooster's crow. 

Just relax. He's got it all under control.

Here's Jones with the bobber I mentioned.

Here's Jones immediately after throwing the bobber
immediately after I told him not to throw it.
Because I don't want to relive it,
I deleted the pics of the fit that ensued.

Here's Jones with the sinker that he
found in an attempt to ease
the pain of the lost bobber.

Here's Freddie wearing his daddy's
hat when it started to sprinkle.

Freddie kept looking up at the hat's giant brim,
and when he did, his left eye would cross.
It was so funny.

I think he looks like cousin Ellery here.

Both boys LOVE wearing sunglasses.
A fight over custody of their shared pair
led to breaking them, so I've ordered two
pairs that were on clearance from Children's Place.
In the meantime, they're borrowing mine.

Because of his rough nite, Freddie
took a nap before church.
Note that he's still in his shoes,
because I wasn't expecting him
to fall asleep when I put him in there
for a little rest.

This is very probably my favorite
outfit Fred Pressley has ever worn.

As I told a Rebel-fan friend, I think he looks like he's ready
for an early September game at the Grove.

Jones tried to escape from his jacket.
One way he passes the time on the boat
is by latching and unlatching those straps.
Over and over again.

All I can do is pray that Jones
uses his amazing influence over Freddie
for good and not evil!

One Good Story out of a Bad and Ugly Exchange

At nearly three, Jones has just started to act like they tell me two year olds do: TERRIBLY.  Up to now, he'd have his moments, but they were few and far between. For the last ten days or so, though, those "moments" have been more than norm than not.

And read my lips: IT'S MAKING ME CRAZY.

Today, we got home from the store, and I got Freddie out of his carseat. Before I unbuckled Jones, he said, "Ah deen, Mama," meaning, "Can I go in the den, Mama?" I said, "No, Sweetie. It's time to eat and take a nap." This seemingly benign exchange snowballed into a chain of defiance and tantrums that lasted for the better part of 20 minutes. At one point, I put Freddie back in the van and shut the door, so that I could carry Jones upstairs and put him in his crib to (HOPEFULLY) calm down. 

Not 20 seconds later, I'd left Jones screaming in his crib and headed back to get Freddie. I'd assumed he'd be in the backseat, where I'd left him. He wasn't. 

He'd climbed up to the driver's seat and upended my (thankfully empty) Coke can from when we'd driven Jeremy to work this morning. It was amazing how quickly that little bit of comic relief diffused my frustration with Jones ... until I got back upstairs and heard that he was STILL SCREAMING.

I suddenly understand why Mamas need Nites Out. 

a not-so-happy Fourth of July

I completely love this picture, but it is a TOTAL misrepresentation of the
morning that'd preceded its taking. Jones was whimpering and squirming,
until Daddy started dancing a jig across the front porch to get him to smile.
Thank you, T-Dogg. Mission accomplished.

Next to my birthday, the Fourth of July is my favorite day of the year. This goes back to some very idyllic Fourths gone by; however, this Fourth wasn't nearly as spectacular. It'd been a WHINY, whiny week for the Pressley boys. I'd hoped that, somehow, they'd realize how much their mama loves this once-a-year occasion and get their acts together for the day.

They didn't.

Back story: all week, Jones whimpered like a wet puppy, while Freddie started to practice the fine art of pitching a fit. This is uncharacteristic for both of them, which made it all the more frustrating for me. A perfect example came Friday morning when Lila and I took the boys to buy Mom a birthday present. I told Jones to hold Lila's hand, so I could carry Freddie.

My Son the Elder would have NONE of it. He screamed; he whined; he demanded, "NO!" to doing as he was told to do. "I hode YOU, Mama," he insisted. When he refused to change his ways after being corrected multiple times, I refused to give him his way and carry him into the store. So we left, and Mom STILL doesn't have a birthday present from me (sorry, Mom; blame Jones).

On the Fourth, Mom, Daddy, Jeremy, and I took the boys to the Miniature World of Trains in downtown Greenville. While the boys were as excited by the trains as I'd thought they'd be, they were not nearly as sweetly dispositioned as I'd HOPED they'd be. As we left, I told Jeremy, "This makes me never want to take them anywhere, ever again. It's just MISERABLE."

After their naps, then came the cousins, and all was right with the world ... until we went swimming. Jones was good for the first twenty minutes, and then the whining resumed.

And then I had to fight the urge to bury myself in a box in the farthest recesses of some remote dungeon and spent the rest of my days hugging my knees to my chest while rocking back and forth like a man insane. Because that's what whining makes me: INSANE.

I'll tell you this: I'd rather deal with a fit than whining ANY day of the week. Fits are quick and easy to contain (or, if you put them in their cribs to calm down, ignore). Whining, however, you just have to endure. They're not really breaking any rules; they're just being annoying, and you can't punish anyone for THAT (at least not when they're, like Jones, too young to understand). That's why I've been so thankful that my boys haven't really done it up to now.

This week, though, Jones has made up for lost time.

My hope and prayer is that, by this time next week, we are celebrating our FREEDOM from this nasty habit.

Freddie's saying, "CHOO CHOO!"

I'm trying to be really intentional about getting
pictures of just Jeremy and me. My hair is
definitely looking worse for the wear,
but at least, it's proves that Jeremy and I were there, too!

totally love this picture; Freddie's now obsessed
with wearing shades, just as Jones was when he
was about Freddie's age. 

Every now and then, Freddie will randomly say, "SeaSea,"
and then he'll say, "BoBo." Don't tell anyone else this,
but I think BoBo may be his favorite person alive. 

While we were in the pool, this group of four
World War Two era planes flew overhead.
That's what they're watching here.
It was absolutely awesome.

Is #fromthecuttingroomfloor still a thing on Instagram?
If so, here's my latest entry. The boys are either
practicing their synchronized swimming routine
or, more likely, watching the WWII planes fly by.

Though we got dressed and headed to church,
we had to skip the service, because we noticed a huge rash
had broken out on Jones's chin. Freddie had the same thing
show up a week earlier. Rather than infect all of the
other two year olds, we just skipped church altogether.

What is more American than a coupla
brothers "driving" their Pop's
Chevy truck?

We went to downtown Canton
for its holiday celebration on the evening
of the 5th. While there wasn't much to see
there, I did get to give Freddie a ride
during our short stay.