ORLANDO!

We're headed to Orlando to check out Magic Kingdom, Sea World, Hollywood Studios, and Kennedy Space Center, so don't expect to hear from me for about a week. After that, I'll be sure to relay plenty of ridiculous stories to you all.

Have a fun and safe 4th of July weekend!

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all the Daddies out there... but especially to Jack's Daddy! I can't believe how wonderfully lucky Jack and I are to have Justin in our lives. This is really the first Father's Day he has spent with us (he was at sea last year) and it's turning out to be pretty damn nice. I'm thrilled to discover that loving him as not just my husband and best friend, but as a father and partner in the incredible challenge of raising a child is more fulfilling and exhilarating than I could ever imagine.

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Thank you for everything you do, Justin. Being a Daddy is tough business, but you make it look easy. Thank you for every smile you've coaxed out of Jack, for every diaper you've thrown away, for every kiss you've given, for every story you've read, for every time you've tossed his 25 pounds in the air, for every video game you've lost because a toddler smacked the controller, for every bite of food you've relinquished to his begging, for every minute of alone time with me you've given up to play peekaboo, and for each and every dream you've not only got for Jack, but that you'll help him achieve. We both love you more than you'll ever know.

Happy Father's Day.

Did a 2-Year-Old Cut Your Hair?

Well, that's what it looks like. I went to Indulgence to get my hair cut for the first time in way too long yesterday. I spent hours looking at pictures of hairstyles and finally came up with a really cute cut that Nicole Richie has (http://www.prohaircut.com/nicole-richie-nedium-hair-cuts.html) and took the picture in. What I got is absurd. Totally absurd. Uneven, hacked-looking layers (does it even look like Nicole HAS layers? Didn't think so.) and whispy 80's wanna-be bangs. Seriously?

It's not about the hair. It'll grow back. It's the fact that Jack and I are finally at a place where I can actually get up every morning and shower and put on make up and put on a cute outfit. I can do that now - I have the time and the energy and it's important because it makes me feel good to take that time attending to myself instead of taking care of everyone else. It's an hour a day but it's MY hour. I wanted a fun hair style and I made a mental commitment to actually take the time to style it every morning instead of just putting it in a pony tail. I don't know when we're going to try for another baby, but once that first trimester hits, I'm not going to have the energy and who wants to spend time on hair and makeup when you've got a big ole belly and pregnant chubby? And then when the new baby gets here... you know the drill. So this - this in-between time - is my time. It's time that I can enjoy being a mom to one kiddo, and a wife, and a 25 year old woman. I have my figure back and I'm tan and I feel decently good about myself for the first time in nearly 2 years, so I wanted a cute style to match all of that. I don't think that's a huge request, so I'm pretty disappointed in the way it turned out.

I'm going to go take a shower and pull out all my hair products and all my curling irons and blowdryer attachments and see what I can do with it. Otherwise, I'm going to make an appointment at Shebangs and see if they can't unfuck my hair. Wish me luck!

Marianne's Sterlings Southern Cafe

http://www.sterlingssoutherncafe.com/contact.html

If you're in the Kingsland/St. Marys area and you're looking for an absolutely fabulous place to go for dinner, I highly recommend Sterlings.

DELICIOUS!

Considering how long it's been since Justin and I went out to dinner at someplace that doesn't have a kid's menu with chicken nuggets, I really wanted to find a great restaurant, and this was it. The ambiance was amazing - very private since it's in a historic southern house - and the servers were fantastic. And the food was so good I can't even believe it. We had calamari for an appetizer that was served with spicy soy sauce instead of marinara sauce and it was excellent. I had grilled salmon that was very good but not remarkable, but Justin's beef tenderloin dish was exquisite. Unbelievably good. I also had a crab bisque that was the best I've ever tasted. We had a glass of wine each with dinner, and we of course had to have dessert which was a shared portion of homemade banana pudding. Also divine - according to Justin, it was the tastiest banana pudding ever in the history of the universe. My experience with banana pudding is limited, but I'm not going to disagree with him.

I can't imagine there is a better restaurant in the area considering all this place has to offer. If you have a special occasion coming up or if you just want to have dinner in a beautiful setting, please give Sterlings a try. I am so glad we did and I'm looking at the calender trying to invent reasons to go back... Next time I plan on trying the shrimp and grits. Mmm!

Three Years

I love wedding kisses!

So we've been married for 3 beautiful years. Yay! It seems like we've know one another for our whole lives... I just can't wait to see what the rest of ever brings to us. We've been blessed with so much already...

Honeymoon!

Thank you to our friends and families for all of your support and for making our lives richer and more beautiful... you're just as much a part of our lives as ever, and we can't imagine a future without you all, so thank you for always being there.

The Bugs Are Winning

I am dismayed to report that I've had to pull all but one lonely squash plant out of the garden thanks to the destructive squash vine borer bugs that claimed my crop last year as well. I have harvested but one sad zucchini and I think that will probably be the sum of all my hard work on a total of 24 squash plants. I planted my crop this year so that I'd have easy access to all the plants so I could daily inspect them for the telltale eggs on the undersides of the leaves so I could get rid of the pests before they hit the larva stage and bored into the vine itself. I did that and still the plants were ruined. I think the larva were overwintering in the soil and I didn't till it well enough and they were able to access the plants at a much younger stage because they came from the soil instead of eggs on the leaves.

Damn.

So far the cucumbers are looking okay. I'm pulling a few off those plants every day, so I think they're still healthy. I think the heat killed my snap peas, but I'll live. The carrots and green onions are doing great and I've almost harvested all the lettuce which has been delicious. We've got herbs going in to replace the lettuce, so at least that part of the garden is having good turnover.

The tomatoes. Damn tomatoes. The plants are doing great and the cherry tomatoes are growing like crazy, but I'm having an issue with little green caterpillar/worm things that are ruining the foliage and boring into the tomatoes themselves. I tried organic solutions, but nothing was working, so I did some research and found that Sevin pesticides don't penetrate the plant membrane and as long as you follow the directions on recommended time between applications and recommended time between application and harvest (in this case, 3 days) it has no effect on the plant or the fruit. So that's a relief. I applied a TON of the stuff yesterday so we'll see if I can win one for the people. It's infuriating to deal with.

Our crepe myrtle tree out front has a chronic infestation of aphids that really is impossible to control. Even if I spray the tree with bug killer, I have to get absolutely every single last stupid bug because they reproduce so quickly that if I leave even one tiny aphid behind, it'll spread to the rest of the tree within 48 hours. I wouldn't give a crap but they excrete this waste called "honeydew" that looks like soot and coats the leaves and bark with greasy black nasty. I hate looking out my front window at it and washing it off is a pain in the ass. So the aphids have won that battle - all I do is hope for rain (hah!) to wash the honeydew off the leaves and try to ignore them.

But the tomatoes? Seriously? I just want my tomatoes to be okay. Eat my squash, fine, but leave my tomatoes alone.

Stupid bugs.

Me = Crappiest Blogger EVER

Well, though, in my defense, I have an excuse: Justin's home! Yay! We missed Daddy-man so much that we've been spending every possible minute together which has effectively left me with no time to blog. We're settling back into a routine now, though, so I'll be much more consistent again.

Jack and I on our way to meet the boat.

Welcome Home, Daddy!

Some quick updates:
*The bunny-love didn't work out. The woman in charge of the Gainesville Rabbit Rescue program did an absolutely horrible job coordinating and didn't supply me with the address of the date until an hour after we were supposed to have left the house. I had things to do that evening, so missing our window was a pretty big deal. I was furious and don't get me started on how upset I am over the whole situation. But needless to say, Enzo remains an eligible bachelor.

*We took Justin and Mr./Uncle Matt to the Aquatic Center - everyone loved it!

*Justin had grown a mustache underway. It was pretty disgusting. I don't think it lasted more than 24 hours off the boat.

*We all went to the zoo in Jacksonville. It was so awesome that we got season passes. I am stoked since I, personally, love zoos. Well, I love animals, and since a safari isn't in our budget, I have to be content with the zoo.

*We're still totally unsure of what's going on with our move to Virginia. Anyone want to buy a 4 bedroom/2 bath adorable house in Kingsland, Georgia?

Jack had his 15 month checkup and we found out he's in the 50th percentile for weight (24.4 lbs) and 91st percentile for height (33.5 inches!) which is awesome - he's built just like Daddy!

*Damn Robertson took his car back. Not thrilled about that one. I even offered to let him have the Honda instead. Jerk.

*We've finally made it through the DVR - hours upon hours of TV shows I recorded to catch up on when the guys got back. We're caught up on our shows like House, Greek, Top Gear, The Office, 30 Rock, and of course, Greys. It took some hard-core couch time, but we've done it.

*The welcome home Tennessee/happy birthday Matt party was a total success and so much fun! I am not going to confirm or deny the fact that there may have been a number of beers funneled that day.

Alright, that's all I've got for you - here are a couple of pictures... if you want more, check the baby website over the next few days as I slowly upload the 1000's of pictures we've got of the last couple weeks.