We had the most fantastic week! Stacey and Justin came with their wee one, Niki, last Saturday and we spent the week playing, eating, lounging, laughing, reminiscing… It was just like old times! We enjoyed many games of spades while they were here. Anyone who partnered with me was sure to lose and Stacey seemed to be the only one who didn’t mind. You can see from our scorecard that she and I were the “Galloping Girls” and she named the guy’s team the “Bantering Boys”. They didn’t like the word “Bantering” apparently, insisting that the word is “gay”. Just so you know, never use the word “bantering” in the same sentence you refer to your husband. It’s a bit uncomfortable for those manly men! 
Jeremy, Me, Justin & Stacey circa 1998
Jeremy, Me, Justin & Stacey May 2008
Just a little history: Jeremy, Austin, and I spent nearly every weekend with Stacey and Justin when we lived in Asheville. They were like family. We have so much history and we are lifelong friends. They are the only ones who know who I’m talking about when I mention ol’ “Hairy Mike” or “Crazy Judy” and they are the only ones who remember how cute Austin was when he waddled around in diapers.
Austin catching his first fish with Jeremy & Justin (circa 1999):
Me & Stace fishing off the tailgate (1999). True Southern Girls! Only we don’t hook the worms-YUCK!:
The whole time they were here we listened to 90’s alternative on Sirius Radio. It was the music we listened to then. It was interesting sitting around the table with our old friends… playing cards and enjoying drinks… laughing about some of the same things we did back then… observing the lines and changes in our faces… our laughter and fun reminding us of why we will always be close friends.
Jeremy & Justin (1999)
Jeremy & Justin (May 2008)
Me & Stace BFF (May 2008):
Stacey had tried to get pregnant for years, just like me. So you can imagine how completely awesome and ironic it was that we both announced our pregnancy (with Bella and Niki) in the same phone call to one another, and gave birth to our beautiful girls within two weeks of one another. Those girls were probably meant to grow up together. They were like peas and carrots:
I made Niki & Bella matching pillowcase dresses– They loved them. They played together so wonderfully and seemed to know each other for a long, long time– much longer than 3 years. They didn’t call one another by their names, they called each other “Friend”:
We had an unbelievable time. They left yesterday and it took me a few hours to get over the blues of them being gone again. We hope to plan a trip to meet with them in Florida this Fall. Hopefully everything will work out for us to do that.
Meanwhile, I am busy putting our house back together after 7 days of no house chores or laundry. I’m missing the sound of Niki and Bella playing in the yard, the way Stacey is always up for taking a shot of Crown with me, the games of Spades on our dining room table. What a memorable, wonderful week! Stacey, Justin, and Niki: We love you guys!
Since my camera is broken and will be until I can get her into the shop, I thought I’d share some older pics. It’s fun to look back…
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A little over a year ago I was round and loving every swollen inch of my pregnant body. Well, maybe not the swollen tootsies, but the rest was fine by me. I felt like a Goddess. Pregnancy is wonderful. One thing I loved most about my pregnant belly was all the kisses and whispers and attention it got…
A little over a year ago, life got a bit busier. I spent more time talking in riddles outloud and pouring sugar into the coffee filters because, well, sleep deprivation makes you funny and weird. Funny and weird is also trying to pose for a picture while everyone looks and smiles at the same time. Ha!
That look on my face is like, “Doh.”
About a year ago, Noah was tiny, cute, and quite the spunky monkey. This dude was born with some healthy pipes, Y’all. He had the most insanely high octave cry when he was tiny. I’m sure the Pacific whales could hear him from here. And they probably ran (swam?) for their lives!
On the night before Noah’s birth, I wasn’t nesting. I was climbing on my roof to see and capture this beautiful sky. Some women fold cloth diapers when they nest, some women sew curtains, I climb ladders and stare at the sky…
Last summer, Bella and Austin became big siblings. Since Bella is a little devil sometimes (just ask her baby brother), the horns seemed fitting…
Lil’ Miss Sassafras
“I might be little but I sure am scrappy,” says the tiny Nooskers!
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If something wonderful happened in your summer of 06, share it! I’d love to hear!
Look at what I found! This is Austin right after his 1st birthday! I was a little over 20. Crazy, huh!?
He was such a doll. That was just before I met Jeremy. Ohhhh, memories. Austin doesn’t remember there ever being a time where it was just him and me against the world. Seems like yesterday to me…
I decided it would be fun to start a new category that I’ll add to now and then, particularly when I am having writer’s block. I have titled it, “Changes” and it will consist of random things I think have changed in my thinking and behaviors over the years. It’s my blawg, y’all, and so it has to have random weirdness from my brain! Here’s the first thing that came to mind when I thought about a change I’ve made:
I have always been a bit neurotic. I was the only child in elementary school who had read books on the Heimlich maneuver or how to do first aid on a rattlesnake bite. I had migraines that I was sure were likely from high blood pressure or a brain tumor, at the age of 7. I was positive that the world would end by some horrible catastrophe by the time I was old enough to wash my own laundry. My mother’s death really emphasized this behavior, as did her Registered Nurse career when she was alive. “Stephanie! Guess what I did today? I got to assist with a spinal tap on a 4 year old,” or “Steph, guess what!? Today I was the nurse who assisted Dr. Landers during surgery to remove a tumor in a young woman’s left breast!” “Steph, I assisted in the delivery of a baby whose mother had male and female genitalia!” (No. I’m not kidding. There is someone out there with two parts and I know all about these parts.)
I couldn’t imagine myself ever reaching the age of 32, her age when she died. Guess what? I’m almost there! Even though the high stress of spending 30 years terrified of everything should have caused a potentially life threatening heart condition or a bleeding ulcer (actually they say these aren’t stressed related now), I am still here! It’s a fucking miracle!
Motherhood changed my neurosis a bit. I don’t worry so much about dying as I do about keeping my children safe. I have to work very hard not to instill every fear I have into my children. Would you like an example?
“Austin? Are you really going to suck the helium out of that balloon!? A-hem. Umm. Nevermind. Suck the helium. It could cause a blood clot in the lungs. But not your lungs. It does lead to cancer in lab rats, but never mind that. I mean, children all over this planet suck helium. Don’t even think twice about shorting your brain of oxygen which might lead to deafness in your right ear or ulcers on your gums. Uhhh. Nevermind Austin. I love you, honey. Suck the helium. Go ahead. Have fun!”
Ok, slight exaggeration. But you get the point. I’m Crazy, y’all! What matters is that we are able to change and grow over the years, right? I went from a 4 foot tall fruity pebble to a 6 foot tall froot loop. Ha!
See, I looked a little on the looney side even then.
