The Sandy Bottom Girls

A couple of weeks ago Bradley spent a week with his Grandma Ann and Dad in Florida, so Laura and I spent the week at the beach, trying to enjoy our first ever vacation with just us sisters.  College roomie Stephanie came down for the week too, so Laura and Steph did a good job of distracting me from what was a very long week for me.  I am glad Bradley had time with his Grandma and dad, but this was our first experience with visitation, and I missed B like crazy, having never been away from him for that long before. 

Ready for the road trip

Sacked out with Buzz Lightyear

I've decided to recap the events of the week and mainly the beach and cuisine of the week in this post because this post is gonna be way too long as it is.  Stay tuned for a "Behind the Music" look at the random events of the week...

Now I love the beach, but it was very surreal being back in Florida as a vacationer because everywhere we went I had some sort of negative association with a place.  It took me most of the week before I could relax enough to enjoy myself.  The first night Laura and I went and got sushi at a great place called the Slippery Mermaid.  For this DIVA who doesn't eat fish or seafood of any kind really, I love that I can get a chicken teriaki roll or a steak roll besides a veggie roll that any sushi place will have.

Sunday morning, I got to go to church at my old church, Midway Baptist, which was bittersweet.  I do love and miss the people there and Brother Dennis.  After church I zipped over to pick up Steph, and then the Sandy Bottom Girls hit the beach!

Steph stole some kid's bucket and made sandcastles

We dubbed ourselves the Sandy Bottom Girls because there was a beach store down the road called Sandy Bottoms that we stopped in for supplies.  Furthermore,  the waves were so strong at the beach all week that we each suffered sandy bottoms more than once, and we also thought it sounded similar to the "O Brother Where Art Thou," Soggy Bottom Boys. 

I have never seen so many crabs at the beach- they were everywhere!

 

Sunday night we went to Flounder's in Pensacola Beach to eat so-so food, hear the band Lektrik Mullet and watch old people dance!  This was a highlight of the week for sure.  See the upcoming Behind the Music Beach Post, coming soon, complete with video footage of said old people dancing!

2/3 of the former Sugar Shack residents, waiting on their table

Stephanie at Flounder's- a note to future Flounders patrons- according to both Steph and Laura, do NOT order the crab stuffed Flounder au gratin. 

Sipping nice cool beverages- can you see the family resemblance?

 

Watching drunk old people dance makes us smile!

Nicknames from the UK years: Steppie & Da
Laura, our photographer, was kind enough to get our yacht pictured in the background!

 

Pretty much all we did was eat, sleep, go to the beach (and have sno cones, of course).  Steph and I were content with this routine.  Laura on the other hand was a little irritable by day 4 or 5.  She was a trooper though for my sake!

Another stolen bucket leads to the Queen's castle (Steph's) and the carriage houses for the two stepsisters!

 

Laura playing in the waves

 

How does that Zac Brown Band song go? I got my toes in the sand... or something like that!

More crabs!  I was obsessed with watching them.

At one point, one popped up near my beach chair. "Look at my new friend," I exclaimed happily. "What's his name?" Asked Steph. "Stephanie," I replied without missing a beat.

We all partook in the relaxing beach past time of reading. I finally finished my book on kids food allergies, and then flew through my Tori Spelling book, and several magazines. I wished I had packed another novel by day 4 when I ran out of stuff to read!Along with crabs, I have never in all my years, seen so many seashells at the beach.  Steph was the ultimate sheller, and found all of these in one afternoon!

Along with crabs, I have never in all my years, seen so many seashells at the beach.  Steph was the ultimate sheller, and found all of these in one afternoon!

Our sandcastle masterpiece- it's all about creating a base for height and presentation!

Laura with one of her many grotesque seafood buckets. 

(Yes, I have a thing with food that looks like the actual animal you're consuming.) This was at the Beach Monkey. And yes, Laura got crabs. That joke, along with "That's what she said," was worn out!

Wednesday we went down to the Navarre Pier, newly re-opened last year, which is now the longest pier in the Gulf of New Mexico. We were thinking about fishing, but after observing the stoic seamen, and the skill necessary for casting our lines that high up without snaring a tourist, we gave up the dream!

Laura, walking down the pier

While we didn't fish, we did see plenty of fish, a few dolphins, and my very first sea turtle. What can I say? I'm a Delta Zeta for life, and our mascot is the turtle. I was beyond thrilled to see the large amphibian swimming in the wild, and highly disappointed he didn't resurface so I could snap a picture.

Navarre beach from the pier.

 

After our sightseeing at the pier, we had lunch at the pier bar right there on the ocean.  Laura and I each had cheeseburgers, and oh my gosh, they were so tasty!  By this day, Laura decided it was acceptable to not eat seafood for every meal.  I decided this a long time ago when I vowed not to eat seafood ever. 

The Sandy Bottom Girls

 

As a belated Father's day present for dad since we were in Florida, Laura & I took a picture together in the requisite beach attire of khaki and white (totally impromptu, I might add), developed a good one, and purchased a beachy frame to give to dad when we got back.

Steph and I picked on each other all week, and it certainly helped me to keep laughing.  Steph dubbed me the "drill sergeant" for apparently forcing her to maintain a strenuous pace on our beach walks!

 

To Helenback's Again for pizza on our last night with Steph

Mmmmm, I could eat this whole thing!

After pizza, we splurged for some ice cream at the Twist.  I got some mocha-chocolatey creation, and Laura & Steph got variations of banana ice cream with frozen chocolate bananas. 

The upside of dropping Steph off at the airport at the butt crack of dawn Thursday morning:

On Friday, it actually rained that morning, so Laura & I drove over to the outlet mall. I scored several new clothes for Bradley, and a cute one-piece at the Gap for 6 bucks! On our way back, we were looking for a place to eat, and simultaneously suggested the Hog's Breath Saloon. Practically every place we ate we dined outdoors, and can I just say, I think this is one of life's simple pleasures?! You'd think in Florida it would be too hot to eat outside, but there was always a breeze blowing to make things pleasant.

I'm hungry just looking at this- it was a fantastic Southwestern Chicken Sandwich with avacado, lettuce, tomato, onion, cheese and bacon (which make everything more delicious) and a spicy mayo sauce. Hands down, the best thing I ate all week.

We also ate at the East Bay Crabhouse during the week, where I did actually order sauteed tilapia, and devoured it since it neither looked nor tasted like fish, and we visited my old favorite restaurant in Navarre, the Cactus Flower Cafe, and had some amazing Mexican food that rivaled the above sandwich and fries.  We definitely ate well this week!

Mine.

It was the weirdest thing- we didn't see any seagulls until our last day, and then, they only appeared because a school of fish had drifted close to the beach, and were visibly jumping out of the water. The birds migrated over appropriately.

 

Saturday morning, we said goodbye to the beach, and hello to Bradley! He was a cranky worn out mess, but I didn't care! We stopped in Alabama on the way home at aunt Peggy's for lunch and to see our cousin Heather, her husband Bob, and kids Ana and Larkin. Bradley ran around playing with his cousins for a while and worked out some of his pent-up energy!

Aunt Peggy pulling B around in the wagon

At this point, it was very late in the afternoon, and Bradley had yet to take a nap, so he wasn't exactly cooperative when it came time for pictures, so this is the best one I got of him and Peggy. He fell asleep soon after getting back on the road though.

At this point, it was very late in the afternoon, and Bradley had yet to take a nap, so he wasn't exactly cooperative when it came time for pictures, so this is the best one I got of him and Peggy.  He fell asleep soon after getting back on the road though. 

If you have made it this far reading/skimming/only looking at the pictures, and you are not my mother, then I commend you.  It was a long week, and we are glad to be home, although not happy to be back at work, and I am certainly missing the lazy days at the beach.  I'll be looking for takers for next summer because I doubt Laura will ever go with me to the beach again!  Seven days on the beach for her was about four days too many!  We took a tough situation, and made the best of it, and for that, I am so thankful for friends & family like Laura and Steph. 

Next up:  the Beach: BTM...

7 Days of Snow Cones

Here it is:  our home away from home for 7 days:  Tommy's New Orleans Sno Balls.  Each and every day, Laura, Steph, and I would treat ourselves to a small snow cone- a mere $2 of delightful fruity refreshing goodness in a cup.  First we laid some ground rules:   

1. We had to go every day
2. No repeats
3. Everyone would try each other's, and we'd pick a favorite for the day*
4. We would take a picture daily that included us and the snow cones- the angles can be tricky when self-photographing as we did each day. 

(*denotes the group's voted on favorite of the day)

Day One:  Laura:  Hawaiian Delight*, Me:  Mojito

Day Two:  Steph: Jungle Juice, Laura:  Pina Colada*, Me: Cherry Limeaid

Day Three:  Me:  pink lemonade*, Steph: lemon lime, Laura: blue & red raspberry

Funny story about Day Three's snow cone adventure.  I looked at the list of flavors and wondered aloud, I "What's with all those saint-flavored drinks?  Saint?  Or is it street?"  Laura answered knowingly, "it's a New Orleans thing."  She was thinking of the New Orleans Saints like I was, and also because our Snow cone vendor had all kinds of Saints and New Orleans paraphernalia on the cart.  Stephanie was our voice of reason when she laid down her trump card:  "Strawberry?!" She said incredulously.  "Man, I can sure tell you guys are sisters."  We laughed and laughed about that one.

The Saint-like drinks:

Day Four:  Laura:  Polynesian Pineapple, Steph:  Grape*, Me:  Coconut

 

Day Five:  Steph:  Black Cherry, Laura: Tiger's Blood, Me:  Sour Cherry*
(Can you tell Laura was tired of taking pictures by this point?  She was such a good sport!)

Day Six:  Me:  Seaweed*, Laura: Paradise Punch

Day Seven:  Me:  Almond Joy, Laura: Alligator's Blood*

Unfortunately, my Almond Joy flavored one was so nasty I had to throw it out half-uneaten!  I was hesitant to try one of the numerous chocolatey-flavored snow cones, but it was too intriguing not to sample.  I love chocolate, and I love iced lattes and mochas, so this was something I was bound to like, right?  Alas, there is something inherently wrong about chocolate and shaved ice.  It tasted like a chalky Swiss Miss packet over ice!  From now on, I'll be sticking with the fruity flavors.

 Our overall favorite of the week was the Sour Cherry.  I'm sure the girls at Tommy's Sno Balls were sad to see our business go, but we are sure glad to be home.

The Poopy Party

Sorry, we're potty training... it's inevitable that poop is going to the topic of conversation every now and then.

For a long time now (over a year) we've been potty training Bradley.  He has done fairly well going #1 on the potty, but would never, ever attempt to go #2.  So mom bribed him with the promise of a stick horse if he would poop on his potty.  After a while had passed and that bribe didn't seem to be working, I upped the ante.  If you go poop on the potty, I promised, we'll go to Chuck E Cheese.  (We went there for the first and only time months ago with my friend Rachel and her son Mason, and Bradley has talked about it ever since).

Memorial Day weekend was PT boot camp I decided.  I put B in his big boy underwear all day except for diapers at nap time and bedtime, I set my phone alarm, and made him try to go every 30 minutes.  Bradley was not a fan of this method.  However, after this weekend, and wearing underwear at daycare that following week, I am now happy to report that B is wearing his big boy underwear every day now (except for the nap/bed times) and hasn't had one wet accident.  He is great about suddenly telling me when he needs to go potty.  He is very close to being fully potty trained and not needing the diapers when he sleeps.  However, the illusive #2 has become a problem.

Since Memorial Day weekend, when we went exclusively to big boy underwear, Bradley refuses to go #2- AT ALL!  He holds it for days at a time.  He waited and went in his diaper one morning first thing.  Then several more days went by.  Finally, the day after his birthday, on Wednesday, June 8th, after lacing his apple juice with Karo syrup, Bradley finally pooped on his big boy potty.  He was at home with mom when it happened, so I got a picture text at work that morning of the end result.  I have never been so excited to view feces!

To celebrate, he got his stick horse right away, and then we all went to Chuck E Cheese the next night for our aptly-named Poopy Party.

"Bullseye," Bradley's new stick horse

Bradley's still holding it in for several days, but I am happy to report he went #2 again on his potty tonight, so hopefully I have bought my last box of diapers!

10 Obnoxious Songs

As referenced in my blog from yesterday, I started thinking about what my least-favorite songs were.  I came up with ten of the most annoying songs I'm sick of, and would be happy if I never heard again.  In no particular order:

1. Two Princes- Spin Doctors
2. Heaven Let Your Light Shine Down- Collective Soul
3. These Are the Days- Natalie Merchant
4. Mr. Mom- Lonestar
5. Watchin You- Rodney Atkins
6. How you Remind Me- Nickelback
7. What's Goin On- Four Non-Blondes
8. You're Beautiful- James Blunt
9. Fast Car- Tracy Chapman
10. All I Wanna Do- (or any other song by) Sugarland

I'd love to hear about your favorite songs you love to hate on.

Neurosis

There was one day the week before last when I thought I was absolutely losing my mind.  I had been operating on very little sleep, simultaneously getting ready for Rhonda's baby shower, and Bradley's birthday.  While dropping Bradley off at daycare that morning, I stood at the door staring at the keypad.  All of a sudden, my mind went blank and I couldn't for the life of me remember the code I needed to punch to get in.  Mind you, this is a code I punch nearly every day of my life and has become so routine that I normally don't think twice about it.  But this morning I had a mental block.  Slowly the numbers came to me, but not in the right order.  I finally had to waive through the window and have one of the other teachers let me, the crazy mom who forgot the door code, into the building.  So that's how my day began.

Fast forward to that morning at work.  Do you ever get songs stuck in your head?  The main problem with this is that it's never the entire song on repeat running through your subconscious, but rather the same two or three lines, over and over.  This morning the song in question was Britney Spears' latest, about dancing till the world ends.  I don't even like the song, so that's even more maddening to keep singing the lines over and over.  Eventually, my subconscious must have turned its attention elsewhere, and I was able to concentrate on work instead of techno dancing at a club. 

Later that afternoon however, it happened again with a different song- the Spin Doctor's Two Princes.  This song easily makes it to my top 10 list of irritating songs that I never want to hear again, and here it was, on repeat in my head.  What is wrong with me today, I thought?!  First forgetting the daycare code, then that stupid Britney Spears song, and now the Spin Doctors.  I am neurotic, I thought.  The scariest part to me was that I couldn't trace why I would have this song in my head.  I hadn't heard it recently, so what was it that triggered this tune?

Then I had my Ah-ha moment. 

I glanced down at a work-related letter I just sent sent someone.  The person's email address began with "2stinsons@..."  At once I had to laugh at myself!  My brain had associated "2stinsons" with Two Princes.  (Say them both out loud, and you'll know what I mean.)  At least having traced the source of my current neurosis, I felt a little better.  Whenever I get a song stuck in my head, I play a little game with myself and see if I can determine the subconscious culprit of why a particular ditty has camped out in my brain.  I feel that if I can at least determine the cause for the repetitive tune popping up out of seemingly nowhere, it makes me feel a little more sane.  So on this day, I won the game.  And I lost, because really, that Spin Doctors son just grates on your nerves.

367 days later

It's hard to imagine that an entire year has gone by since we've been back in Tennessee.

I have always tried to paint the best picture of my life without oversharing or airing my dirty laundry on the internet. Still, it's no secret that in not too long a time period I met my future husband, married, had Bradley and got divorced.
Last summer I struggled as I watched one week pass being home in Tennessee, then one month, then two, then six.  And then the date of June 6th loomed in the distance.  I began to count down to the one-year mark, and have thought back to the events of last spring with so much sadness.  It was nearing the end, but I didn't know it at the time.  But here it is, one year later. 

Trust me, I never agreed with divorce.  I truly saw things in black and white and believed that marriage was forever, whether you were happy or not.  Fortunately, I am seeing things in shades of gray nowadays, and I, like all of us, am a work in progress with Jesus.  I still believe that God hates divorce.  God hates all sin.  But staying together in a toxic relationship didn't cover the multitude of sins that our relationship created, nor were we doing ourselves or Bradley any favors.  Not surprisingly, Brian and I are both happier with this result.  I trust God with the overall big picture, but it's the little things I'm struggling to turn over to Him.    I guess I am still in the grieving period, even though I am overall a much happier and healthier person these days.
So this day comes, and I mourn the loss of a dream, and I celebrate the hope for the future. 

Toy Story 3rd Birthday Party

This year I didn't do a big party, but invited family and close friends the Reeds over to celebrate Bradley turning 3 years old.  I purchased a couple of decorations from Party City, and used the mantle to display all of Bradley's Toy Story figurines and action figures.  Laura and Mom made us a Mexican fiesta spread of quesadillas, rice, beans, pico de gayo, and fresh guacamole.

The birthday boy enjoyed his dinner.  Andrew & Alesia's little 8 month old Jackson, and he was the best baby!  He sat in the high chair and ate puffs (aka Baby crack) while we stuffed ourselves with Mexican, and then was content to play with the ribbons from Bradley's presents.  I love the picture of Bradley and Ya-ya (Sandy).

For one of his gifts, Bradley was presented with his first baseball glove from Papa

He also got several puzzles since that's one of his favorite things to do right now, as well as a water table, new bedding, a Superman figure, and a Fischer Price Stand and Play race track that's really cute.

Jackson playing with the ribbon

Laura & George got Bradley a set of Toy Story figures that he was very excited about.  (Isn't Lu tres fashionable in her nod to Victoria Beckham with her birthday hat?)

The cake was a point of contention between me and my sister. This one came from Publix. I wanted to make a box mix and decorate it myself, however, I was coerced into buying one.  After tasting the expensive Publix cake, I determined I must have cheap taste because I would rather have Betty Crocker or Duncan Hines any day!  Bradley liked the icing and Buzz & Woody figures on top, so I guess that's all that matters.

Shoveling in the cake and ice cream

I ordered Bradley this adorable shirt on Etsy for his birthday

The party guests (Left to Right):  Tim, Dad, Parker, Sandy, Alesia, George, Mom, Bradley, Me, Jackson, & Laura

Bradley & Papa

Happy Birthday, Bradley!  Here's to celebrating more birthdays to infinity and beyond!

Happy 3rd Birthday

Bradley is officially 3 years old today.  Time flies, and all that other cliche stuff.  We had a Toy Story themed birthday party for him last night, and didn't get him to bed til 10 o'clock, so I didn't even think about trying to go through pictures or get a blog done last night.  Tonight after putting him to bed, I had high hopes for myself, and for the waning DivaDomain.  Alas, editing and organizing said birthday party photos took up my entire evening, and now I am spent!! 

There just are not enough hours in the day.  So the party will have to be recapped later.  Here are a few shots from today, because if I don't at least get something posted now, I fear I never will!

Carrying on my family's tradition of putting a present on Bradley's bed to open first thing in the morning on his birthday- this was a set of 3 dinosaur puzzles.

 Eating leftover birthday cake and ice cream in his birthday t-shirt I ordered from Etsy.

 Bradley & Grandma B

 Bradley & mommy

 The new bedding I got for B from Target.  He's also wearing new pjs from Aunt Conley...

 ... and proudly displaying the pillow that Ya-ya (Sandy) made for him

 Putting a band-aid on Buzz Lightyear's boo-boo.  We're all about the boo-boos these days.  It's a hot topic for conversation, and many a boo-boo, both genuine and fictitious, have been doctored up with a brightly colored band-aid. 

We go for his 3 year check up tomorrow, so I will post the official stats soon.  Happy birthday, B!  Becoming a mom 3 years ago has changed me, and made me a better person.  Having you was the most unexpected blessing I have ever been given, and even though I'm 30 and still don't know what career path suits me best, I know one thing:  being a mom is the best job I never knew I wanted.