Hilton Head with my peeps

Here are some pictures of my first girl's (and long over due) weekend since children.  It's really just the same picture over and over again, with different outfits.  These ladies are near and dear to my heart, and I met them all in college.  Some of them I see every few months, some I haven't seen in years.  Two of them were in my wedding. Anyway, you get the point, I love these gals! It's so crazy to see them all grown up. The last time we all went out, I am pretty sure one of us ended up with our heads draped over a toilet. But this time....oh wait, one of us did ( AND IT WASN'T ME..HOORAY). Anyway, the point is, I am no longer a control freak Mom. I used to leave pages and pages of "directions" any time I left my kids for even a few hours. This time I was like...Cya! I didn't even so much as grocery shop before I left.  Paul is obviously completely capable and more then willing to care for our boys all by himself, so I left it all up to him. They probably had McDonald's at least twice in those three days, but whatever. They will live! So I enjoyed 3 days and 3 nights soaking up sun, trading funny child rearing stories, drinking an adult beverage or 3, and eating delicious food. We did each other's makeup before we would go out. We stayed up all night talking. We laughed.  We cried. Oh wait, that was just me on the drive home because I wasn't ready to return. We made plans for next year's girl's trip!!!  So as I learn to balance fun, and responsibility, and giving up control with things I have absolutely no business trying to control...I am reminded of what amazing girlfriends I have, the old and the new!

Potty like a Rock Star

Drew is going potty like a rock star.  He still has the occasional accident, but has been diaper free since day one!  It took him about 2-3 days before it really clicked. But he's got it down now!  So pround of my sweet little ROCK STAR!

Backyard BBQs

One of the most fun parts of summer is enjoying a backyard BBQ with friends in between taking dips in the pool!

Mamacita

Here are a few pics my girlfriend took of me and the boys this week.  We kicked off the summer with their end of the year program and a super fun pool party!!! 

Last Day of School.

Evan on his last day of school. I thought I was putting him in the same shirt he wore on the first day so I could compare.  But I was wrong. Whatevs. You can't even really tell, but he grew 3 inches and gained about 3 lbs. My pics on the last day were terrible because it was raining and I was running late.  But you get the idea.

 Here he is on his first day of PreK 3.

Here is the only pic Drew would let me take of him on this particular morning.

But he not only grew almost 3 inches, but he gained almost 6 lbs, that skinny little thing!

To be honest, usually looking back at pictures like this, you would say, WOW, how they have grown. But unless Mrs B and Mrs G documented how much they have grown, I wouldn't believe it, because to me, they look just about the same! Drew has more teeth and hair, but otherwise...they kind of look the same, NO?

Melissa's Shower

WWMD.  I probably say that in my head at least once a day.  That stands for what would Melissa do. Have you ever had a friend that you just completely idolized?  That’s Mel for me.  She’s smart, funny, outgoing, bubbly, a free spirit, and gorgeous to boot. I want to be her when I grow up.  I am an introvert at heart. If it were up to me, I would have like 2 friends, never talk to anyone I don’t know, and work from home behind my computer. Well, as an ARNP, that’s kind of hard to do.  At work, when a patient is complaining about me being an hour and a half behind, the inner me wants to say, listen lady, we can talk about this for 20 minutes and I will be an hour and 50 minutes behind, or we can get on with our visit. When they break out the list of 126 questions and I feel like crawling in a hole and crying, I just channel my inner Melissa.  I try and act like they are the most important thing in the world to me, and I apologize profusely, answer every question they could ever think of, ask about their cousin three times removed they told me about at the last visit who also has Atrial fibrillation and I hopefully make them feel better.  But seriously, if it weren’t for Melissa being my nurse practitioner role model friend, I probably would be a bitter, mean old hermit who never left my house.  So the fact that she is preggers with her first baby at 41…well I am over the mood ecstatic. I can’t wait to meet little London.  She is THE LUCKIEST baby in the world. Ok Ok. I know I sound a little bit like I have a girl crush on my friend. But you would too if you only knew her. She makes you feel like the most special person in the world. I hope you have your own Melissa in your life who makes you a better person.  WWMD.