there's a place for us

jack was on spring break last week, and i took the opportunity to burn some vacation days with him. we took several quick trips up to the "big city" of wilmington, happily enjoying being tourists in our own backyard.

during the week, we enjoyed:
roller skating (yes! i skated! great stress reliever, by the way...)
the children's museum
old brunswick town
the battleship north carolina
miniature golf

here are a few shots from the children's musem, with cousin max. children's museums are the greatest invention. ever. these kids had a blast - there was nothing in there that was "off limits," it was all "their" size, and there were enough different exhibits that even we moms didn't get too bored!

jack with max (and jack, and max, and jack...)

your next...american idol!

jack erickson, science guy

really, check out that roller skating deal. i'm only sad i don't have any pics of me out on the floor (i was tempting fate, as it was, not to fall down. i didn't dare throw a camera into the mix!!)

spt - i will remember you

i'm sure many of you have noticed my lack of blogging lately. this happened last year, too - work and life found a way to keep me from doing one of the things i really, truly love to do! blogging, the writing AND the reading, have become such a huge part of my life, i honestly don't know what i would do without my connection to all of you.

of course, spt is a huge part of amuse-bouche, and something that has helped me create some amazing friendships. even on days when i don't feel like i have a good challenge, or (worse) a good spt post to go with my own challenge, i learn and grow from all of you!

but for right now, i need to put blogging, and spt, on the back burner for a little bit. not forever! never forever! but for now, i would rather take a step back with determination than to let amuse-bouche suffer a long and painful slide into a shadow of it's former self. i know you have all been there yourselves, and i am excited that you will be there when i come back!!

so, for next week, a simple challenge. take a few moments to take a great self-portrait. fix your hair, freshen your lipstick, wear your favorite shirt. get outside, or stay inside, but take the time to find a shot that you love. i want to see beautiful photos of my beautiful friends, something to remember you all by as i wade through the next few months.

i can't wait to *see* you all next week!

spt

how funny... i am literally "phoning this one in." (photo courtesy my razr)

breakfast in bed, the monday after Easter, courtesy of 7 year old jack. love the balloon! love that my 7 year old son has an eye for little details!! that is definitely *eggs*traordinary to me.

what did you find on your Easter egg hunt?

waning and waxing

Easter morning found us *finally* dying eggs. jack has been asking for about two weeks now, but my enthusiasm was definitely waning. i don't know where i picked up this tip, but using wax paper under your project is a lifesaver!!

hope you had a wonderful Easter weekend!

spt - Easter egg hunt

while the kiddos are hunting eggs, take a moment to hunt for something *eggs*tra special about your weekend.

hope the sun shines on your Easter weekend!

carolina in my mind

thought you could hum along with me while i drive across the state this afternoon.



i'm off to charlotte for a quick business trip.

i'll be back friday to check up on all of the wonderful spt/spw/spth and even spf posts!! i'll be posting a new challenge for next week, too. (and if you were already thinking "easter bonnets," guess again...)

i just dropped off my registration for the Lighthouse 5K.

i can't stop feeling like i should be running the 10K.

i need to making running a priority. there's no irony in the fact that my deplorable mood seems to go hand in hand with my lack of activity.

24 days until the race. maybe, i'll surprise myself...

spt

i left work in search of it.

i drove home in search of it.

i knew it wasn't in the garage.

i thought for sure i would find it here.

but somedays, i feel like i'm still searching for it.

words come in very handy

last week, i hinted that a maelstrom might be a' brewing. i was feeling foggy, there was a 100% chance of showers, my deportment was somewhat stormy.

as it often goes with weather forecasting, we can't possibly know that the next day may bring a deluge, even when the sun seems to be poking through the clouds. that a phone call from school on a beautiful spring day could bring me from *almost* ebullient to downright lachrymose.

they're back.

i knew i was acting inimically as i gathered jack from the director's office. while his behavior was tractable, even his fun smile couldn't prevent a few of my own tears from escaping. how could i be dragooned into even one more hour of the most sedulous of activities?

it was straight to the barber, followed by two doses of the *good stuff* liberally applied throughout the weekend.

the denoument is that he passed the first checkpoint this morning. i am listening to fun Irish music to chase away any semblance of a lugubrious mood. but i'm querulously holding my breath every time the phone rings.

many, many thanks to april, for challenging me to enjoy telling this story!

spt - [insert photo here]

how about providing an spt photo to go along with this caption:

your feet will bring you to where your heart is.

there i go, asking you to be all creative again!! have fun with it. and don't forget that st. patrick's day is on monday (if you're planning a green lunch for your kiddies, or leprechaun kisses for your neighbors, don't let it sneak up on you!)

foggy

this was the scene on the drive to work this morning, fog sitting low over the lake, blue skies just above, yet just out of reach.

sort of a mirror of my mind this morning.

i've been working a lot of evenings the past two weeks. touching base with the *old* me, the one who used to be a guest service representative most nights, from 3 - 11 pm. touching base with the guests, many of whom have been visiting our hotel since we opened 8 years ago. laughing and joking with them, catching up, WOW-ing them with my uncanny ability to be a great customer service person. (this is something that makes me *extra* special - i've just been out of touch with it for a while...) i love feeling connected with the hotel, with my teammembers, with my guests.

only, i am terribly disconnected from my family.

i hate that working evenings is wreaking havoc with my home life. the *old* me didn't mind coming home after a long night, scarfing down some leftovers, catching the late news, falling asleep after 1 a.m.

i hate that my family doesn't function as well when i'm not home. i hate that jack stays up too late, homework left until the next morning. i hate that taylor eschews dinner, and holes up in her bedroom with a bowl of cereal. i hate that matty makes only half-hearted attempts at all of the things i do each evening. i hate coming home to dirty dishes in the sink, while the dishwasher sits empty, waiting. i hate that the porch light is not on to greet me when i finally creep home. i hate the late news.

there, i've said it. i often look for concrete evidence that my house would not run as efficiently without me. i hate that that evidence is the detritus of my families' lives lying in piles of dirty dishes and yesterday's junk mail.

i'm foggy. i don't like the bitter feelings i'm having about my family. tonight, i will be home. ironically, no one else will be there. but i'm looking forward to some quiet, some time to reclaim my home from my family. i will get some sleep. the fog will burn off.

it will, won't it?

i swear to you i am still running.

updates will come.

must sleep now...

spt

most people who come to my house come to the front door.



i also have a doorbell at my back door. this is one of my favorite things about my house - it seems so welcoming to one and all. i dream of having neighbors who would actually ring my back doorbell.



however, if you want to find me lately, you're going to have to come through this door.

seven!

it's not quite enough to celebrate your birthday with all of your superhero friends. it's much better to have a second party, wouldn't you say? jack's choice was family game night.

jack stayed awake until after midnight on saturday, so that he could experience *turning 7* (i didn't really have the heart, at that point, to tell him that he was a 6:36 PM baby...) i think he just wanted to make sure that i hung the happy birthday sign on his door! we also posted the good word outside on our signpost (please ignore the state of my cyprus mulch. and no, that is NOT snow. just sand.)



after jack spent the first 45 minutes or so running around and being the silly birthday boy, we managed to squeeze in a round of Mousetrap. it was Operation, however, that turned out to be the high stakes game of the night.




the seven year old was able to impart some serious knowledge to baby rebecca.



the request was for a round, chocolate cake. and, by george, he got it!! (despite all of my efforts to seriously mess that up*.)



(*when, WHEN will i learn not to overfill the baking pans? there is nothing quite like trying to hide the smell of chocolate-covered-heating-elements when you have family over for dinner!)

be forewarned, i may still get one more post out of this birthday!

six years and 365 days!

in and amongst the frenzy of the past few days, we celebrated jack's birthday. his birthday is march 2nd, and we loved teasing him that, due to leap day, he had to wait an extra day to celebrate! the wait was worth it, and we spent the entire weekend enjoying his seven year old enthusiasm.

his *friend* party kicked off the weekend. this was the first year that he requested to only invite the boys. (and, by the way, the boys' moms were excellent about the R.S.V.P.s!!) he opted for the playground again, and saturday did not disappoint, with sunny skies and 60+ weather.

this year we went with a superhero theme, and my sister, jen, created these awesome comic invites.



we planned lots of fun for our superheros, including an action figure memory test, superhero training (testing their superhero *senses*) and a superhero rescue obstacle course. here are a few shots of the superhero gear, including the cookie *medals* they received when they completed their training. (by the way, it ended up being quite a chore getting the superheros to complete their training - turns out seven year old boys have no problem *just running around* for two hours!)







jacks' cousins represented the *incredible* side of the family!




jack, himself, went as a very minimalist hugh jackman-esque wolverine (his favorite action hero this week.)


(sorry for the lack of photos of the birthday boy himself. most photos of him included his friends, and i want to respect their privacy.) but, i promise, more birthday photos of jack to come!

spt - welcome home!

i have heard your cry for a *no-brainer* and trust me, i'm feeling the same way after the hectic week i've had!!

i actually have developed a system for spt challenges, one that makes it easy for me to "throw something out there" that might still be enjoyable for all. i've personally found (over the past year!- can you believe it's been over a year of spt-ing?!?) that some of my most profound realizations have come from some of the simplest challenges.

before the challenge, though, let me take a moment to welcome some new folks to spt. i'm so thrilled to see new faces every week!! a very special hello to the first men to make an appearance!! warren definitely brought a guy game by going all tech-ie on us (great post!) brett found his way into spt in the most unlikely of situations, and is a great sport!(i will be checking back frequently to make sure patsy is o.k.!!)

i hope we all can find time to check out some of the new blogs linking-up each week. back in the day, i was able to find time to do a *weekly recap.* i still dream of finding that time again, but, for now, i am truly thankful that mr. linky makes it so easy!!

by the way, if you haven't participated in spt in a while (and i know who you are!), consider this *no-brainer* the perfect chance to jump back in!!

for tuesday, march 11th: if i came to visit you next week, how would i know which doorbell to ring? do you have a formal entrance? should i come to the front door? or do you prefer your guests to come around back? (would you be surprised if i came in through the garage?!?)


(i wish...)

wordless wedneszzzzzz.....

it's 11:04 pm, and i'm still at work.
can sombody PLEASE get this girl some saline solution?

spt

i am having one of those mornings where it feels *extra-special* that i got out of bed!! ever had one of those mornings?!?

as i was coming-to over a cup of lukewarm coffee (blech), i racked my brain for examples of my *extra-special*-ness. i had a really tough time coming up with something that felt special. everything felt so-so. again, i'm chalking it up to just-one-of-those-mornings.

i'm up and moving now, getting ready for a 9:30 meeting where we are going to order new carpet for the hotel (fun! spending other people's money!) so here's my spt: short, sweet and *extra-special.*



i have hazel eyes. and i LOVE them.

how about you?!?